Empowering Rural America Program

Funds will facilitate significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

United Power is pleased to announce that it is a finalist for the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service. The New ERA investment will be used to offset the cost of United Power’s transition to a strategic portfolio of clean energy that includes power purchase agreements that will provide more than 760 megawatts of renewable resources to its members by 2030. 

Last fall, cooperatives across the nation submitted hundreds of proposals for a portion of the $9.7 billion in New ERA Program funds earmarked for projects that reduce overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the cooperatives’ voluntary transformation of rural electric systems in a way that promotes resiliency and reliability of rural electric systems and affordability for their members. 

“We are honored to be named a finalist for such a historic grant from the USDA,” said Mark A. Gabriel, President and CEO of United Power. “The New ERA Program represents the first significant funding opportunity of this generation. It will help finance the energy sector’s move to a future with cleaner power generation resources. The timing of this grant award offers an ideal opportunity for United Power and our members, as we continue our transition to an independent electric distribution cooperative, which began May 1 when we exited our former wholesale power provider.”

United Power left its long-standing wholesale power contract in May in order to create a cleaner, more flexible power portfolio for cooperative members. Utilizing multiple power purchase agreements, the cooperative curated a portfolio of solar, hydropower, and wind generation projects estimated to reduce GHG emissions by 2.1 million tons annually. Seven of the cooperative’s projects were submitted for consideration by the USDA with a request for grant funding that will offset 25% of the cost of these power purchase agreements for zero-emissions and renewable energy resources. 

“These funds are the perfect complement to the strategies United Power adopted to advance our clean energy journey,” said Gabriel. “Earlier this year, we deployed multiple battery energy storage systems on the United Power distribution grid, allowing us to provide redundancy on our system while stabilizing power costs. Adding more renewable energy resources to our mix will continue to build on this pioneering vision.”

United Power, which serves more than 112,000 meters on Colorado’s northern front range, sought more flexibility in its power supply mix and an ability to work more closely with local members interested in generating their own power. The cooperative is already an industry leader for its significant penetration of rooftop solar – approximately 12,000 United Power members have adopted this technology. The cooperative is also an active advocate for hyper-localized generation resources necessary for its transition to the distribution system operator model. 

Colorado’s climate action plan is also driving change statewide, challenging numerous sectors to aggressively tackle GHG emissions. The state is calling for utilities, like United Power, to submit clean energy plans that demonstrate a reduction in GHG emissions by 80% from 2005 levels and end the reliance on coal-fired power generation by 2030. 

“United Power is not the typical electric distribution cooperative,” said Ursula J. Morgan, United Power Board Chair. “Our service territory is experiencing incredible growth, new businesses are looking for ways to partner with us to provide cleaner power, and our local governance structure allows us to be nimble and responsive to meet our members’ needs. Cooperatives transformed the way of life in rural America when they stretched power lines across the country nearly 100 years ago, and today we are transforming our power supply by implementing the decarbonization efforts as laid out in Our Cooperative Roadmap. The New ERA investment will have an immediate positive impact on these efforts while helping to stabilize rates in future years for all United Power members.”