While it may not be surprising, it is still a blow to the people and economy of northwestern Colorado and beyond. Trapper Mine president Michael Morriss confirmed to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel this week that with the closing of Craig Station power plant, Trapper Mine will close sometime between 2026 and 2030 as that is the mine’s sole customer. Tri-State Generation and Transmission announced a week ago the retirement of their 3 remaining coal generation facilities; Craig Station and Colowyo Mine in northwestern Colorado by the year 2030 and their New Mexico coal-fired power plant by the end of 2020. The decision to close all coal facilities is part of their ‘Responsible Energy Plan’ which they announced was in development last July and shared with the public this week. As far as Trapper Mine, Morriss shared that the mine has a 5-year contract with Craig Station that is up at the end of 2020 but that it is likely Trapper Mine will get another 5-year contract to run through 2025. The big changes in Colorado follow Governor Jared Polis’ plan for the state to reach 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2040.
