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Craig Station is an operating power station of at least 1427-megawatts (MW) in Craig, Moffat, Colorado, United States. It is also known as Yampa project (Unit 1, Unit 2).
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Craig Station | Craig, Moffat, Colorado, United States | 40.4627, -107.591153 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 40.4627, -107.591153
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 446.4 | subcritical | 1980 | 2025 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 446.4 | subcritical | 1979 | 2028 (planned) |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal - subbituminous | 534.8 | subcritical | 1984 | 2028 (planned) |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | PacifiCorp [19.28%], Platte River Power Authority [18.0%], Public Service Company of Colorado [9.72%], Salt River Project (SRP) [29.0%], Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc [24.0%] |
| Unit 2 | PacifiCorp [19.28%], Platte River Power Authority [18.0%], Public Service Company of Colorado [9.72%], Salt River Project (SRP) [29.0%], Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc [24.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc [100.0%] |
Financing
- Units 1 and 2: PacifiCorp 19%[1], Platte River Power Authority 18%[2], Salt River Project 29%[3], Public Service Company of Colorado 10%[4] and Tri-State Generation and Transmission 24%[5]
Retirement plans
In September 2016, it was reported Craig Station Unit 1, a 446 MW unit built in 1979, will be shut down by December 31, 2025.[6] Unit 2 (also 446 MW) is planned for retirement in 2026.[7]
During a media call on January 9, 2020 executives from Tri-State Generation and Transmission said that Units 2 and 3 will retire in 2030 and Unit 1 is still on schedule for retirement in 2025. Before the annoucement Units 2 and 3 were scheduled for closure in 2038 and 2044, respectively.[8][8]
In July 2020, S&P Global reported that Tri-State announced that unit 2 would close in September of 2028 instead of 2030.[9] In November 2020, the Air Quality Control Commission approved Colorado’s regional haze plan, requiring unit 3 to also close by 2028.[10]
However, in December 2020, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission voted to reverse the plan. The about-face followed objections from utilities and the Colorado Energy Office, which was coordinating Gov. Jared Polis’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[11]
In December 2023, Tri-State filed an updated resource plan with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission proposing that all three units be retired by the end of 2028. Unit 3 was slated to retire in January 2028, and Unit 2 was slated to retire in September 2028.[12]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 11,322,685 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 3,586 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 17,081 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 130 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Craig Station
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[13] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[14]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Craig Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 24 | $170,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 36 | $400,000,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 440 | $23,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 16 | $380,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 16 | $6,900,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 22 | $8,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Citizen groups
- Clean Energy Action
- Environment Colorado
- Rate Payers United of Colorado
- Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter
- Wind Power Solutions
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Pacificorp 10-k 2019" bkenergy.com accessed June 17, 2020
- ↑ "Craig units 1 & 2 (Yampa Project)," Platte River Power Authority, accessed June 2020
- ↑ "Craig Generating Station" srpnet.com, accessed June 17, 2020
- ↑ "Xcel 10-k filing 2019" Xcelenergy.com, accessed June 17, 2020.
- ↑ "Tri-State Generation to close all 3 of its Colorado, New Mexico coal-fired power plants and coal mines by 2030" craigdailypress.com January 9, 2020
- ↑ "More than 500 megawatts of coal-based power to be shut down in Colorado," Denver Business Journal, Sep 1, 2016
- ↑ "PacifiCorp to add 7 GW renewables + storage, close 20 of 24 coal plants," Utility Dive, Oct 3, 2019
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Tri-State to retire mine, Escalante and Craig coal-fired power plants decades early" S&P Global.com, January 10, 2020
- ↑ "In Colorado, retirement date set for coal-fired Craig Station unit" S&P Global.com, July 8, 2020
- ↑ "Regional Haze Plan Calls for Earlier Retirement for Colorado Coal-Fired Power Plants," Earthjustice, November 20, 2020
- ↑ "Colorado Air Regulators Scrap Plans To Accelerate Coal Power Plant Retirements," CPR News, December 18, 2020
- ↑ "Tri-State aims to close Craig Station earlier than originally expected," Craig Press, December 1, 2023
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
