GEO teams with utilities to quantify benefits of distributed solar, small hydroelectric power

Partners join to assess the economic value for utilities and ratepayers of linking on-site solar photovoltaic and small hydro systems into power grid

The Governor's Energy Office (GEO) will join with three local utilities - Fort Collins Light and Power, San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative and Holy Cross Energy - to conduct a detailed study to determine the economic benefits and impacts of tying rooftop solar energy and small hydropower operations into the grid for municipal and rural electricity providers.

The study will for the first time in Colorado attempt to quantify the costs and benefits associated with distributed generation of renewable energy for municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. Typically, adding distributed generation using the sun, water or wind can benefit utilities by reducing or delaying the need to build additional, and costly, utility-scale power plants and transmission, as well as reduce the need to purchase more costly electricity from other sources during times of peak use.

This study, to be led by the established consulting firm R.W. Beck, will "investigate fully the operational, economic and societal impacts of distributed solar photovoltaic and small hydro on existing and future electric systems," according to the firm. The work is intended to "provide GEO and the utility partners with well-supported and factual basis to determine the impacts from distributed resources to the New Energy Economy."

The study compliments legislation passed in Colorado this year that requires the state's investor-owned utilities generate 30 percent of their electricity from renewable power, with a sizable component of three percent coming from distributed systems, such as rooftop solar and small hydropower projects.

"We're excited to work with our rural and municipal utility partners in northern, southern and western Colorado to understand more clearly how distributed generation can benefit their operations, and their ratepayers," said Matt Futch, the GEO's Utilities Program Manager. "Benefits of adopting these resources can be increased with the kind of careful, objective analysis this report will provide."

"Our cooperative is located in one of the best areas of the state for solar power generation. Yet, we don't have a good way to quantify the implications of implementing solar and hydro power at a level beyond PV on homes," said San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative CEO John Villyard. "We look forward to this project as a way to provide valuable information from a much larger perspective and to help us understand the long-term and big-picture cost aspects of solar and hydro power generation in our communities and our Valley."

R.W. Beck has undertaken a similar study on behalf of Arizona Public Service, which also sought quantification of the benefits of distributed solar generation on its operations. The Arizona study was recognized as an influential, objective report with findings accepted by a broad group of stakeholders inside and outside the renewable energy industry.