Platte River tenders for 20MW solar and 5MWh battery storage in Colorado

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Credit: Platte River twitter

Nonprofit utility Platte River Power Authority has issued a request for proposals (RfP) for at least 20MW of solar PV systems and up to 5MWh of battery energy storage for its power mix in Colorado.

Energy produced from the solar installations would be used as part of a community solar program, with the power made available to Platte River’s owner communities to feed customers. The new solar and storage capacity would help Platter River provide power to communities in Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

At present, 30% of the power that Platte River offers to its owner communities comes from wind, solar and other carbon-free energy sources, but the firm signed a PPA for a 150MW wind plant in January that will bring that percentage to 48%.

Meanwhile, Platte River is considering long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) for the new solar projects, which are planned to become operational between June 2019 and the end of 2021.

The projects must connect to Platte River’s transmission systems, such as the substation for its 280MW coal-fired power plant known as the Rawhide Energy station.

Among other uses, the storage systems would help meet peak load demand for a short period of time without forcing Platte River to deploy other fossil fuel resources.

Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO of Platte River, said: “Our municipal owners and their customers want additional carbon-free energy resources when it makes sense. We believe we can provide customers with more solar power at very reasonable costs while maintaining our strong standards for reliability.

“Prices for battery technology are coming down and we are very interested in benefiting not only from cost savings but also the operational experience that we could use on a larger scale down the road.”

The deadline for proposals is 30 March.

Earlier this month, commissioners from Arapahoe County, Colorado, approved a permit for the 75MW Hunter Solar project, which would rank as Colorado’s second-largest PV project.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 13, 2025
Brett Beattie of Castillo Engineering looks at some of the key land grading work that can make multimillion-dollar differences to projects.
October 13, 2025
Korean chemical production firm OCI Holdings has acquired a 65% stake in a Vietnamese solar wafer production plant, intending to export solar wafers to the US.
October 13, 2025
The Trump administration has cancelled the 6.2GW Esmeralda 7 solar project in Nevada – once touted as one of the largest in the world.
October 13, 2025
ANSI has approved a new traceability standard proposed by the SEIA to improve transparency of the solar and storage supply chain.
October 13, 2025
US solar manufacturer T1 Energy has acquired a minority stake in fellow US-based solar cell producer Talon PV.
October 10, 2025
US solar recycling firm OnePlanet has achieved the R2v3 certification from electronics sustainability non-profit SERI, which represents the “highest standards of traceability”.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK