Renewable energy incentives

Holy Cross Energy offers incentives to members who install qualifying renewable generation at their homes or businesses. Eligible systems include those using solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal or wind energy to generate electricity. We will allow members who install renewable energy generators up to 25 kW to net meter the generation against the electric consumption at the same meter.

Any member interested in installing a generator behind their meter must complete and submit a Generator Interconnect Application via e-mail to renewables@holycross.com or by mail to:

Holy Cross Energy
Attn: Renewables
PO Box 2150
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601

Generator Interconnection Resources
The following Generator Interconnect Policy shall apply to all generation resources including eligible renewable energy resources applying for connection to the Holy Cross Energy System.

Holy Cross Energy strives to provide our members with safe, reliable and affordable power. As such, we will continue to evaluate our policies and operations for efficiency, safety and environmental improvements.

A non-refundable interconnection study fee of $100 must accompany each interconnection application for systems with a nameplate capacity of 12-100 kW and $250 for systems with a nameplate capacity greater than 100 kW. The applicant may be responsible for additional study costs on a case by case basis, please review the information in our Generator Interconnect Policy for additional information.

Net metering

HCE will provide net metering service to members who install eligible generation behind their electric service meter. Under net metering, the net meter will record net generation when the generator is producing more power than is being used on site and record net usage whenever consumption exceeds production. At the end of the billing month, HCE will carry any excess generation forward to offset any net consumption on the next month’s bill. This will continue for 12 months, and excess power of the site’s usage delivered to HCE will be purchased at HCE’s incremental wholesale electricity cost, which will vary on annual basis. Consumer may choose to roll over the net excess generation from one year to the next; however, HCE will not pay for any excess generation.

HCE will net meter renewable energy generators up to 25 kW. Generators will be designed to supply no more than 200% of the electrical consumption at a meter over the prior 12 billing months (at the time of application). If insufficient billing history exists, HCE will estimate usage and specify a maximum allowable system size.

See the Renewable Energy Net Metering Service – Optional tariff sheet for further details on HCE net metering program.

How Net Metering Works and Understanding Your Bill for Renewable Energy Members

The following document explains how you receive credit on your bill for any renewable energy produced by an on-site generator. Line by line diagrams show detailed descriptions of how to understand your bill under different scenarios. This also includes a general description of all parts of the HCE bill.

How Net Metering Works – Production Meter (Click HERE)
How Net Metering Works – No Production Meter (Click HERE)

Interconnection Requirements

All generators designed to operate in parallel with the HCE distribution system for any length of time must provide a Generator Interconnection Application prior to beginning construction. A HCE engineer review and approval is required for interconnection for all generators. Information on HCE requirements and evaluation process can be found at our Generator Interconnect Policy page.

Incentives

For applications received by August 31, 2021, HCE has extended the reservation period to February 28, 2022 (instead of 120 days).

Incentives are available to HCE members who install renewable generation for net metering at their premises. Additional incentives are available for qualifying energy storage systems, with or without additional renewable generators. Current incentive levels are shown below. Incentives may be denied to members who proceed with installation of their systems prior to receiving written approval of a Generator Interconnection Application from HCE as described above.

HCE will reserve incentives for 120 days (February 28, 2022, for applications received by August 31, 2021) starting on the day the Generator Interconnection Application is received. Any installations not completed (including all required documentation) before the reservation expires will lose their reservation. Any system that has forfeited their reservation may be eligible for an incentive payment based on the incentive program in effect at the time all requirements are met, subject to the availability of funds.

Payment of any incentive is contingent on the assignment of all rights, title and interest in and associated with all RECs, green attributes or environmental offsets produced by the system, including the right to use all RECs for compliance with the Colorado Renewable Energy Standard.

The following incentives are available to be reserved for renewable systems that meet all HCE program requirements. Funding for incentives is limited to available funds on a first come, first-served basis.

0-6 kW	$250/kW
6-25 kW	$100/kW

The following incentives are available for energy storage systems that meet all HCE program requirements. Incentives are limited to available funds on a first come, first-served basis. These can be in addition to the incentives for renewable systems. Member must be enrolled in the Distribution Flexibility Program – Optional Tariff (DFT). At this time the Power+ Program is the specific program enrollment under the DFT, but HCE anticipates adding more programs in the future under the DFT framework.

0-25 kW

$500/kW

For members who chose not to be enrolled in the DFT, the following incentive is available for energy storage systems that meet all HCE program requirements. Incentives are limited to available funds on a first come, first-served basis. Member enrollment in the Time of Day – Optional Tariff (TOD) is one of the program requirements in this case, with storage software used to offset the member’s on-peak electricity consumption.

0-25 kW

$250/kW

The kW of an energy storage system that is eligible for HCE’s incentive payments is defined as the lesser of the (kW max continuous) or (kWh (1-SOC*)/2), where *SOC = a 20% minimum state of charge and kW is the maximum usable rate of discharge and kWh is the volume of energy available from a full state of charge. Typically kW and kWh are defined by the battery manufacturer.

For non-taxable entities, HCE will provide an incentive equal to 40% of the installed cost of a system (on a $ per kW basis) up to $500/kW for the first 25 kW of renewable generation installed at a site. Any eligible member must include documentation of their non-profit status at the time of application and must directly own the resource. Any renewable generator for which available federal tax credits are monetized is eligible for incentives under the tiered structure discussed above.

Renewable Energy systems installed for compliance with local or county program or code requirements, such as REMP or Eco-Build, or owned by third parties and leased to the HCE member of record are not eligible to receive an incentive payment under the above structures. However, HCE will offer a REC purchase price of $100/kW for the first 25 kW of renewable energy installed at a site. The current maximum generator size eligible for incentives for net metering under HCE tariffs is capped at 25 kW.

Program Rules & Limitations

The following rules apply to all generation incentives:

HCE is not liable for forfeiture of any incentive amounts due to changes in program structure, which may occur at any time; nor shall HCE be liable for the action or failure to act of Member, or any of the Member’s consultants, employees or contractors, including the installer. Any incentive payments are limited to available funds from HCE at HCE’s sole determination. It is the responsibility of the Member to contact Holy Cross Energy directly to determine eligibility for any incentives amounts. Projects installed by vendors not listed on HCE’s Preferred Installer list may not be eligible for incentives.
Generation must be sized to supply annually no more than 120% of the account’s previous 12 months electrical consumption. For new construction, HCE will estimate on-site electrical consumption.
No member may receive more than $30,000 related to the ownership of renewable generation. The member limit for energy storage systems is $15,000 and is in addition to the renewable generation limit.
Incentive payments will be reduced so that they do not exceed 40% of the installed cost of any project.
No rebates will be paid for any renewable generation capacity in excess of 25 kW per net metered account.
Incentives are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Failure to complete the installation of the renewable generation within 120 days of reservation will result in the loss of the reservation. No payment is guaranteed for any system that loses its incentive
HCE will not interconnect any net metering installation selling power to a member under a Power Purchase Agreement.
Members must be in good standing on all electric accounts at the date of application and continue to remain in good standing through the date that the payment is issued to be eligible for incentive payments. Good standing means no more than two disqualifying marks (late payments, disconnect for non-pay, etc.) on any electric account in the previous 12 billing months. Members will lose their eligibility to receive any incentive payment if they fall out of good standing with HCE.
Member owned generation facilities must be interconnected to Holy Cross’s electric distribution system to qualify for incentives and must conform to the terms of the HCE Interconnection Agreement.

Incentive Funding

Incentives for renewable generation are funded through the WE CARE rider on each HCE member’s electric bill. Incentives will be funded at the current level unless a change in funding is announced, or if reserved incentives exceed collected WE CARE funds.