Resiliency and Reliability |
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Welcome to the March newsletter! This month, we wanted to highlight resiliency and its cousin, reliability, as they relate to energy availability.
Resiliency is the ability of energy generation and supply to withstand destructive events such as storms, fires, and even cyberattacks.
Reliability is the ability to provide a steady supply of energy at a reasonable cost on a daily basis.
Fossil fuels have often been cited as the gold standard for both resiliency and reliability, but we are increasingly seeing that this is not the case. The Pueblo Unit 3 coal plant is down, yet again, for at least three months. Fossil methane (natural gas) lines were the main culprit for outages during the Texas winter storm and prices are spiking this winter. And in several storms from Hurricane Sandy to Hurricane Ida, people often couldn't run their diesel generators because of fuel shortages or delivery problems.
The antidote is local, clean energy generation and storage. Together, they can be as or more reliable and resilient than fossil fuels.
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PUC Rejects Xcel Settlement Agreement
Although not a formal rejection, the Colorado Public Utility Commission (PUC) did not accept Xcel's proposal to keep the Pueblo Unit 3 coal plant running until 2034. Primary among the objections was its unreliability - it has been down yet again since late January until what's expected to be the end of April. Read more about the outage and rejection HERE.
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PUC Accepts Xcel Rate Increase
Unfortunately, however, the PUC did accept a $182 million rate increase, which further increases Xcel's already outrageous after-tax profit of $660 million in 2021. See more on this decision HERE.
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Colorado Can Be Doing Much Better On Community Solar
Not everyone has a roof for solar or the money to pay for it. Community solar programs are a great way to make local, clean energy available to everyone. As you can see in the chart below, Colorado can do much better, especially since it's lower in latitude and sunnier than the other three states that are shown.
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In another report, ILSR gave Colorado a "C" for policies that support local energy, which also includes rooftop solar, microgrids, and energy efficiency. |
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One of the difficulties is interconnection challenges. A study by the staff at the PUC found that 41% of community solar garden applicants withdrew from the interconnection queue, according to commissioner Megan Gilman. Read more on interconnection HERE.
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The Search for the Value of Resilience
Another barrier that needs to be overcome to drive more local, clean energy is being able to quantify the value of resilience. If we can calculate how much cost can be avoided during disrupting events, we can show the value beyond initial and known operating costs. More HERE.
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In Case You Missed It:
Super Capacitors
Empower Our Future's Empower Hour on Super Capacitors, and alternative to stationary battery storage, is now available to view. Siting storage with solar where the energy is being used is key to resilience. Go directly to it HERE or access it via EOF's website HERE.
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State Legislative Update
Being an election year, the legislature has not been nearly as aggressive in introducing meaningful climate legislation as it was in the landmark 2019 and last year that built upon it. No new bills of note were introduced since the last newsletter, but existing ones are making their way through both houses. See the full list HERE.
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PUC Update
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The Colorado PUC opened a proceeding to investigate an incident at Pueblo Unit 3 which shut down the unit indefinitely. This is the latest of many costly issues at the plant.
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Xcel's Power Pathway transmission project, designed to interconnect 5.5 GW of renewable energy, was reportedly approved, though a written order is pending.
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Regulators ask for more detail on Tri-State's resource plan settlement, which includes increased GHG reduction goals.
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SNEAK PEAK: Regulators reportedly approve a $182 million rate increase for Xcel customers; details forthcoming.
Read more about February PUC activities HERE.
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What We Are Reading
DOE Turns to Energy Storage to Build Resilience and Energy Affordability in Underserved Communities
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 14 communities that will receive technical assistance from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as part of the agency's broader Energy Storage for Social Equity initiative (ES4SE). Get the full scoop HERE.
California's Community Energy Resilience Bill Passes Key Hurdle
California’s Community Energy Resilience Act (SB 833), which would help cities and local governments develop energy resilience plans using clean distributed energy resources, passed a key legislative hurdle this week. See more on this important step HERE.
A Conversation with Leslie Glustrom
Big Pivots interviewed CEA's Senior Advisor about her lifelong activism, how to navigate the PUC, and why Xcel and Colorado can be doing much better when it comes to clean energy, resilience, reliability, and not sticking ratepayers with the cost of bad decisions. Read the full conversation HERE.
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Spotlight on Organizations That Do Great Work |
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This month we want to lift up the work of GreenLatinos, a national nonprofit with a Colorado chapter that convenes a broad coalition of Latino leaders committed to addressing national, regional and local environmental, natural resources and conservation issues that significantly affect the health and welfare of the U.S. Latino community.
Ean Thomas Tafoya, Colorado state director for GreenLatinos, frequently speaks on calls with Colorado agencies, challenging state leaders to pursue more equitable pathways to decarbonization (see their comments on clean trucking policies HERE).
GreenLatinos recently also recently launched the #OceanEquityCollective to support the leadership and relationship building of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color leaders and organizations focused on advancing community centered priorities and equity in ocean conservation.
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Thank you for reading along and staying informed!
- The Clean Energy Action Team
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