Huge wind farm could reduce Fort Collins electricity rates, triple wind power

Fort Collins’ electricity provider is nearing the finish line for a wind power project that could save residents money and make almost half its delivered electricity renewable.

Roundhouse Renewable Energy, a 150-megawatt wind farm, would triple Platte River Power Authority’s wind capacity. For comparison’s sake, 150 megawatts of capacity is about half that of Platte River electricity stalwart Rawhide Unit One — the Wellington-area coal plant set to retire before 2047.

Enyo Renewable Energy would operate the wind farm on Duck Creek Ranch in southeast Wyoming and Northern Colorado and sell the electricity to Platte River Power Authority.

Platte River, which provides power to Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park and Longmont, is working to reach an agreement with Enyo in early 2018. Project costs are still being negotiated, Platte River spokesman Steve Roalstad said. At Platte River's December board meeting, staff said the project could result in rate savings of about 2.5 to 5 percent by 2030.

And Platte River savings generally translate to resident savings.

In 2017, wind power made up about 11 percent of the electricity Platte River sent to its four owner-municipalities. The power came from three wind farms ranging in capacity from 6 to 60 megawatts. Another 19 percent of electricity came from hydropower, and about 2 percent came from the Rawhide Flats solar project that neighbors Rawhide Unit One. Altogether, that’s about one-third renewable sources.

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The Roundhouse farm could later be expanded with an additional 75 megawatts, Platte River staff said at the board meeting. With the expansion, Platte River’s renewable energy sources would make up about half the electricity it delivers to its owner-municipalities, Platte River general manager and chief executive officer Jason Frisbie said.

Platte River gets solar and wind energy through purchase power agreements, which allow private entities to take advantage of tax benefits for renewable energy and sell the power to Platte River. The proposal being considered would bind Platte River to buying wind power from the Roundhouse Renewable Energy wind farm from late 2020 through spring 2042.

Enyo Renewable Energy has a long history with wind power — it operated the first wind farm in Wyoming — and strong financial backing, staff said at the board meeting.

“We’re very conservative,” Frisbie said. “We tend to contract with folks that look at projects (of this scale) like, ‘This isn’t that big of a deal.’ ”

Platte River staff put out a request for proposals for 50 megawatts of wind in June 2017 but decided to think bigger after getting several bids that offered long-term savings, Roalstad said. The revelation came as Platte River staff wrapped up sought-after modeling to predict the costs of carbon neutral energy by 2050. Models found that the most affordable carbon-neutral electricity portfolio, which would include a lot of wind power, would be more expensive than the status quo in the short term but cheaper in the long term.

Staff advised the Platte River board, made up of city mayors and utility directors, to hold off on approving the extra 75 megawatts at the new facility until there’s more certainty to Platte River’s quest to join a regional transmission organization. A long-held goal of Platte River staff, membership in a regional transmission organization would allow PRPA to work with other electricity providers in the area and share transmission lines, meaning more fluid integration of renewable electricity and potential cost savings.

“We’ve still got models to do” for the additional 75 megawatts, Platte River chief operating officer Andy Butcher said at the board meeting. “We’ve still got to think about the risk that may be associated with getting bigger and how we regulate that. But it also has something to do with large customers. And as we work through that process, it may make sense to add another 75.”

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Large customers like Colorado State University and Anheuser-Busch are calling for more renewable energy. The additional 75 megawatts of wind would basically cover CSU’s electricity needs, Frisbie said at the meeting.

The approaching wind power agreement comes as Platte River considers whether to shift away from coal in favor of renewable energy and natural gas. Carbon-neutral modeling assumed Platte River would close Rawhide Unit One, Larimer County’s lone coal plant and biggest polluter, in 2030. That's 17 years before the end of the plant's usable life.

Rawhide’s closure is a necessity for Fort Collins to reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, but Platte River board members and staff haven’t committed to closing Rawhide Unit One early.

Platte River and other co-owners plan to shut down another coal resource ahead of schedule, though. Craig Unit One in western Colorado will close by 2026 because of the projected costs of required upgrades.

Platte River delivered electricity sources in 2017

Coal: 67 percent

Hydropower: 19 percent

Wind: 11 percent

Solar: 2 percent

Market purchases: 1 percent

Natural gas: 0.2 percent

Source: Platte River Power Authority