Utility Scale

Platte River, Qcells break ground on massive Colorado solar project

Platte River, Qcells break ground on massive Colorado solar project
Platte River Power Authority and Qcells break ground on Colorado's largest solar project (courtesy: QCells)

Colorado community-owned public power utility Platte River Power Authority (Platte River) and Qcells broke ground on northern Colorado’s largest solar generation project this week.

Black Hollow Solar spans nearly 1,400 acres northeast of the Black Hollow Reservoir near Severance, Colorado. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by May of 2025 and will deliver about 367,000 MWh of energy annually to Platte River’s owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland. Phase two of Black Hollow Solar will add an additional 107 MW of capacity in 2026, bringing the total project to 257 MW and increasing Platte River’s total solar capacity to 309 MW.

“Black Hollow Solar represents a major milestone in our journey of working toward our noncarbon energy goals as outlined in the board-approved Resource Diversification Policy,” said Jason Frisbie, Platte River general manager/CEO. “We are proud that Black Hollow Solar, when completed, will bring the total amount of solar capacity in our portfolio to 309 MW, help replace the coal-fired generation we will be shutting down before the end of the decade and is by far the largest solar generation project in northern Colorado.”

“Colorado is a national leader in low-cost, renewable energy and we remain focused on protecting our air quality and environment while saving people money. This project will help us do that by expanding solar capacity in our state and helping Colorado reach our goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040 while strengthening northern Colorado communities like Severance,” added Governor Jared Polis.

Per the agreement with Platte River, Qcells will provide turnkey solutions including project development, engineering, procurement and constructions services and will supply over 540,000 Qcells modules on the Black Hollow Solar project. The electricity generated will be sold to Platte River beginning in May 2025 under a long-term power purchase agreement.

Energy will be delivered to Platte River’s owner communities in Colorado’s north Front Range through a substation currently under construction, adjacent to Platte River’s existing transmission system.

“Qcells is pleased to have been selected by Platte River to develop and construct this exciting project and solidify our commitment to supporting Colorado’s low carbon energy future,” said IP Kim, Qcells president. “We are proud to provide energy solutions that support a partner like Platte River, promoting good stewardship of the community while also realizing the benefits this project brings as a clean source of sustainable energy for the next 25+ years for northern Colorado communities and to the growth of American energy.”

As Platte River continues to replace coal-fired resources with renewable energy technology, the addition of Black Hollow Solar along with existing renewable resources will increase Platte River’s total noncarbon energy generation on an annual basis to 58% serving almost 75% of the utility’s four owner communities’ energy needs. Platte River is currently evaluating its next round of renewable energy projects including wind and battery storage to continue the pursuit of the utility’s and its owner communities’ noncarbon energy goals.

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