Unified Renewable Energy Control Across Colorado
Holy Cross Energy deployed a centralized SCADA platform to improve operational visibility and optimize renewable power generation across multiple energy assets.
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Application Areas: Renewable energy management, SCADA systems, solar power, wind power, battery energy storage
Industry Sectors: Electric utilities, renewable energy, power generation
Holy Cross Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative serving more than 45,000 members, nearly 52,000 households and over 60,000 active meters across Western Colorado. The cooperative supplies electricity to residential communities, educational institutions, agricultural operations and tourism destinations, including the Aspen and Vail regions.
As the organization expanded its renewable energy portfolio, integrating solar, wind and battery storage assets from multiple locations became increasingly complex. Operators needed a more effective way to monitor generation assets, coordinate dispatch activities and maintain reliable service while meeting contractual and operational requirements.
Improving Visibility and Operational Decision-Making
Holy Cross Energy sought to create a unified operational environment capable of providing real-time visibility across its renewable generation facilities. The objective was to improve resource utilization, support market participation, simplify performance monitoring and maintain affordable, reliable energy delivery for cooperative members.
The organization also required access to detailed production data to support forecasting, billing processes, performance analysis and compliance management associated with power purchase agreements.
Deploying a Centralized Renewable Energy Management Platform
To address these challenges, Holy Cross Energy implemented Emerson’s Ovation Green SCADA software across four renewable generation facilities: Mamm Creek, High Mesa, Hunter and Bronco Plains II. The platform provides centralized monitoring, supervisory control and optimization capabilities for solar, wind and battery storage assets.
The deployment created a single operational platform that consolidates data from multiple renewable energy systems. Operators can monitor plant performance in real time, manage generation schedules and coordinate dispatch activities across the network from a centralized control center.
Why the Cooperative Selected the Solution
A key requirement for Holy Cross Energy was the ability to manage diverse renewable assets through a unified interface. The SCADA platform offered highly granular control of plant operations while supporting day-ahead and multi-day scheduling capabilities.
The system integrates key performance indicator dashboards, battery energy storage scheduling functions, compliance monitoring tools, telemetry management and downtime analysis within a single environment. These capabilities provide operators with a comprehensive view of system performance and support informed operational decision-making.
In addition, the platform enables rapid analysis of historical production data, allowing operational and business teams to evaluate plant performance, monitor contractual obligations and support financial processes such as billing and reporting.
Operational Benefits Across Multiple Renewable Assets
Following implementation, Holy Cross Energy gained centralized visibility across renewable generation assets supporting a network with an approximate peak load of 300 MW. The integrated system allows operators to optimize clean energy dispatch, improve forecasting activities and participate more effectively in energy markets.
According to Phil Armstrong, Power Supply Manager at Holy Cross Energy, “Integrating data from diverse renewable assets and systems into a single platform has given us access to the insights needed to make critical business decisions. This unified operational view helps us optimize resources, meet member needs, monitor contractual obligations and performance requirements, and support real-time market participation and forecasting.”
Supporting Reliable Renewable Power Delivery
By consolidating operational data and control functions into a single SCADA environment, Holy Cross Energy has strengthened its ability to manage renewable generation resources while maintaining reliable service for its members. The platform supports coordination of solar, wind and battery storage assets and provides the operational transparency required to manage an increasingly complex renewable energy portfolio.
Edited by Sucithra Mani, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.
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