The iron-air battery systems are needed to back up a grid increasingly powered by solar and wind
Comanche Station
Posted inEnvironment
Colorado wants to create carbon-capture hubs across the state. But locals aren’t sold.
State officials are all in on making Pueblo, Yuma and other areas into carbon-capture hubs, for jobs and revenue. But neighbors of the smokestacks don’t want more carbon under their ground.
Posted inWater
Early closure of Pueblo coal plant could force Xcel customers to pay up to $89M for water it doesn’t need
Customers of the state’s largest utility also are responsible for debt service on $27 million spent on never used southeastern Colorado ditch rights
Posted inEnvironment
Citizen scientists want clarity on hidden emissions from Pueblo’s coal-fired power plant
People in Pueblo are at the forefront of an emerging partnership between activists, conservationists and a newly created state unit to quantify environmental justice hotspots in Colorado communities and the toxic pollutants that bedevil them.
Posted inBusiness
The coal-fired power plant in Pueblo is seen as so unreliable one of its co-op owners wants out
CORE Electric says outages at the Pueblo plant increased the cost of electricity for 172,000 suburban and rural Colorado customers.
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Xcel Energy wants consumers to pay $1B to shut down 5 coal-fired power plants. Regulators want more study.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Friday balked at approving a billion-dollar price tag to shut down Xcel Energy’s five remaining coal-fired generating units — to be paid by customers — and instead is seeking more detailed financial analysis. The proposed closing costs were part of a settlement agreement between Xcel Energy, the state’s largest […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado rejects Xcel Energy’s attempt to extend the life of Pueblo’s coal plant by 12 more years
An agreement that would have locked in 12 more years of life for Xcel Energy’s troubled Comanche 3 coal-fired power plant was rejected by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Monday. All three commissioners voiced opposition to the deal, citing concerns over the plant’s reliability, the fact that early closure might be cheaper for consumers […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Colorado agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But first they exempted the biggest polluters.
When Colorado air pollution regulators started writing rules to cut 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions by heavy industry, the first thing they had to do was exempt the four largest polluters. The original law says that cement plants and steel plants, which in Colorado are currently emitting up to a million tons a year […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Closing a coal-fired power plant in Pueblo to meet Colorado climate goals is easier said than done
This much is certain: Comanche 3 — Xcel Energy’s $1.3 billion coal-fired power plant in Pueblo — is going to close. When and how are now issues of intense debate before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The fate of the plant — the state’s largest single emitter of carbon dioxide — is key to Colorado […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Cost of wholesale electricity nearly doubled for Colorado co-op suing Xcel Energy, its partner in Comanche 3
A suburban Front Range electric cooperative is suing Xcel Energy, seeking millions of dollars for breach of contract and mismanagement of the Comanche 3 power plant, of which the two companies share ownership. CORE Electric Cooperative is seeking damages for repairs to the damaged plant it was forced to pay for and for the extra […]