Tri-State won $2.5 billion to close coal plants, get new renewable energy for rural customers
Oct 29, 2024
Tri-State Generation has won praise from environmental groups for an aggressive plan to build clean, renewable energy, and Friday the co-op won the financing to do it: $2.5 billion in federal loans and grants to retire existing coal plants and acquire new renewable energy resources across four Western states where its member cooperatives provide electricity to a million consumers.
Officials say the financing will reduce electricity rates 10% by 2034 and create $430 million in benefits for rural consumers in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona. It will also fund Tri-State’s purchase of 1,280 megawatts of energy from solar, wind and wind/storage hybrid projects and more than 100 megawatts of standalone energy projects, about half of which will lie in Colorado. Tri-State anticipates the funding will cut 5.8 million tons of climate pollution annually while creating more than 2,000 new jobs.
