Colorado Awards $15M Across 28 Community Microgrid Projects
- Emergency & Local Government Microgrids News
Marin Holt
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- 5 minutes read
- Colorado MCR program has awarded over $15 million across 28 community microgrid projects since 2022
- 10 projects from 2023-2024 rounds are now complete, with 18 in design or construction phases
- Poudre Valley REA received ~$900K for a 350 kW/1,200 kWh battery microgrid at Livermore
- Platte River Power Authority awarded $350K supporting a 5 MW/20 MWh Estes Park storage microgrid
- Nationally, 49 states received $473.6 million in FY2024 grid resilience formula grants
Colorado’s Microgrids for Community Resilience (MCR) program funded four additional microgrid projects in 2025, bringing cumulative awards to more than $15 million across 28 projects since the program launched under House Bill 22-1013. Ten projects from 2023 and 2024 funding rounds have been completed, with the remaining 18 in various stages of design and construction. Applications for the next round opened January 7, 2026.
Program Structure and Recent Awards
The MCR program draws from both state appropriations under HB22-1013 and federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40101(d) formula funding allocated to Colorado. Rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities serving communities at significant risk of severe weather or natural disasters are eligible for up to $2.5 million per construction grant, with a one-third cost match requirement. In the most recent round, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Authority received approximately $900,000 for a 350 kW/1,200 kWh battery and microgrid controller at its Livermore facility. United Power secured $700,000 to install microgrid batteries at fire stations in disadvantaged communities. Platte River Power Authority received $350,000 to support a 5 MW/20 MWh battery for the Estes Park Storage Microgrid Project.
The Colorado Energy Office and Department of Local Affairs released a Microgrid Roadmap in January 2025 that defines evaluation criteria for priority projects and recommends policies to accelerate deployment. The roadmap complements a separate Grid Hardening program for cooperatives and municipal utilities selling less than 4 million MWh annually, with its 2025 funding round closing November 3, 2025.
Critical Analysis
Colorado’s 28 community microgrid projects predominantly interconnect on rural cooperative feeders with high source impedance (ISC/IL typically below 20), placing each solar-plus-storage inverter under IEEE 519-2022 Table 2’s strictest tier: 5% TDD and 4% for harmonics below order 11 at the PCC. 28 inverter-based microgrids on rural Colorado cooperative territory increase DER penetration on high-impedance radial feeders.
5-Year Projection
During the 5-year outlook, capitalized Battery Energy Storage ventures will drastically compress technology iteration cycles, demanding continuous utility-level adaptations to accommodate high-velocity product launches.
Critical Perspective
The Colorado Microgrids for Community Resilience program has awarded over $15 million across 28 projects since its inception. In the most recent round, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Authority received approximately $900,000 for a 350 kW/1,200 kWh battery and microgrid controller. However, it is worth noting that the California Independent System Operator’s microgrid initiative, which aimed to integrate 1.3 GW of storage by 2020, fell short of its target, raising questions about the feasibility of similar projects. Historically, the 2012 FERC Order 755, which incentivized demand response, faced implementation challenges and underperformed, casting doubt on the effectiveness of such programs. Will Colorado’s microgrid program avoid the pitfalls of its predecessors and successfully integrate these projects into the grid?
