Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s Western Fuels-Colorado LLC, a coal supplier to the Craig Station and Nucla Station power plants in western Colorado, has acquired the Colowyo Mine from Rio Tinto. Tri-State operates the 1,304-megawatt Craig Station.
“Electricity responsibly produced with coal remains a remarkable value to serve the power needs of the region,” said Ken Anderson, executive vice president and general manager of Tri-State, in a statement released today. “The purchase of Colowyo Mine ensures Tri-State will have a cost-based supply of coal to generate affordable power for the benefit of Tri-State’s member electric cooperatives.”
Last year the Colowyo Mine produced 1.5 million tons of coal that Western Fuels-Colorado delivered to Tri-State. The Colowyo Mine produced 2.4 million tons of coal in 2010 .
The recently improved Craig Station’S three generating units are fueled by coal from the Colowyo Mine and the nearby Trapper Mine.
“This transaction further strengthens the energy economy in northwestern Colorado,” Darcy Owens-Trask, director of the Craig/Moffat Economic Development Partnership, said in the release. “Our region will continue to stay strong with the high-value jobs that responsibly and safely generate electricity from locally produced coal.”
An economic impact study of the Craig Station and the two nearby mines showed a $428 million annual direct and indirect economic activity that supports 752 direct and indirect jobs with a payroll of $54.8 million . The study shows the coal purchased annually for Craig Station supports 446 jobs with a payroll of $38.9 million.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
