Colorado Lawmakers Move To Extend Coal Plant Operations As Energy Prices Rise
By Jason Plautz | E&E News
A plan to postpone the retirement of the Ray Nixon Power Plant comes as Colorado wrestles with its climate targets.
CLIMATEWIRE | Colorado lawmakers are poised to extend the life of a coal plant three years beyond a state-mandated retirement deadline — a backtrack that underscores Colorado's growing tension between climate goals and energy affordability.
Under state law, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) was required to shutter the Ray Nixon Power Plant by the end of 2029, part of the state’s effort to fully move away from coal power by 2031 and run a 100 percent renewable energy grid by 2040.
But the process of replacing the plant with renewable sources has proven more expensive and time-consuming than anticipated, and CSU h...



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