(The Center Square) – Gov. Jared Polis and his administration released the Colorado Microgrid Roadmap last week.
The Roadmap outlines how Colorado can improve its power grid resistance through microgrid solutions.
Microgrids are local energy systems that operate independently of the main power grid. They allow homes, businesses, and local services, like hospitals, to stay connected to electricity amid widespread power grid outages.
“Microgrids will bring big benefits to communities across Colorado including in rural areas, by saving people money on energy bills and keeping the power on,” Polis said in a press release from his office. “This roadmap provides a clear path to improve the opportunities for Coloradans to access locally produced, low cost, reliable energy.”
The Colorado Legislature passed bipartisan legislation last session directing the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) and the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Colorado Resiliency Office to ponder the uses, benefits, challenges, and policy recommendations for microgrids to improve grid resilience and reliability.
The Polis administration used part of its federal Grid Resilience Formula Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure law to fund the Roadmap development.
The Microgrid Roadmap evaluates many different microgrid types, establishes criteria to identify priority projects, and offers policy recommendations to facilitate microgrid deployment.
The Roadmap also includes ideas for managing costs, interconnection standards, and legal considerations. These are the primary challenges for microgrid implementation in Colorado, the release said.
“Microgrids are one useful tool to help achieve our ambitious climate goals,” CEO executive Director Will Toor said in the release. “Reliable access to clean electricity is a must as communities electrify buildings and cars. This Roadmap offers a long-term strategy for the role of microgrids in supporting energy resilience across Colorado, helping Coloradans, especially in rural and underserved areas, keep their lights on, vehicles charged, and homes warm.”
The Microgrid Roadmap recommends that communities most vulnerable to power outages and those with higher social and climate risk factors receive priority for developing microgrid projects.
As a part of its Roadmap, the state created a community-informed critical infrastructure and facility prioritization process. Colorado aims to identify “key areas and critical facilities and prioritize resources to meet local needs,” the release said.
“Microgrids exchange power with a traditional utility grid while also receiving power from local electricity sources, including clean energy like wind, solar, and geothermal; fossil fuel generation; and batteries,” the release said. “Beyond grid resilience benefits, local adoption of clean energy and battery storage systems as part of microgrid projects reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector by increasing clean electricity generation and decreasing demand on utility power grids.”
Additionally, Colorado provides grant funding to utilities, local communities, and community anchor institutions to aid in grid resilience and reliability projects.
DOLA uses state and federal grid resilience funding for the Community Resilience Grant program to assist in microgrid planning and implementation.
DOLA has funded 25 planning and construction projects thus far, totaling about $17.7 million.
“It’s vital that local governments, utilities, and community institutions can enhance their critical infrastructure’s energy resilience against increasing demand on the grid and more frequent and severe impacts of natural hazards,” Maria De Cambra, DOLA’s executive director, said in the release. “We are pleased that DOLA can help strengthen Colorado communities through the Microgrids for Community Resilience Program.”
The Colorado Energy Office also provides federally funded grid monitoring and grid hardening grant programs; these programs help eligible utilities prevent fires and offer protection from wildfires and extreme weather.
