DENVER - The Board of Directors of the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), the fourth largest energy provider in Colorado, today adopted a resource plan that will meet the needs of Northern Colorado with reliable, affordable, low-carbon electric power. The PRPA Board adopted an electric resource plan to retire the Rawhide coal plant, add 400 megawatts of renewable generation, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 90% by 2030. The Board’s adopted plan achieves 90% GHG pollution reductions below 2005 levels by 2030 and supports the state and region’s broader sustainability and decarbonization efforts.
“This is the most ambitious level of pollution reduction that any large energy provider in the state has announced, and it sets a new bar for utilities. Today’s decision will save Platte River Power Authority customers money with low cost renewables while maintaining reliability, and this type of leadership from our electric utilities is a critical part of our statewide efforts to reduce pollution and fight the climate crisis,” said Governor Polis.
The plan, recommended by PRPA staff, builds on the energy provider’s earlier announcement to close Rawhide 1 by 2030, years ahead of schedule, and add almost 400 MW of renewable generation during 2020-2023.
On September 30, the state released a draft of the Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, a plan to make progress toward meeting the state’s statutory goals of a 26% reduction in GHG emissions economy-wide by 2025, a 50% reduction by 2030, and a 90% reduction by 2050. The draft report shows that meeting these goals will require decarbonizing electric power generation, reaching an 80% or greater reduction in statewide GHG emissions from the electric sector by 2030.