{"id":18487,"date":"2025-07-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vallecito-hydroelectric-plant-returns-to-local-ownership-powering-regional-energy-shift\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:04:40","slug":"vallecito-hydroelectric-plant-returns-to-local-ownership-powering-regional-energy-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vallecito-hydroelectric-plant-returns-to-local-ownership-powering-regional-energy-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"Vallecito hydroelectric plant returns to local ownership, powering regional energy shift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Sam
Sam Perry, CEO and co-owner of Ptarmigan Resources & Energy, and Mike Canterbury, power plant operator and dam manager for Pine River Irrigation District, walk through the hydroelectric plant below Vallecito Dam on Wednesday. Ptarmigan recently purchased the plant, bringing it under local ownership for the first time. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

VALLECITO \u2013 A hydroelectric plant below Vallecito Dam has served as a modest but steady source of renewable energy since the late 1980s.<\/p>\n

Now, 40 years since its inception, it has come under local ownership for the first time.<\/p>\n

Ptarmigan Resources & Energy, a Durango-based company, recently purchased the plant from Aspen-based Wally Obermeyer, the project\u2019s original developer.<\/p>\n

The move places the plant in the hands of a local owner \u2013 just miles from its turbines \u2013 as La Plata Electric Association prepares to exit its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission next spring.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Canterbury works the control board that monitors the hydroelectric plant at Vallecito Reservoir. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The exit allows LPEA to buy power directly from providers, expanding and diversifying energy sources. One of LPEA\u2019s first steps was signing a 10-year power purchase agreement with Ptarmigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exciting to have it under local management and then to be selling it to the local co-op at a discount,\u201d said Ptarmigan CEO Sam Perry.<\/p>\n

Almost two years ago, Obermeyer received a cancer diagnosis and reached out to Perry to discuss a possible transfer of ownership.<\/p>\n

The transition follows years of planning, including Perry\u2019s careful negotiation of a short-term contract with Tri-State that will expire on the same day LPEA completes its long-planned buyout.<\/p>\n

Perry, who has closely followed the co-op\u2019s push for independence, said the timing couldn\u2019t be better.<\/p>\n

\u201cCutting out the middleman is an incredible win-win for both La Plata Electric and us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Now, Perry can charge more while the co-op pays less.<\/p>\n

Local ownership also means quicker response times and greater flexibility in meeting the region\u2019s evolving energy needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith LPEA moving away from coal and Tri-State as their primary power source, there\u2019s a lot of opportunity for new infrastructure, and we hope to play a key role in that transition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cWith
\u201cWith LPEA moving away from coal and Tri-State as their primary power source, there\u2019s a lot of opportunity for new infrastructure, and we hope to play a key role in that transition,\u201d said Ptarmigan Resources & Energy CEO Sam Perry. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Perry is already planning upgrades. The company is exploring the possibility of building an on-site battery storage facility \u2013 using existing grid connections to store excess power and help LPEA manage demand fluctuations throughout the day and year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe generate a lot in the summer, when irrigation demand is high, but not much in the winter,\u201d he said. \u201cWith storage, we can get more value out of the system and help LPEA as it builds a more flexible, modern grid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The changes come amid major shifts in Colorado\u2019s energy economy. LPEA\u2019s exit from Tri-State\u2019s restrictive all-requirements contract allows the co-op to choose where its power comes from \u2013 and at what cost.<\/p>\n

For Perry, who has worked on hydro projects across the West, having a facility in his backyard feels like a rare opportunity.<\/p>\n

\"The
The hydroelectric plant owned by Ptarmigan Resources & Energy is located below Vallecito Dam and releases the water it uses to generate up to 5.8 megawatts annually into the Pine River. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Vallecito Dam was built in 1941 for flood control and irrigation. Power generation came decades later when Obermeyer, an early small-scale hydro advocate, developed the plant in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n

The project was part of what Perry called the \u201cpurple boom\u201d \u2013 a brief period when federal tax incentives made hydro development financially viable.<\/p>\n

Using a 10-foot-diameter pipeline, the plant diverts water from the reservoir to a turbine more than 100 feet below. The pressure differential spins a shaft that powers a generator and sends electricity to the grid.<\/p>\n

At peak output, it can produce up to 5.8 megawatts \u2013 enough to power about 2,500 homes annually.<\/p>\n

\"The
The hydroelectric plant, owned by Ptarmigan Resources & Energy, is located below Vallecito dam. The plant will provide an alternative method for delivering water to irrigators when the spillway undergoes construction in coming years. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Hydro\u2019s quiet strength<\/div>\n

Though small, the Vallecito plant provides a type of power the grid increasingly depends on.<\/p>\n

\u201cHydropower is probably the only renewable energy resource that runs consistently through the day,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n

Unlike solar, which peaks midday and depends on clear skies, hydro runs around the clock.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs peak demand grows in the evening and the grid becomes saturated with power during the day, hydro is going to play a bigger and bigger role in kind of stabilizing the grid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hydropower provides grid stability services by helping regulate voltage and frequency. The physical mass of the plant\u2019s turbines act like a giant flywheel, smoothing out fluctuations.<\/p>\n

It also requires fewer resources than other forms of power.<\/p>\n

The engineering and equipment responsible for generating power are simple and don\u2019t need frequent replacement, said Mike Canterbury, dam manager for Pine River Irrigation District.<\/p>\n

\"The
The hydroelectric plant, owned by Ptarmigan Resources & Energy, is located on the Pine River, below Vallecito Dam. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The current equipment has been in use since its original installation in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

It also requires minimal staffing. Most day-to-day operations are automated. Canterbury oversees the plant, and when he\u2019s on break, PRID Superintendent Ken Burke steps in.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the plant provides some logistic security for PRID, the district that manages the reservoir and the dam.<\/p>\n

In the next several years, a complete renovation project must be done on the spillway, Burke said.<\/p>\n

The plant also supports local agriculture.<\/p>\n

While its primary role is power generation, the facility shares infrastructure with the Pine River Irrigation District, which operates the dam and controls water releases from Vallecito Reservoir.<\/p>\n

Perry said the hydro plant allows irrigators to continue receiving water without relying on the spillway.<\/p>\n

Even as Southwest Colorado faces more frequent drought and reduced snowpack, Burke, Canterbury and Perry remain optimistic about the plant\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\"A
A plaque on one of the turbines at the Vallecito hydroelectric plant. Hydropower stabilizes the electric grid; the physical mass of the plant\u2019s turbines acts like a giant flywheel, smoothing out energy fluctuations. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThis year, it\u2019s like divine deliverance,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t state it any better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite a dry winter, the reservoir is full, and water is flowing at optimal levels \u2013 feeding farms and powering the grid all at once.<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Durango firm takes over as LPEA exits Tri-State, eyes energy independence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1427,876,28,1231,1426,1500],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-18487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-energy-general","tag-energy-resources","tag-headlines","tag-pine-river-times","tag-renewable-energy","tag-vallecito"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20617,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18487\/revisions\/20617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18487"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=18487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}