Grand Valley Power Awarded $1.9 Million Federal Grant to Mitigate Wildfire Risks on the Grand Mesa
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office, Award Number DE-GD0000885.
GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. — (October 2, 2024) — Grand Valley Power has received $1.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to enhance wildfire protection and resilience in the communities it serves by making critical upgrades to its electric system.
Grand Valley Power is a member of a consortium of 38 electric co-ops and other rural utilities selected to receive federal funding through the Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project, or “WARN.”
The cooperative will use the funding to underground 2.3 miles of existing power line serving the Mesa Lakes area.
The line is largely inaccessible except on foot or, in times of bad weather, on snowmobile. With the conversion to underground, residents can anticipate fewer power outages. Underground lines also offer significantly more protection from the threat of wildfire ignition by utility equipment.
Led by Holy Cross Energy in coordination with NRECA Research, WARN will provide more than $145 million in wildfire mitigation funding to co-ops across 16 states in the central and western United States to drive energy resilience in high-risk rural areas. WARN funding comes from DOE’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Grand Valley Power is working with the U.S. Forest Service on environmental permitting. Once approvals are in place, the cooperative will coordinate with contractors to clear trees and begin excavation. The work is expected to start in early 2027 and may continue into 2028.
Request for Proposals
GVP is seeking bids on the 2027 Mesa Lakes Overhead to Underground project (PDF). Join us at the Grand Valley Power Office, 845 22 Rd, Grand Junction on October 28, 2026 for a Request for Proposal Meeting.
Let us know at engineering@gvp.org how many people plan to attend.
Agenda
8:00 - 9:30 a.m. RFP discussion and project overview.
9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Drive to Mesa Lakes Lodge
10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Job walk through.
Bring hiking shoes, water and a jacket, and be prepared for all weather conditions. The path requires walking long distances on unimproved and varied terrain, including steep inclines.
Grand Valley Power is finalizing details on the RFP document and will send it upon completion. In the meantime, send a representative from your company to the Request for Proposal Meeting.
This project will involve tree removal. The Electrical Contractor is responsible for obtaining a sub to do this work. If you have a sub that you would like to attend the meeting, please share this information with them. GVP has invited some local tree removal companies that are willing to provide bids for this work.
Executive Summary of the Project
- Convert roughly 2.91 miles of 1950’s overhead line to underground in a densely forested area with significant elevation change, substantial trees, and rocks. Currently this line is accessible only on foot.
Project Details
Major Construction items
- Trench 3 miles within a 50’ ROW-Shown in Orange below
- Install 28,774’ of 3” HDPE. 2 parallel 3” HDPE pipes will be installed in the same trench for roughly 13,500’.
- Pull ~13,500’ of 1/0 single phase primary (24.9/14.4kV) in 3” HDPE
- Pull ~2,000’ of 350 MCM TPX
- New Overhead construction
- Primary ~1,600’ #4 ACSR
- Secondary nearly 800’ 2 Triplex
- Install QTY 19 Padmount Transformers (7.2/12.47KV) and associated equipment
- Depth: 4’ is the minimum depth
- Retirement of overhead lines and structures.
