Tri-State Moving Ahead With Colo. Power Plant Plans

Holly, Colo.— Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association, an electric power-generating cooperative based in Westminster, Colo., has definite plans to build a generating plant near Holly, in far southeastern Colorado, but timing of the construction will depend on overall needs of its

"We're in the site development and water development process right now, and there is a long planning horizon for the Colorado plants," said Lee Boughey, spokesman for Tri-State, which serves several area power systems including San Isabel Electric, Southeast Colorado Power, Sangre de Cristo Electric, and San Luis Valley Rural Electric associations.

Some news reports recently claimed the company had postponed its plans for the Holly plant. But Tri-State is still on track to develop the Colorado plants, Boughey said. The plans remain definite, although the timing will depend on the energy needs of Tri-State customers. In 2005, when Tri-State set up shop in Lamar and began buying water rights, the plan was to build the first of two power plants in the area by 2020. The schedule is now demand-driven, Boughey said.

Tri-State has also been considering participation in a coal gasification plant project by Xcel Energy. Bent County is in the running for the plant, but the project would be separate from Tri-State's other plans in the area, Boughey said.

"We've been in discussion about the project, but we can't talk about specifics," Boughey said.

The Holly generation plant also would fit in with Tri-State's Eastern Plains Transmission Project, a plan to build a 1,000-mile high-voltage line across western Kansas and eastern Colorado. It would have the capacity to carry as much as 1,000 megawatts of wind-generated power from outside sources.

The line could be in operation by 2012, and an environmental impact statement is being prepared.