Boulder County Landowners Offered $15,000 Annually to Host Large Battery Energy Storage Systems
Developers in Boulder County are offering landowners $15,000 per year to host large battery energy storage systems (BESS) on their property. These BESS units, which are roughly the size of shipping containers, are designed to store electricity during periods of low demand and release it back into the grid when demand is high. This initiative is part of Xcel Energy's first attempt to acquire commercial batteries at scale, aiming to ease pressure on the utility’s distribution system and improve overall grid performance. The search for suitable properties is focused on areas with sufficient open space and access to specific points on Xcel’s distribution network where these systems would be most beneficial. A 2024 state law, Senate Bill 24-207, mandates that investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy acquire at least 50 megawatts of dispatchable distributed generation paired with energy storage by June 1, 2026, and an additional 50 megawatts between January 1 and June 1, 2027. While these offers support the tra...