Tri-State Generation and Transmission announced this month plans for the accelerated closure of their Craig Station coal units. A Tri-State press release explains that the proposal is part of their 2023 Electric Resource Plan that has been filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and is counting on the federal funding attached to a rapid clean energy transition. The release states that “with resource costs increasing and Tri-State’s load reduced from three member systems terminating their contracts to withdraw from membership between 2024-2025, all of the scenarios modeled retire Craig Station Unit 3 by January 1st, 2028, to improve system economics. The retirements of Craig Station Unit 1 by December 31st, 2025, and Craig Station Unit 2 by September 30th, 2028, were previously announced.” Tri-State also announced plans to invest in the largest resource acquisition in its history, including 1,250 MW of geographically distributed renewables and battery storage between 2026 and 2031, focused on wind and solar resources.
