Pawnee Station
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Pawnee Station is an operating power station of at least 552-megawatts (MW) in Brush, Morgan, Colorado, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Pawnee Station | Brush, Morgan, Colorado, United States | 40.220197, -103.679472 (exact)[1] |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1: 40.220197, -103.679472
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1, timepoint 1 | Operating | coal: subbituminous | 552.3 | subcritical | no[2] | 1981 | 2025 (planned) |
| Unit 1, timepoint 2 | Pre-construction[3][4][5] | fossil gas: natural gas[3] | 552.3[6] | steam turbine[6] | no[2] | 2025 (planned)[7][8][3][4][9][2] | – |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1, timepoint 1 | Public Service Company of Colorado [100%][1] | Xcel Energy Inc [100.0%] |
| Unit 1, timepoint 2 | Public Service Company of Colorado [100%][1] | Xcel Energy Inc [100.0%] |
Unit-level fuel conversion details:
Unit 1: Conversion in pre-construction phase from coal to fossil gas in 2025.
Retirement discussions
As of 2020, the plant was scheduled to retire in 2041.[10]
In February 2021, Xcel Energy released details on its upcoming Clean Energy Plan for submission to state regulators in March. Rather than shutter the Pawnee Generating Station, the new plan proposed converting the plant to fossil gas in 2028.[11][12]
In April 2022, Xcel Energy revised its Colorado Clean Energy Plan to set more ambitious targets. The plan included a just transition strategy and the development of nearly 7 GW of renewables projects by 2030. Pawnee Station would be converted to burn natural gas by 2026 at the latest.[13]
In December 2023, it was reported that the closure date of the coal plant and its conversion to gas was moved up to 2025.[14]
In March 2024, the Public Utilities Commission of Colorado was considering the Public Service’s application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to convert the Pawnee Station from coal operations to gas operations.[15]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 4,468,643 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 13,073 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 4,603 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 108 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Pawnee Station
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[16] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[17]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Pawnee Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 15 | $110,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 22 | $2,400,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 270 | $14,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 10 | $240,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 9 | $4,200,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 14 | $5,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Citizen groups
- Clean Energy Action
- Environment Colorado
- Rate Payers United of Colorado
- Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter
- Wind Power Solutions
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20230509053328/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/. Archived from the original on 09 May 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220712171434/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/xls/april_generator2022.xlsx. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/042921-colorado-minnesota-resource-plans-driving-xcels-carbon-free-goal-by-2050.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20210728083822/https://ashtracker.org/facility/324/pawnee-station. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://puc.colorado.gov/key-proceedings.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230918190319/https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860m/archive/xls/may_generator2023.xlsx. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://coloradosun.com/2023/12/02/colorado-coal-plant-craig-closurfe-2028-tri-state/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://bigpivots.com/plenty-of-outrage-was-it-justified/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://mn.my.xcelenergy.com/s/about/newsroom/press-release/xcel-energy-and-colorado-stakeholders-reach-historic-clean-energy-agreement-MCV7H5ROK7TREPHE774YPZQIRF6Y.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Jaffe, Mark (2020-06-26). "Colorado Springs will shut down its two coal-fired plants by 2030. Now it's time for Xcel to do the same, environmentalists say". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Colorado Renewable Energy Plans & Reports," Xcel Energy, 2021
- ↑ "Xcel Energy Says Natural Gas Is Critical As It Transitions To More Renewable Power," CPR News, February 24, 2021
- ↑ "Xcel Energy and Colorado stakeholders reach historic clean energy agreement," Xcel Energy, April 26, 2022
- ↑ "Tri-State moves up closure of coal burning power plant, lines up for $970M federal grant for wind, solar generation". coloradosun.com. December 2, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Key Proceedings". puc.colorado.gov. March 4, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
