The Fort Collins Sustainability Group, 350 Northern Colorado, and Community for Sustainable Energy are calling on their supporters to let the Fort Collins City Council know that we want an independent review of the PRPA’s recently published Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that led their board to decide to build a new gas plant.  Please plan on coming to the City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 17th at 6:00 p.m. or write to your councilmembers to make this ask.  Additional details below.

Background

  1. At the Ft. Collins City Council meeting on 8/20/24, after listening to our public comment, Councilmember Kelly Ohlson proposed that FC city council consider a resolution requiring PRPA to have an independent review of the IRP to determine if new gas turbines are needed or there is a better renewable energy alternative.
  2. At their meeting on 8/22/24, the Fort Collins Energy Board discussed recommending to FC city council that they “trust but verify” the current PRPA IRP approved by the board on 7/25/24.  They recommend a third party review of the IRP by an entity that has more expertise in renewable energy.
  3. At the PRPA Board meeting on 8/29/24 the board passed a reimbursement resolution allowing for a $35M down payment to GE for aeroderivative gas turbines. 

Next steps

Our next event in opposing the proposed PRPA gas plant is making public comment at the Fort Collins City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 17 at 6:00 pm at 300 LaPorte Ave. We would like to have a big turnout for this, so please try to come if you possibly can! Please wear green if you are able to show up! You can also submit written comments if you aren’t able to attend in person by sending an e-message to: CityCouncil@fcgov.com.

Registration to speak will open on Thursday 9/12. Please sign up in advance here: https://www.fcgov.com/council-meeting-participation-signup/2024-09-17/18:00, and please reply to this email to let us know if you plan to come.

Here are some talking points to help in drafting your comments:

  1. We want the FC City Council to require an independent review of PRPA’s recently published Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to determine if a new gas plant is needed or if there is a better renewable energy alternative. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory could provide the review. We need to be sure that the PRPA’s decision is the best one possible for both our ratepayers and the environment.
  2. It is irresponsible of the PRPA board to push ahead with this plan while disregarding their member communities’ clean energy goals and the damage that new fossil fuel generation will do to the climate and our already poor air quality.
  3. The 100% non-carbon goals were not just “aspirational” for the four member cities  and should have been the basis of the IRP. Hiring an engineering consultant that specializes in gas and a modeler that specialize in Investor Owned Utilities modeling produces the inevitable outcome of more gas.
  4. PRPA By-laws are written as corporate governance. The Board members fiduciary responsibility is to PRPA, not the member cities. If they have a conflict, their only choice is to recuse themselves. For municipal utilities, the city councils are the parties responsible to regulate rates for ratepayers, so FC city council has a fiduciary responsibility to the ratepayers. The City Council needs to do its fiduciary duty by requiring a review rather than simply approving a 60 – 80% rate increase over the next 10 years.
  5. PRPA is the lowest performer of all the utilities in the state in adopting clean energy plans. They refuse to provide the state with interim goals to 2030. Lawmakers and environmental advocates fear that PRPA is falling behind on climate targets.
  6. PRPA is saying they are going with proven technology but 100% hydrogen (which they claim their turbines will be able to burn in the next decade) is far from proven and the cost would be exorbitant. Renewables and storage are far more proven technologies.
  7. PRPA already has 388 Mega Watts (MW) of gas turbines and 70 MW of hydro which is 60% of a 750 MW capacity. This can provide the “insurance” against severe weather with a dark-calm period.
  8. Proceeding with the construction of a gas plant now will entail significant rate increases of 6.3% per year for the first five years, and then a little over 5% per year for the next five years. The City of Fort Collins is rightly promoting the electrification of buildings and transportation as an important tool in reaching its climate goals. The projected increases in the electric rate will make progress on electrification much more difficult than would otherwise be the case, putting the achievement of our climate goals at risk.

Thanks so much for your persistence and passion. We can build a better future, and we need to start right now!