Xcel Energy to Build 7 Community Microgrids. Negotiating with Siemens and Fluence
Source: Elisa Wood | MICROGRID KNOWLEDGE
Denver, Colorado. Photo by f11photo/Shutterstock.com
Xcel Energy is seeking regulatory approval to move forward with seven microgrids, at a cost to the utility of $23.4 million, chosen from a community resilience solicitation that the Colorado utility issued in May.
The microgrids will serve the Denver International Airport Automated Guideway Transit System; National Western Center; Denver Rescue Mission’s Lawrence Street Community Center; City of Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities; Town of Nederland Community Center; Summit County Middle School; and Alamosa Family Recreation Center.
The petition for approval and cost recovery is before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (Proceeding 19A-0225E).
The solicitation netted 20 proposals from 13 communities across Xcel’s service territory. In selecting winners, the utility looked for applicants with emergency services that would benefit from microgrids. Finalists were scored based on a system that gave 50 points for project feasibility, 20 points for societal benefit and 30 points for grid benefits.
After choosing the communities, Xcel issued another solicitation in September for the microgrids’ batteries and related technology. The solicitation went out to 10 battery system integrators and five microgrid providers. From there, the utility began negotiations with Siemens and Fluence, a joint venture of Siemens and AES.
Charles Gouin, Xcel Energy business technology consultant, said in the testimony that Xcel selected Siemens and Fluence for negotiatons “based on system performance, a strong track record, and a lower price point.”
The $23.4 million cost applies to four categories: medium voltage work, battery energy system, systems integration and operations and maintenance, Gouin said.
Xcel will provide 6 MW/15 MWh of energy storage for the microgrids. The communities will supply solar and back-up generators. Some of the communities already have the generating assets, Gouin said, while others will add solar, expanding the renewable energy on the utility’s system.
The utility sees the projects as a way to learn more about microgrid development and operation after already gaining some experience by building the Panasonic microgrid, which went into operation in 2017. Gouin said Xcel incorporated many of the lessons learned from the Panasonic project into the conceptual design work completed to date on the seven microgrids.
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