October 06, 2023
An energized future
Ground broken on solar project at former Escalante Station coal plant
The future of energy is renewable, and for the shuttered Escalante Station near Prewitt that future may follow two paths: solar and hydrogen.
Escalante operated as a 253-megawatt, coal-fired power plant from 1984 to 2020. The plant was built by Plains Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative and began operations in 1984.
The closure and conversion are part of the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association co-op’s Responsible Energy Plan, which sets goals for reducing emissions and increasing clean energy and flexibility for its members.
When the closure was announced in January 2020 the plant had 107 employees; by the time it burned its last coal at 9:45 am Aug. 30 of that year, that number had slipped to 35. A few of those stayed on longer to complete the closure and turn out the lights.
Fast forward exactly three years to Aug. 30, 2023, when Florida-based Origis Energy announced breaking ground on the conversion to Escalante Solar at the site.