Platte River Power launches Northern Colorado’s largest solar array

SEVERANCE — Officials on Wednesday launched Northern Colorado’s largest solar-array facility that when complete will generate enough energy to keep the lights on in 63,000 homes in Northern Colorado, eking Platte River Power Authority closer to its goal of zero-carbon energy generation by 2030.

The community-owned authority’s newest solar array will cover 1,400 acres and generate 257 megawatts of electricity. The area will feed into a Severance substation capable of handling 400MW generation with potential for transfer capability of up to 1 gigawatt with additional transmission lines, according to PRPA documents. The project should reach full operation by 2027.

CEO and general manager Jason Frisbie told a crowd of about 60 that the project, expected to begin in December 2020, was delayed for myriad reasons, including the pandemic.

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“It’s unbelievable that we’re here today after all the things we’ve been through,” Frisbie told the crowd. “All the negotiations, the different changes, but everybody stuck together… we wouldn’t be here if Severance … the board, or the employees of Platte River didn’t believe in this mission. There were supply issues, cost issues, labor issues, we could go on and on and on.”

Platte River’s board in 2018 directed its staff to work toward the 100% noncarbon goal by 2030. While this project may not make it to the board’s goal, “it will far exceed the state of Colorado’s goal of 80% carbon emission reduction,” according to Platte River documents.

“Since 2018, there’s not a single thing that has gone in our favor, but we’re still moving forward and probably close to 90% to noncarbon energy in this project,” Frisbie told the group.

The project will be built by Qcells USA Corp., based out of Irvine, California. When at first the project seemed dead in the water, president IP Kim said it now represents the power of collaboration.

“This 257-megawatt facility here in Severance represents a significant milestone in our collective efforts to improve harnessing the sun for a brighter future and more-sustainable future,” Kim told the crowd. “Our partners in Platte River Power Authority have long envisioned a project of this magnitude, and we are thrilled to help make this dream a reality. This project is particularly special to us, not only because of the scale and potential impact but it also symbolizes the strength of collaboration and shared goals.”

While this project will be the largest solar array in Northern Colorado, it is just shy of being the largest in the state, a title held by Bighorn Solar, which is a 300-MW project in Pueblo covering 1,800 acres.

The UTE Mountain Tribe in the Four Corners Area has plans to build the largest solar farm in the United States in Towaoc, Colorado. The $1 billion project is expected to break ground later this year, and be online in 2026, generating more than 750 megawatts of power, according to Four Corners Public Radio.

With the addition of the Black Hollow solar farm, roughly 75% of the annual energy demand by Platte River’s four owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, will be met by noncarbon generation.

Frisbie said he may not be around by 2030, but he knows Platte River will meet its noncarbon energy goals.

“When we finish this journey, we may not get to zero by 2030, but we will get there,” Frisbie said. “We will get there.”