Renewable Portfolio Standard
PrintColorado’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requires each cooperative electric association to generate or cause to be generated renewable or recycled energy in the following minimum amounts:
One percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for each of the compliance years 2008 through 2010; Three percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for each of the compliance years 2011 through 2014; Six percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for each of the compliance years 2015 through 2019; and Ten percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for each of the compliance years beginning in 2020 and continuing thereafter.
Sangre de Cristo Electric is a distribution cooperative, meaning we purchase rather than generate the power we sell. We have an all-power-requirements contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which serves 44 member distribution cooperatives in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Tri-State is also a cooperative. Our contract with Tri-State allows us the option to purchase or generate up to 5% of our requirements from other sources, including renewable generation sources. The letters linked to this page indicate how we meet our RPS requirements.
While there are many viable renewable energy projects that could help us meet our RPS, Sangre de Cristo Electric’s board of directors developed a strategy for the cooperative to meet its RPS through projects that benefit the largest number of consumers. The goal is to use cooperative funds to develop projects for the greatest good, rather than to the benefit of a small number of individual consumers. In addition, the board directed that Sangre de Cristo Electric be kept financially whole when participating in any renewable generation project, to avoid rate impact. The most economical method of meeting our RPS is to request that Tri-State purchase sufficient renewable resources for us. This is because Tri-State owns and leases generating facilities, while Sangre de Cristo Electric owns, for the most part, only distribution facilities.
