PVREA Named 2018 Electric Cooperative Utility of the Year

PVREA Solar Logo

Submitted by Amy Blunck
PVREA

The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has named Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association (PVREA) the 2018 SEPA Power Players Electric Cooperative Utility of the Year. Now in their tenth year, the SEPA Power Players Awards honor utilities, their industry partners, and individual thought leaders providing the vision, models and momentum for the electric power industry’s smart transition to a clean, modern energy future.

Chosen by an independent panel of judges with diverse experience in the electric power industry, PVREA and winners in six other categories will be celebrated at an awards gala, Tuesday, July 10, co-located with SEPA’s Grid Evolution Summit in Washington, D.C.

“To win this award is such an honor for Poudre Valley REA. We developed the Coyote Ridge Community Solar Farm as a mechanism to serve all our members with solar energy and we’re proud to be able to deliver that opportunity,” PVREA President and CEO Jeff Wadsworth commented, “Many thanks to our partners and employees who worked on this innovative project that created solar energy opportunities for all our members, and to our members for supporting us in this endeavor.”

PVREA partnered with GRID Alternatives and the Colorado Energy Office, to construct an additional solar array designed with parameters ensuring that all income levels and group types have an opportunity to participate.

“This year’s SEPA Power Players represent a diverse set of technologies and initiatives, from low-income community solar, to broad grid modernization efforts, to the digital software needed to optimize our electric power system,” said Julia Hamm, the group’s President and CEO. “Clearly, solar, storage and other distributed energy resources should no longer be seen as ‘disruptive,’ but as key drivers of an ongoing evolution of the grid and the benefits it can provide to customers, utilities and society in general. PVREA is but one example of the industry’s spirit of innovation and leadership as we continue to move toward a smart, clean and modern electric grid.”

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