By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump, in an order that marked a major setback to the already struggling coal industry. The ruling from U.S. […]
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Posted inEnergy, News
Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from federal lands
By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review before […]
Posted inEnvironment, News
Xcel Energy agrees to close Pueblo’s Comanche 3 coal plant by 2031
Xcel Energy, under prodding from environmental groups and state regulators, is offering to close its Comanche 3 power plant — the largest coal-fired unit in Colorado — by 2031, putting an end to coal-fired electricity in the state. The $1 billion Comanche 3 unit, in Pueblo, went online in 2010 boasting advanced supercritical pulverized coal […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Craig, one of Colorado’s last coal towns, grapples with its future as its power plant and mine shut down
By Patty Nieberg, The Associated Press CRAIG — In a quiet valley tucked away from Colorado’s bustling ski resorts, far from his hometown in northern Mexico, Trinidad Loya found a way to support his family’s American dream: Coal. He, his son and grandson — all named Trinidad Loya — worked for the coal plant in […]
Posted inEconomy, Energy, News
Some worried western Montrose County would fade after the coal plant closed. It hasn’t.
Nucla — Brad Campbell took the best job he could after graduating high school, working at the local coal-fired power plant for up to $42 an hour. He got married, bought a house and paid it off in three years. When he learned Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association would close the Nucla plant early, in […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
Xcel promises to speed closure of coal-fired Comanche 3 electric plant. Environmental groups are unsatisfied.
Xcel Energy has agreed to accelerate the closure of its coal-fired Comanche 3 power plant by five years to 2035 as part of a settlement, supported by state, local and union officials, but opposed by environmental groups. Comanche 3 in Pueblo, one of the largest remaining coal-fired power plants in the West, has been a […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Colorado activists want gas-fired electrical plants to stop spewing pollution over Denver
Switching to natural gas from coal cut pollution at the Arapahoe and Cherokee electric generating stations nearly in half, but activists are now pushing for their early closure to speed the climate change battle and promote environmental justice. The Sierra Club issued a report Tuesday in partnership with community groups asking why the massive smokestacks […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
An obituary for coal at the Martin Drake Power Plant in Colorado Springs, by the numbers
COLORADO SPRINGS — After 95 years of pumping electricity and belching smoke across downtown Colorado Springs, the Martin Drake Power Plant stopped burning coal Saturday. Long targeted by angry neighbors and local and national environmental groups decrying the intense air pollution, Drake was one of the few downtown coal plants remaining in any large American […]
Posted inClimate, News
Interior Department launches review of climate damage from coal mining on public lands
By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officials launched a review Thursday of climate damage and other impacts from coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands its scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The review also will consider if companies are paying fair […]
Posted inBusiness, Housing, News, Outdoors
Here comes Hayden: One of Colorado’s last down-valley ski towns to pop is having its moment
HAYDEN — Mathew Mendisco plucks his beer mug, No. 67 and flagged with a Sasquatch sticker, off its hook at the Yampa Valley Brewing Company and heads to the bar for a refill. Mendisco, Hayden’s town manager, chats with the bartender, then waves at the three other people sitting in the brewery after work on […]