Pumped-storage hydro study one of the possibilities as Colorado community looks to short up economy after coal plants close later this decade.
Craig
Nuclear is on the table in Colorado
Can nuclear replace the tax base, jobs and generation of coal plants at Pueblo and Craig? Maybe, but tough questions remain to be answered.
Will nuclear energy arrive on time and at cost?
No doubt, nuclear energy has key advantages. So why isn’t it likely to be the silver bullet that some people in Craig and Pueblo crave?
Craig’s shift from coal
With coal jobs declining and the end in sight, Craig has started taking steps to flesh out its tourism economy. Might hydrogen also become a sector?
Hope for a nuclear future
As coal recedes in Colorado, hope lingers that Craig can continue to generate electricity, this time nuclear. It makes sense — until the numbers are examined.
Colorado coal production rises in 2021
Colorado production in 2021 rose, but it’s just a third of the tonnage from less than 20 years ago.
No-go for tourism idea in Craig
As the Colorado town of Craig struggles to create a future beyond coal, one idea was for a new museum. That idea got promises of funding but went no further.
When the coal plants finally close
Colorado’s Just Transition Advisory Committee draft plan calls for benefits for displaced workers as coal mines and plants in Colorado’s Yampa Valley, but it has no answers for the local school districts who will lose significant property tax assessments.
Colorado aims for Just Transition
Colorado in 2019 adopted a law calling for a “just transition” for workers and communities impacted by the transition from coal. State officials heard testimony just before the dark curtain of covid fell, slowing but not stopping the planning.
