Craig Station Unit 2 owners announce retirement date of Sept. 30, 2028
As previously announced, Unit 1 will retire by the end of 2025 and Unit 3 will retire by 2030
(July 8, 2020 – Craig, Colo.) – After months of analysis and discussion, the five owners of the Craig Station Unit 2 have reached a unanimous decision to retire the 410-megawatt generating unit on Sept. 30, 2028.
Craig Station is a 1,285-megawatt, three-unit generating facility in Moffat County, Colo. Craig Station Units 1 and 2 make up the Yampa Project, owned by PacifiCorp, Platte River Power Authority, Salt River Project, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Xcel Energy - Colorado.
The Yampa Project owners previously announced the retirement of the 427-megawatt Unit 1 by the end of 2025. The 448-megawatt Craig Station Unit 3, which is owned by Tri-State, will retire by 2030.
As the operator of Craig Station, Tri-State will work with local officials and the State of Colorado to develop a transition plan for those impacted by the retirement of the power plant, which currently employs 240.
"Even though the Unit 2 retirement date is only one year earlier than the full retirement date for Craig Station, the decision weighed heavily on us," said Duane Highley, CEO of Tri-State. "As we implement our Responsible Energy Plan, we remain focused on working with our partners in the plant, as well as local and state leaders, to support our employees and the community through this transition."
"Platte River continues to take the steps needed to meet our board-adopted Resource Diversification Policy," said Platte River Power Authority General Manager/CEO Jason Frisbie. "This agreement is another important step among many we need to take to reach that goal. Each of the five partners in the Yampa Project face different challenges associated with this resource and we greatly appreciate Tri-State's leadership in the process to find the most optimal date for Unit 2's retirement."
"We appreciate Tri-State's leadership as operator of the Craig Station and the work by our joint partners on the decision. As a company with a vision to deliver 100% carbon-free electricity to our customers by 2050, Xcel Energy recognizes this is not an easy decision. We believe in providing as much advance notice as possible so we can work with our economic and community partners through this transition," said Alice Jackson, president, Xcel Energy - Colorado.
Craig Station was constructed by Colorado-Ute Electric Association and began operations between 1979 and 1984.
About the Yampa Project Owners
PacifiCorp serves more than 1.9 million customers in the West. PacifiCorp operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington and California, and as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. For more information, visit pacificorp.com.
Platte River Power Authority is a not-for-profit wholesale electric generation and transmission provider that delivers safe, reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable energy and services to its owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, Colorado for delivery to their utility customers. For more information, visit prpa.org.
SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest provider of electricity in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving more than 1 million customers. SRP also is the metropolitan area's largest supplier of water, delivering about 800,000 acre-feet annual to municipal, urban and agricultural water users. For more information, visit srpnet.com.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. is a not-for-profit cooperative of 45 members, including 42 member utility electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts in four states that together deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power to more than a million electricity consumers across nearly 200,000 square miles of the West. For more information about Tri-State and our Responsible Energy Plan, visit tristate.coop.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
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Contact:
Tri-State - Lee Boughey, 303-254-3555; Mark Stutz, 303-254-3183
Pacificorp - Spencer Hall, 801-220-4092
Platte River Power Authority - Steve Roalstad, 970-229-5311
SRP - Scott Harelson, 602-236-2500
Xcel Energy - Michelle Aguayo, 303-294-2300