Tri-State Commits to Big Shift from Fossil Fuels Towards Renewable Energy

DENVER, CO -- Today, Tri-State Generation and Transmission made some major renewable energy announcements as part of its Responsible Energy Plan:

• 100 percent clean energy in Colorado by 2040

• 50 percent more renewable energy from wind and solar by 2024, system-wide

• 90 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from generation facilities in Colorado by 2030, based on 2005 emission levels

Last week, Tri-State announced its intention to close two coal plants and one coal mine ahead of schedule: the Escalante and Craig power plants, and the Colowyo mine. 

Tri-State also announced it will cancel the proposed Holcomb Station coal plant project in Kansas. However, Tri-State still owns hundreds of megawatts of coal at the Laramie River Station in Wyoming and Springerville Unit 3 in Arizona. A recent study found that retiring Springerville 3 would save customers $424 million. 

Notably, Tri-State’s announcement did not include whether they plan to build any new fracked gas plants to replace retired coal power. A study by Rocky Mountain Institute finds that 90 percent of combined-cycle gas plants proposed for construction over the next five years could be cost-effectively avoided by building low cost clean energy instead. 

Tri-State provides power to 43 co-ops in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nebraska, and has been under increasing pressure to develop a swift and clear plan to transition away from coal and towards renewable energy. Two co-ops, New Mexico’s Kit Carson and Colorado’s Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA), already left the G&T, and Colorado’s La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) and United Power are both seeking buyouts from their contracts.

“Tri-State is making big commitments to clean energy that finally have it catching up to other utilities in the Southwest and setting the bar for Generation and Transmission cooperatives across the country,” said Emily Gedeon, Conservation Director at the Colorado Sierra Club. “As the G&T moves forward in its plan, we look forward to a transition from all fossil fuels to renewables, stabilization of rates for rural co-op members, and robust measures to support the communities transitioning away from coal.”

Tri-State currently generates nearly half its power from coal, with only nine percent of its total load coming from solar and wind. Tri-State’s restrictive contracts force co-ops to buy 95 percent of their power from them, preventing co-ops from building local, more affordable power.  Tri-State’s announced this morning that it was working to increase member contract flexibility and options to develop more local renewable generation with an update coming in April 2020, a process that has been ongoing since May 2019 following more than a decade of member frustrations on the topic.

“Tri-State has spent so long dictating how co-ops receive power but there is hope that co-op members will have an active role in new renewable energy generation with the G&T moving forward. A shift from coal to clean energy can create jobs, boost local revenue, and make rural Colorado communities leaders in clean energy,” said Joan May, a San Miguel Power Association co-op member. “That can not happen unless Tri-State decides to share the benefits of this new clean energy future with all of its co-ops.”