Click the link to read the article on the Steamboat Pilot & Today website (Suzie Romig). Here’s an excerpt:
February 26, 2026
A utility-scale battery energy storage facility was approved last week by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission with the project planned for construction southwest of the Hayden Power Station within the town limits of Hayden. Megan Castle, communications director for the Public Utilities Commission, said the 400 MW project was approved as part of 10 total bid projects accepted by the state commission. The project in Hayden will be led by Jupiter Power, a developer and operator of utility-scale battery energy storage systems with corporate offices in Austin, Houston and Chicago. The proposed energy storage facility would be located on a 72-acre site on Routt County Road 51 near the Hayden power plant and Yampa Valley Regional Airport and would connect by a new transmission line to the Mount Harris substation southeast of the main Hayden station. The stored energy would be sold to Xcel Energy through a Power Purchase Agreement, said Michelle Aguayo, senior media relations representative at Xcel.
“This project is a Power Purchase Agreement, where another company builds and maintains the project, and we purchase the power produced,” Aguayo said Tuesday.
Hayden Town Manager Mathew Mendisco said municipal leaders are excited about the forthcoming facility, and that Jupiter Power staff already has worked through the preliminary application process with the town and is expected to submit a formal application later this year. Mendisco said the town leadership is happy to have more light industrial development to continue to boost the local tax base.
“Development like this is always good,” Mendisco said. “The energy sector has been part of our economy for many years, and this fits right in. We are excited to have land near the airport developed, and we think this seems to be a good fit.”