Holy Cross Energy well on the way to getting 90% of its electricity from renewable sources
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Holy Cross Energy has pledged to source between 95% and 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The electric cooperative seems to be ahead of schedule.
Holy Cross CEO Bryan Hannegan on Monday provided the Eagle County Board of Commissioners with an update on the utility’s present and possible future operations.
Here’s a breakdown of Holy Cross Energy’s anticipated 2025 energy sources by fuel:
- Wind: 65%
- Solar: 13%
- Biomass: 8%
- Hybrid: 4%
- Coal: 7%
- Gas: 3%
Hannegan noted that Holy Cross by the end of 2023 was using roughly 50% renewable energy. That percentage continues to rise.
The challenge now is to balance user demand with generation. Part of the answer is using batteries. But batteries are big and require a lot of space.
Hannegan noted that just an hour’s peak use in the summer would require between 25 and 30 shipping containers worth of batteries. That means alternatives are needed.
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One alternative is distributing generation from large facilities to individual buildings. Hannegan said he sees Holy Cross’s role eventually becoming like “FedEx for electrons,” distributing power among those smaller sites.
Hannegan spoke at length about ways to store excess heat from wind and solar energy to generate a lot of power. The Holy Cross Energy Board of Directors will discuss the potential of financing customer systems — then recovering those costs over time — at its Aug. 14 meeting.
Distributing alternative energy is helping lower costs for all sorts of alternative energy.
Eagle County Manager Jeff Shroll asked Hannegan about the impacts to Holy Cross of the April closure of the biomass facility in Gypsum. That plant used beetle-killed timber to generate electricity.
Hannegan replied that the biomass plant was the utility’s “most expensive” source of renewable energy. If the plant closed permanently, Holy Cross could use that money to pursue more cost-effective sources of energy. If the plant comes back online, Hannegan said perhaps it could provide electricity at a better price.
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The biomass plant “was plain vanilla combustion,” Hannegan said, adding that combustion is a better source of fuel than electricity, which can’t currently compete with the price of electricity generated via solar panels.
Hannegan acknowledged that while Holy Cross is on the path to getting 90% of its electricity from renewable sources, “that last 10%” is a doozy.” And he wondered if perhaps it might be more worthwhile to put the resources dedicated to the last 5% of going renewable into decarbonizing transportation.
Hannegan noted that Holy Cross has a good working relationship with the local governments in its service area. And, he added, that in the future, as county officials talk to developers, “The best thing you can do, is ask… ‘Have you talked to Holy Cross?'”
