Platte River Power Authority Approves 2024 IRP, Adding 760 MW Renewable Energy to Achieve 100% Noncarbon Goal.

Platte River Power Authority’s board of directors approved the 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) on July 25, which includes the recommended “optimal new carbon” portfolio that adds 760 MW of new renewable energy projects between now and 2030. The IRP is part of an ongoing resource planning process to identify the energy resources needed to meet electricity demand of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland over the next five to 20 years. The goal of achieving a 100% noncarbon energy mix by 2030 is to maintain these three foundational pillars, maintaining reliability, environmental responsibility, and financial sustainability. The additional 760 MW proposed in the new carbon portfolio will require a three-pronged approach to dispatchable capacity: building out a virtual power plant with the owner communities, implementing both short- and long-term energy storage when commercially viable, and using the lowest carbon-emitting combustion turbine technology that is hydrogen capable to support reliability while providing a path for deeper decarbonization.