Platte River Power gets OK for plan to move beyond 88% carbon-free sources

The board of directors for Platte River Power Authority unanimously signed off Thursday on a plan to help it reach its goal of being carbon-free by 2030 — and that will include help from new gas turbines.

PRPA provides power to and is jointly owned by Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Estes Park. The wholesale power provider knows it can get to 88% carbon-free energy generation by 2030. The plan the board gave its support to Thursday is about the remaining 12%.

But one part of the plan has environmental advocates concerned: It would build a new, $240 million aeroderivative gas turbine facility.

The other two elements in the plan are use of long-duration battery storage and establishing a virtual power plant. The three strategies form PRPA's plan for "dispatchable resources," which can be used when carbon-free sources are not able to fulfill demand.

Battery storage technology is developing, and PRPA could potentially benefit from four-hour batteries or 100-hour batteries once the technology becomes viable for commercial uses.

The virtual power plant takes energy created by sources like residential rooftop solar and maximizes it by distributing it across the system when it makes the most sense.

Why is PRPA considering a new gas facility?

PRPA has said the new gas-powered turbines won't be the base source of power, but would only operate only in times of need, when carbon-free sources of energy aren't producing enough electricity to meet demand. The turbines are designed to start up and ramp down quickly and would operate anywhere from 5% to 20% of the time.

The turbines can be converted to hydrogen power once that becomes available, though that will involve an additional cost to retrofit the equipment.

Without the use of tools like the gas turbines, getting to the carbon-free goal will take longer and cost more money, Daniel Brooks of Electric Power Research Institute told the board. He was one of two industry experts who spoke to the board at its monthly meeting.

He said models for utilities across the nation show that there will be a need for dispatchable capacity as they work toward being 100% carbon-free. "We see gas being used very infrequently but being very important when it’s needed," he said.

And if consumers don't have reliability, they won't trust their power providers as they pursue carbon-free sources, Brooks said.

John Di Stasio, president of Large Public Power Council, said not having options like the gas turbines actually creates a barrier to going carbon free. He said what PRPA is doing is also being done elsewhere.

PRPA CEO and general manager Jason Frisbie said it's important to look at all three strategies together, not just the gas turbine aspect. The board resolution isn’t about building a gas turbine, he said, but about all the things that need to be done to support PRPA's carbon-free goal.

But Longmont Mayor Joan Peck countered: "It's a resolution about why we need to have the turbines."

She and Loveland Mayor Jackie Marsh said they want to make sure PRPA can pivot if there are technology breakthroughs on batteries, for example.

"I don’t want to commit to gas only, and that’s what this sounds like," Peck said before supporting the resolution.

Frisbee said it's always been the plan to work in parallel with all three parts.

He said nothing supersedes PRPA's resolution from 2018 to diversify its sources, and the board has the power and the responsibility to make sure he is living up to that.

But “without those, we can never complete the journey,” he said. “We’ll be hard pressed to get past 60% carbon-free by 2030.”

The board's decision to support the plan was unanimous, even after board members Peck and Marsh expressed concerns.

The mayors and and one staff member from each of the four owner cities serve on the board.

Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt said she supported the plan because it's based in science, and she trusts the expertise of PRPA and Fort Collins Utilities leadership.

She cited a statement in the presentation that argued that reliability is more important now because the impacts of a power outage are greater. So when the risk increases, the reliability also has to increase.

She said she's 100% committed to a clean energy future, but also to social justice.

"We know who suffers the most when the power goes out. Some people have more alternatives than others," she said. "I don’t see it as backing off our goal, I see it as absolutely the right move to reach that goal."

Kendall Minor, Fort Collins Utilities director, said he wants it to be clear that this resolution will start a process to pursue permits, which require a long lead time before construction can begin. He said as the process continues with a request for proposals next year, there will be more opportunities to discuss it.

PRPA has said it needs to begin acting now to have dispatchable capacity by 2028, ahead of its 2030 deadline.

The chambers of commerce in Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont spoke in support of the plan at Thursday's meeting.

What do environmental groups want PRPA to do?

Kevin Cross with the Fort Collins Sustainability Group said PRPA shouldn't move forward with any new dispatchable capacity until its Integrated Resource Plan for 2024 is completed and reviewed by experts like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Colorado State University's Energy Initiative.

The IRP is a plan that looks at demand and resources to develop near-term and long-term strategies to provide reliable, financially sustainable and environmentally responsible electricity.

Cross said the investment into new turbines could saddle rate payers with high electricity costs for decades to come.

Seth Miller with Northern Colorado Partners for Clean Energy told the board that PRPA is well-positioned to work with NREL and CSU's Energy Initiative, and getting their feedback would be useful.

About PRPA's goals and resources

PRPA set a no-carbon goal in 2018. Today, carbon-free sources make up 33% of PRPA's portfolio. In 2024, it's expected to be 35.8%.

One way PRPA is going to achieve cutting carbon emissions is through the closure of its coal-fired Rawhide 1 unit in Larimer County by the end of 2029. It's also part-owner of two coal units in Craig that will close in 2025 and 2028.

Today, coal supplies about 47% of PRPA's energy portfolio.

PRPA also has five older gas turbines at the Rawhide Energy Station. They were purchased in the early 2000s and have an expected life through 2040.

It receives hydropower through contracts with the Loveland Area Project and Colorado River Storage Project.

It has wind power purchase agreements through the Roundhouse Wind Energy Center and Medicine Bow Wind Project.

And it has solar power purchase agreements with Rawhide Flats and Rawhide Power solar projects.

PRPA Integrated Resource Plan public session

A community engagement session on the 2024 Integrated Resource Plan is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Platte River Power Authority Energy Engagement Center, 2000 E. Horsetooth Road, Fort Collins.

Free parking is available, and food will be provided. A virtual option via Zoom link will be posted by at www.prpa.org/2024irp/.

PRPA will give an update on work accomplished since the first listening session on June 1 to support the region’s energy transition. The community can ask questions and share feedback.

You can submit questions in advance to 2024IRP@prpa.org.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Platte River Power Authority gets OK for plan including gas turbines