Black Hills Energy will power Colorado homes and businesses with nearly 80% renewable energy by 2030, the company announced this week. This milestone, and the journey to 2030, is outlined in the company's Clean Energy Plan, submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on May 27.
Black Hills Energy's Clean Energy Plan, "2030 Ready," establishes a roadmap to cost-effectively achieve the state of Colorado's "80 x 30" requirement calling upon electric utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by a minimum of 80% by 2030.
"Our 2030 Ready Plan proposes a 90% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, anticipating 79% of our customers' electricity being generated by carbon-free sources by 2030," said Kellie Ashcraft, Black Hills Energy's vice president of Colorado operations. "We'll get there by adding approximately 450 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy to our Southern Colorado system, including wind, solar and battery storage."
As modeled in its preferred plan portfolio, the company would add 149 MW of wind, 258 MW of solar and 50 MW of battery storage to its Colorado electric system. The final composition of resources will be determined during a competitive solicitation process to be held in 2023 as part of a comprehensive review and approval process directed by the Colorado PUC. This would support new renewable energy resources coming online between 2025 and 2030, Ashcraft stated.
"Our 2030 Ready Plan builds on a clean energy journey that began over a decade ago when we became the first utility in the state to move away from coal," said Nick Wagner, vice president of Colorado Regulatory Affairs and Policy. "Since that time, we've built one of the cleanest generation fleets in Colorado while prioritizing system safety, reliability and cost-effectiveness for our customers."
"As we implement our 2030 Ready Plan, we are proposing changes that would lower customer bills by 1% starting in 2023, with longer-term plans to stabilize energy costs for customers," added Wagner.
According to Wagner, the company's 2030 Ready Plan will undergo an extensive review process before the PUC to evaluate the company's modeling assumptions and preferred resource portfolio recommendations. This Phase I proceeding will occur over the next several months, with a decision anticipated by April 2023. Following this approval, the company will issue a request for proposals for renewable resources during the second phase of this proceeding.
Learn more at www.blackhillsenergy.com/2030ready.
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