Holy Cross Energy Announces “100×30” Carbon-Free Electricity Goal Part of New Strategic Plan to Lead the Responsible Transition to a Clean Energy Future

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLO., December 14, 2020 — As part of its newly updated Strategic Plan, Holy Cross Energy (HCE), a not-for-profit electric cooperative serving more than 44,000 members and communities in Western Colorado, today announced an ambitious new 100×30 goal to provide 100% carbon-free electricity to its members and communities by 2030.

This new goal further builds upon HCE’s Seventy70Thirty plan first announced in September 2018. The Seventy70Thirty plan was a commitment by HCE to source at least 70 percent of its power supply from clean and renewable resources and to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions by at least 70 percent from 2014 levels, with no increase in power supply costs by 2030.

At the time of its announcement, HCE’s Seventy70Thirty plan was among the most ambitious electric utility clean energy plans in the United States.  Since that time, HCE has moved swiftly to execute its plan by securing new wind and solar resources while selling HCE’s share of the energy output from the Comanche Unit 3 coal-fired power plant.

“As our planned new wind and solar projects come online in the next few years, HCE should be able to attain its Seventy70Thirty goals well ahead of schedule, while honoring our commitment to keeping power supply costs at or below the levels they would have been,” said HCE President and CEO Bryan Hannegan. “This clear ‘line of sight’ to success motivated the HCE Board of Directors to set a more ambitious 100% carbon-free electricity goal that meets our members’ desire for a clean energy future.”

To reach this new 100×30 goal, HCE will partner with its members to incorporate new, clean, dispatchable resources into its power supply mix and effectively integrate a wide range of options for flexible electricity consumption by the homes, buildings, vehicles, and businesses HCE serves.  Energy storage is also likely to play a role, both as large grid-tied resources (e.g., pumped storage) and smaller distributed resources (e.g., electric vehicle batteries).

“Today’s announcement is the next step in our commitment to provide safe, reliable, affordable, and increasingly sustainable energy and services that improve the quality of life for our members and their communities. We can all do our part on this shared journey to one hundred percent clean energy,” said Dave Munk, HCE Board Chair.