Holy Cross Energy leads Colorado charge to renewables

Customers of the Glenwood Springs-based Holy Cross Energy may soon start getting texts with a lot more retail hustle than they’re used to from the trusty neighborhood power utility: “Looks like a great day for wind. We’ll be making some power. Plug your car in from 10 to 2 today and get a big discount.” A little marketing razzle-dazzle is a vital next step for the 45,000-member co-op utility. Holy Cross Energy leaped into the upper echelons of green co-ops in December, when wind and solar installations switched on that put it on track for 90%-plus renewable power by late in 2025. Now the 45,000-member utility must work with customers on the demand side, to stretch supplies when wind and sun are scarce and to distribute power when it’s available to as many batteries as possible. Holy Cross has beaten by six years the state’s goal of 80% greenhouse gas reductions from the power sector by 2030. To sustain the change, the utility must interact with customers, not dictate to them, Holy Cros

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• Camille Minns