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The Trump administration has asked another coal-fired power plant to stay open, this time ordering the owner of one colorado generators to keep them running beyond Wednesday’s retirement date.
Compliance will cost the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and other owners of the Craig power plant in northwest Colorado. Tri-State said in a statement that the plant owner needed to repair a damaged valve that caused the plant’s 446-megawatt Unit 1 to cease operations on Dec. 19.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s order comes recently Department of Energy Steps taken to keep coal-fired power stations operating IndianaWashington State and michigan Despite their owners’ efforts to shut them down.
It’s part of President Donald Trump’s push to revitalize the U.S. coal industry, as many utilities turn to cheaper, less polluting energy sources like natural gas and renewables. At the same time, the government banned renewable energy, including wind energy.
The 45-year-old Colorado generator, one of three at the Craig station, was scheduled to shut down by the end of 2025.
“As a nonprofit cooperative, our members will bear the costs of complying with this order unless we can find a way to share the costs with our partners in the region,” Tri-State CEO Duane Highley said in a statement.
The power plant owner has been planning to shut down Unit 1 since 2016 for economic reasons and to comply with “numerous state and federal requirements.”
When asked how much it would cost and how long it would take to get the unit back online, Tri-State spokesperson Amy Robertson said via email that the utility had no more information to share.
The generator must remain operational to address power and generation shortages in the northwest U.S., Wright wrote in an emergency order Tuesday to keep the unit operational.
“The Trump Administration is committed to lowering energy costs and keeping American families safe,” Wright said in a release.
Wade Gerber, who works at the power plant, said the announcement changes little for Colorado’s coal country, which is undergoing a long-term shift away from fossil fuels as the backbone of the local economy.
He sees Craig, a city of about 9,000 people, as caught up in a dizzying political battle.
“What is this administration going to do? What is the next administration going to do? Is it going to produce (coal) anything long-term? No, probably not,” Gerber said.
Gerber recently opened a brewery to serve the cocktail bar his wife owns next door, and plans to begin wider distribution in 2026.
“I’ve told both of my bosses that if something happens even a little bit, I can tell you: ‘This is my two weeks’ notice,'” Gerber said.
Colorado officials criticized the Trump administration’s order as hurting electricity customers.
“It is unacceptable for taxpayers to shoulder these unnecessary costs,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett said in a statement.
The power plant was completed in 1980. Its Units 2 and 3 are scheduled to be decommissioned in 2028. The power plant’s fuel is mined at the nearby Trapper Mine, which is also scheduled to close.
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Brittany Peterson in Denver contributed to this report.
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