Proposed bill targets pollution at coal-fired plants

DENVER – Gov. Bill Ritter, Xcel Energy and a coalition of lawmakers, energy companies and environmentalists have agreed on proposed legislation that would increase the use of cleaner energy sources in Colorado.

The proposed Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act would require Xcel to sharply reduce pollutants by retiring, retrofitting or repowering Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing them with facilities fueled by natural gas or other clean sources.

Xcel’s Valmont power station at 63rd Street and Arapahoe Avenue that serves Boulder is a coal-fired plant. Tom Henley, an Xcel spokesman, said the Valmont station, and two other coal-fired plants in Colorado, the Cherokee station in north Denver and the Pawnee station in Brush, could be affected, but plans on changes at these plants or what renewable source of energy might be used to reach goals have not been determined.

“If the bill passes as agreed upon, then those three plants could be impacted,” he said.

Under the proposal, Xcel Energy would work with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to submit plans by Aug. 15 to the state Public Utilities Commissions to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at coal plants by up to 80 percent over the next eight years, likely sooner. Xcel is Colorado’s largest utility, serving more than 1.1 million residential customers.

Xcel’s plan would include an evaluation of retiring or retrofitting 900 megawatts of coal-fired capacity at metro-area power plants, giving primary consideration to replacing or repowering those plants with natural gas and other lower-emitting resources.

“Xcel Energy supports proposed legislation to establish a comprehensive process for addressing more stringent current and future federal Clean Air Act requirements,´ said David Eves, president and chief executive for Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company.

“The company is optimistic that any final legislative proposal would focus on meeting these requirements in a fashion that is cost-effective for consumers and ensures ongoing system reliability. We look forward to working with the Governor’s Office and the General Assembly to develop the framework that will help us to meet these goals.”

State Sen. Bruce Whitehead, will sponsor the bill in the Senate and Rep. Judy Solano will present it in the House.

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