As Tri-State Embraces Renewables, Its Fossil Fuel Sources Haven’t Burned Out Yet

KSJD | By Austin Cope

Published January 11, 2021 at 9:27 AM MST

Despite a rapid shift toward renewable energy generation, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association plans to continue buying power from the Laramie River Station in Wyoming (pictured) until at least 2033.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the electrical utility cooperative that provides power to many rural areas of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Nebraska, has relied on coal and fossil fuels to generate the bulk of its power for many years. Now, Tri-State is beginning a rapid shift towards increasing renewable energy. But as KSJD's Austin Cope reports, undoing years of fossil fuel influence may be challenging.

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Austin Cope

Austin Cope is a former Morning Edition host for KSJD and now produces work on a freelance basis for the station. He grew up in Cortez and hosted a show on KSJD when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2010, he lived in Belgium, Ohio, Spain, northern Wyoming, and Himachal Pradesh, India before returning to the Cortez area. He has a degree in Politics from Oberlin College in Ohio.

See stories by Austin Cope