Campus Sustainability

Ameresco, Holy Cross Energy Team Up for Solar Project on Colorado Campus

• By Matt Jones
• 04/12/21

Clean technology integrator Ameresco, Inc. has announced a partnership with Holy Cross Energy to build a solar and battery energy storage project on land leased from the Spring Valley Campus of Colorado Mountain College, located in Glenwood Springs, Colo.

The partnership comes under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Ameresco will design, build, and operate the solar facility and sell the output to HCE, helping HCE meet its long-term goal of using renewable resources to source 100% of the power it provides to customers by the year 2030. The terms of the agreement are such that Ameresco will install 4.5MW of solar PV and 15MWH of battery energy storage, according to a news release.

The solar project will stand on the campus of Colorado Mountain College. The facility is expected to save 6,853 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the emissions equivalent of 1,481 passenger vehicles or burning more than 7.5 million pounds of coal. Construction is scheduled for completion within the first three months of 2022.

“One of the extraordinary things about working in this industry is finding and utilizing solutions that work for all of our customers,” said Ameresco’s Executive Vice President, Louis Maltezos. “By eliminating concerns around potential financial barriers and leveraging our deep technical expertise, we can focus on fostering innovative solutions that fit our clients’ needs and benefit the communities they service.”

“Projects like this one will allow HCE to attain our 100x30 clean energy goals while keeping power supply costs low,” agreed HCE President and CEO Bryan Hannegan. “We are honored to be partnering with local organizations such as CMC to develop reliable and resilient energy resources that will benefit all HCE members—even as we assist CMC in meeting its specific sustainability goals.”

“We are so excited to be part of this great venture in solar energy,” said Dr. Heather Exby, Colorado Mountain College Vice President and Spring Valley Campus Dean. “By leasing a portion of our land for the solar array, we will help our community to attain energy independence by use of this renewable, and locally abundant, source. Colorado Mountain College as a whole will also move closer to our goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, as we will be receiving renewable energy credits from Holy Cross Energy that will offset electrical usage at our Spring Valley, Aspen and Edwards campuses.”