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Tri-State expects federal order to keep coal-fired power plant in northwestern Colorado running

A coal plant is seen amongst a rural setting.
Hugh Carey
/
The Colorado Sun
The Craig Station coal-burning power plant in Moffat County, Colorado, seen on Feb. 14, 2024, is expected to close by 2028.

Colorado’s march away from coal-fired electricity generation looks to be taking a pause as Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association may follow Xcel Energy in keeping open a coal-fired unit slated to close in December.

Tri-State, which serves 15 Colorado electric cooperatives, expects an order from the U.S. Department of Energy to extend the life of its 446-megawatt Craig Unit 1, which went online in 1980.

The unit is scheduled to close at the end of the year, and the Craig Station’s two other units will close in 2028.

Tri-State operates Craig Station, which it co-owns with the Salt River Project, the Platte River Power Authority, PacifiCorp and Xcel Energy.

Xcel Energy filed a petition with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 10 to extend operations at its 50-year-old Comanche 2 unit in Pueblo for an additional 12 months.

To read the entire story, visit The Colorado Sun.