Please see the following Guest Commentary from Matt Kireker, the Policy Director with the Western Resilience Center.

 

Guest Commentary: Colorado Should Not Reopen the Debate on Extending Hayden Station

 

March 24, 2026

 

More than five years ago Colorado made a plan to retire the coal-fired Hayden Generating Station in 2027 and 2028 — and communities across northwest Colorado immediately began preparing for it.

Now, that long-planned transition is being called into question.

In a March 2 filing with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Xcel Energy raised the possibility of seeking approval to extend the lifespan of coal units scheduled for retirement — including both units at Hayden Generating Station (Hayden Station) and Unit 2 at the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo. The utility suggested that multi-year extensions could help address potential electricity capacity shortfalls driven by rising demand and uncertainties involving grid infrastructure, transmission, and supply chains.

Energy reliability is a legitimate concern. But reopening the question of keeping an aging coal plant in operation after years of planning for its closure would create renewed uncertainty for workers, local governments, and the communities that have spent years preparing for a transition away from coal.

For decades, Hayden Station has been a cornerstone of northwest Colorado’s energy economy. The plant generates 446 megawatts of electricity at full capacity and burns roughly 5,000 tons of coal each day. Xcel Energy (Xcel) has long been an important private-sector partner in the Yampa Valley, and the plant has helped power Colorado for generations.

But the economics of coal — and the political license to extract and burn it — have fundamentally changed.

Falling natural gas prices and rapidly declining costs for wind, solar, and battery storage have reshaped the energy market. According to an analysis from Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan energy and climate policy think tank, 95% of the 162 U.S. coal-fired power plants still operating at the start of 2025 were more expensive than they were in 2021. Meanwhile, the 2026 Conservation in the West bipartisan poll across seven western states (AZ, CO, MT, NM, NV, UT and WY) found that only 2% of respondents selected coal as their top energy source.

Coal plants in Colorado have also faced reliability challenges. In late 2025, an air-pollution scrubber at Hayden Station’s Unit 2 partially collapsed unexpectedly, taking the unit offline for more than a month. Unit 3 at the Comanche Generating Station has similarly experienced unanticipated mechanical problems requiring costly repairs.

Xcel’s shift away from coal has not happened overnight. It has been guided by settlement agreements and electric resource plans approved by the PUC that commit the utility to reducing coal generation and expanding renewable energy across Colorado. The Hayden Station closure dates were announced in 2021. Almost immediately, collaboration began with IBEW Local 111 on retraining, attrition, and early-retirement options for workers.

Following the 2021 announcement, the Hayden community took concrete steps to diversify its economy. The town launched a 58-acre greenfield business and industrial park development next to Yampa Valley Regional Airport, featuring closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling to reduce utility costs for businesses.

State and local leaders have also been working to reopen passenger rail between Winter Park and the Yampa Valley. Preserving the rail line could also help attract light manufacturing and other industries that rely on commercial rail access. State legislators, including Senator Dylan Roberts and Representative Meghan Lukens, have further supported these efforts by advancing policies such as the recently-enacted Coal Transition Community Investment Act.

All of these initiatives reflect years of planning built around a clear timeline for Hayden’s closure. Reopening that timeline now risks undermining the progress communities have already made.

Meanwhile, Xcel has the financial capacity to pursue the clean energy transition it has already committed to. Its Colorado subsidiary, Public Service Company of Colorado, reported $678 million in net profits last year, with projections climbing to $1.9 billion annually by 2031. The company has the resources to accelerate renewable development, expand energy storage, improve load management, and – when necessary – increase wholesale purchases of clean power to meet rising demand. The PUC recently approved over 3,000 megawatts of new clean generation.

The broader context makes the choice even clearer. Colorado is already experiencing billions of dollars in economic impacts from a changing climate. Rising temperatures and declining snowpack are threatening the state’s ski industry, while wildfire risk continues to grow. Decarbonizing the electric grid is not optional — it is essential.

Hayden and Routt County are proud of their legacy of powering this state for generations. They deserve a clear and predictable path forward — not renewed uncertainty about whether long-settled closure plans will be revisited.

Xcel should not waver in its existing plans to close Hayden Station. Doing so will provide certainty for workers, local governments, and the region’s energy future — and keep Colorado on track toward a cleaner and more resilient energy system.

Matt Kireker, Policy Director, Western Resilience Center