Highline completes second renewable generation project

Highline Electric Association general manager Dennis Herman recently announced that construction of the Riverview solar project is complete and, as of Nov. 15, officially online.

Located adjacent to the Highline’s Platte Substation, Riverview is about 4 miles northeast of the Interstate 76 interchange in Sterling. Its over 5,000 solar panels sit on about 16 acres.

The setup utilizes single-axis tracking technology, so the panels face east in the morning and pivot along a single axis to follow the sun across the sky. At its peak, Riverview’s generating capacity is 1.5 megawatts. Herman explained that it’s enough to power 300-500 homes or about 20 average irrigation wells.

Highline’s contract with its wholesale power supplier allows the cooperative to own or control generation equivalent to 5% of its annual energy purchases. Between the Riverview solar project and the Trailblazer waste heat recovery project, HEA will receive 3.5%-4% of its annual energy requirements from local, renewable projects that it controls.

Herman wrote to members in Colorado Country Life, “We continue to pursue and evaluate other project options on Highline’s system that make sense for our membership and can be developed under the 5% contractual cap.”