2026 Conference Sessions

How Aeroderivatives Support PRPA’s Decarbonization Plan

January 20, 2026

02:15 PM - 03:00 PM

302A

All About the Gas Turbine

Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), the municipal utility serving four northern Colorado cities, is in the midst of a major investment to support its transition toward a lower-carbon portfolio. Following its 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, PRPA is moving ahead with the installation of 200 MW of aeroderivative gas turbines designed to provide fast-start, flexible capacity that complements wind, solar and battery storage.

This session, led by PRPA with support from HDR, will explore the drivers behind the project, including the need for dispatchable resources to maintain reliability as renewable penetration grows. Panelists will dig into the utility’s decision-making process, from technology assessment to turbine selection, and share candid lessons from project execution so far. Attendees will walk away with an insider’s view of how a forward-looking municipal utility is delivering on decarbonization goals while keeping the lights on for its growing communities.

Chairperson

Arun Murali, AVP, Power Gen Practice Leader SC US - HDR Inc.

Speakers

Jace Staponski, Sr. Plant Mechanical Engineer - Platte River Power Authority

Steve Bergdolt, Senior Project Manager - HDR

Session Presentation

POWERGEN has been really helpful in identifying the industry scale of what’s going on behind the scenes, and how that affects each and every one of us across different divisions, levels, and inputs in the industry itself [...] That’s something not everybody gets to experience at other conferences.

Sarah White

Associate Electric Co-op, Inc.

The most valuable part of POWERGEN is networking with peers, walking the exhibit floor, and seeing all the activity and energy across the industry. For me, the level of engagement is a strong indication that the future of this industry is in a good place, and I’m excited to be representing this event.

Raj Katamreddy

Vistra

I love the networking. Everyone who’s part of POWERGEN is here, and it’s great to collaborate, meet new vendors in the market, see who’s doing what, and learn about the projects that are happening. It’s a great place for intel.

Sarah Hoelzen

The Williams Companies, Inc

POWERGEN is really important to us. It's an ideal opportunity to come meet existing customers and partners, meet new customers and partners, and showcase the new products that we bring to market.

Sarah Nicholls

STAMFORD | AVK

POWERGEN gives us the opportunity to meet prospective engineering firms, EPCs, and customers, and to share insight into our capabilities in manufacturing centrifugal pumps and supporting the nuclear industry.

Santosh KulkarnI

ANDRITZ

POWERGEN allows us to connect with all of our peers and it brings in folks that are maybe not quite familiar with everything in power, and they get to come to one place and see it all in one place and make new connections.

Sammy Haggar

Wildcat Power Gen