Grand Valley Power, Colorado’s oldest rural electric cooperative, announced it will purchase 1.4 megawatts of electricity from the nonprofit Redlands Water and Power Company over the next three years. Generated by a Redlands Water and Power hydropower plant, the renewable energy is enough to power about 420 homes.

“This agreement underscores our commitment to driving a sustainable future and increasing our system’s resilience while meeting our members’ energy needs with locally produced power,” said Tom Walch, Grand Valley Power’s chief executive officer.

The electricity is generated by the company’s small hydropower plant on Power Road in Grand Junction. The plant is a diversion facility that channels water from one of the company’s canals through a penstock to produce energy. The canal is fed upriver by the Gunnison at the Redlands Dam and eventually returns to the Colorado River.

Grand Valley Power will take delivery of all the available electricity produced by the Power Road hydropower plant.

“Having our power used locally strengthens our commitment to the community and our neighbors,” said Jon Mauch, RWP board president. “Producing and using this clean, carbon-free energy in Mesa County is a huge win for RWP, GVP and the Grand Valley.”

The agreement furthers the power providers’ commitment to sustainability and investing in local clean energy production on the Western Slope. As of 2023, 55.4 percent of Grand Valley Power’s energy portfolio was sourced from renewable wind, solar, hydro and nuclear energy sources.

Beginning in 2028, the electric cooperative has procured a contract for the equivalent of 26 megawatts of clean power from a solar agri-voltaics facility under development in neighboring Delta County.