COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Xcel says they have new plans to close many of their coal plants by 2030, including Comanche in Pueblo and Hayden Station and build renewable energy facilities.

This Just Transition Solicitation (JTS) plan, is in compliance with Colorado’s clean energy plan that requires large energy providers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2030.

Xcel says despite closing multiple plants, it won’t have to lay off workers. It estimates building 20 renewable energy facilities operating off of electricity, solar, wind power, and other renewable sources across Southern Colorado, creating more jobs.

“Our objective is to provide safe, reliable, affordable, electricity that’s achieving the clean energy goals and also seeking to provide the jobs and the tax revenue that our communities are seeking from us and adjust transition,” said Jack Ihle, Xcel Regional Vice President of regulatory policy.

Xcel is unsure how many jobs their projects will create but is working to find bidders over the next two years to finalize where in Southern Colorado these facilities could be built.

Officials say beyond 2031 ( the current phase of this energy plan) they could be exploring the development of nuclear power plants and thus increasing zero-emission power generation.

“We explored what we call a zero missions dispatchable generation and later years in the modeling see what that looks like in the late 2030s. So we explored some additions of geothermal resources, distributed energy resources, and nuclear resources so the state could begin to see what that looks like,” said Ihle.

Xcel says rates could go up over the course of the next few decades increasing by an estimated 2.2% over the next few years, the same as inflation.

Copyright 2024 KKTV. All rights reserved.