A pair of environmental activists asked state regulators Wednesday to investigate Xcel Energy’s plans for a $1 billion “clean coal” power plant in Colorado.
The complaint asks the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to ensure that Xcel complies with a state law requiring disclosure about the power plant’s cost, feasibility and impact on ratepayers, and whether it can be built without competitive bidding.
Xcel has proposed an integrated gasification combined-cycle plant, known as IGCC, that would convert coal to a cleaner-burning gas and allow for capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide, a contributor to global warming.
The complainants, Leslie Glustrom of Boulder and Nancy LaPlaca of Denver, say they’re concerned that the plant’s advanced environmental technology would still allow too much carbon pollution.
The pair also have opposed Xcel’s $1.3 billion Comanche 3 generator, a conventional coal-burning plant under construction in Pueblo.
“We really don’t need another large source of carbon dioxide without a clue for how to handle it,” Glustrom said. “We want to make sure this (project) happens out in the open and doesn’t get presented to the utilities commission as a done deal, which we saw not too long ago with the large coal plant in Pueblo.”
The complaint alleges that Xcel is preparing to select a designer and builder for the plant, without yet having met the state disclosure requirements.
Xcel spokesman Tom Henley said the utility is still considering the plant’s feasibility.
“If we determine that it is a feasible project, we will be submitting a complete project application to the (utilities commission) for review in accordance with all state regulations,” he said.
PUC commissioners are likely to consider the complaint at a meeting Wednesday, said PUC spokesman Terry Bote.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
