Platte River and Owner Communities Take Charge With Battery Storage Projects

Platte River Power Authority (Platte River) is partnering with its owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland on battery storage projects as the public power utility continues working toward a noncarbon energy future. A battery project will be installed in Estes Park and will be partially funded by a grant from the Department of Energy through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

“We are proud of this project and the opportunity to collaborate with Estes Park Power and Communications and to receive financial support from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs,” says Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO for Platte River. “This is a critical step forward in our energy transition and allows us to better integrate renewables onto our system.”

Platte River’s energy storage strategy includes three approaches: four-hour storage on the transmission system to integrate renewables; long-duration storage for extended energy needs; and four-hour community storage on the distribution system to align energy use with renewable generation and opportunities to support the unique needs of the owner communities.

Battery storage systems will support Platte River’s transition to clean energy and offer critical resiliency functions. The 5-megawatt/20 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system is an additional tool to help manage system disruptions and can provide capacity for a potential future microgrid. A microgrid is one solution being considered to improve resiliency in this remote mountain community.

Platte River collaborated closely with the local distribution utilities it serves to identify available land to site these energy storage projects, aiming to meet each community’s energy needs while addressing larger system challenges. These projects serve as a catalyst for future collaboration between Platte River and the distribution utilities on managing and dispatching distributed energy resources in an effort to develop a virtual power plant.

The state of Colorado received funds from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office to award grants to in-state utilities for battery storage and microgrid projects. Platte River’s community storage project for Estes Park was awarded $350,000 from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

“This project, supported by local, state and federal funds will provide increased resiliency to Estes Park’s grid and town while enabling the transition to green power,” says Gary Hall, Platte River board member and the Mayor of Estes Park. “This battery project will potentially support a future microgrid that could provide backup power for our hospital, utility, fire protection district and emergency command center and create a safety net that this community has not had before.”

The Grid Deployment Office is producing a promotional video series about its grant program and the Estes Park project is the first feature. The grant funds will reimburse Platte River for battery power purchase agreement payments starting in 2027.

A phased deployment of the battery systems in each owner community will begin in early 2027. Construction and equipment costs are being considered prior to deployment as Platte River focuses on each community’s needs and schedules.