CORE Electric Cooperative and Invenergy have formed a new wholesale power supply partnership that will provide Colorado with more than 1.2 TWh of renewable energy per year. The partnership includes approximately 400 MW of new solar and wind energy projects and 100 MW of battery storage, backed up by more than 300 MW of existing natural gas resources starting in 2026.
CORE is the largest electric distribution cooperative in Colorado, while Invenergy is a leading privately held developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy solutions headquartered in Chicago. The agreement between the companies paves the way for CORE’s future as the cleanest, most reliable, most affordable electric company in Colorado and signal CORE’s transformation to a fully independent electric utility with control of its power supply future.
“CORE’s innovative partnership with Invenergy demonstrates that the transition to a clean and reliable energy future can be done without sacrificing affordability for our members,” said Jeff Baudier, CEO of CORE Electric Cooperative. “With Invenergy, a proven and like-minded developer that can react and deliver in record time, CORE is competitively positioned to support native growth and aggressively pursue new business.”
Invenergy brings extensive experience building flexible, sustainable energy solutions as one of the largest developers of clean and renewable energy projects in the world and has successfully developed seven projects currently in operation in Colorado. The power agreements cover a 20-year term between Invenergy and CORE.
“This partnership between Invenergy and CORE signifies a key moment in Colorado’s clean energy transition,” said Jim Shield, senior executive vice president and development business leader at Invenergy. “Invenergy is proud to be CORE’s chosen partner and to help them meet their important renewable energy and reliability objectives through our flexible energy solutions.”
Combined with CORE’s existing generating assets, these new agreements will supply the bulk of CORE’s wholesale energy needs. With this partnership, CORE will advance its objective of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2030 and create more flexibility to implement additional battery storage and other technologies in the future. It will also secure dispatchable resources to ensure service reliability. The portfolio will stabilize CORE’s costs to keep members’ rates among the lowest in Colorado for years to come.
“After months of thorough analysis and diligent planning, we’re excited to announce CORE’s future in delivering our members affordable, reliable and clean power as Colorado’s premier energy provider,” said Tim White, CORE’s board president.
The selection followed a competitive evaluation of service provider proposals and was approved by CORE’s member-elected board of directors.
— Solar Builder magazine
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