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Energy Sources>Rawhide Energy Station>
History
Platte River Power Authority has been owned by and serves wholesale electricity to the residents of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland since 1973. Originally, sources of power to the cities were provided under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from the Colorado River and the Missouri Basin. By creating Platte River and working as a team on bulk power production, the four municipalities provided a money-saving benefit to their residents instead of building and operating independent, smaller power sources.
Back in the 1960s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation- noted for its water and power projects in the arid West- informed its municipal and cooperative customers of federal hydroelectric power that they should expect no new Reclamation projects to be built that would produce reliable long-term energy. For the Platte River cities that depended almost totally upon this federal supply, it meant a new source had to be found.
Initially, the four cities formed a non-profit association to provide generation and transmission. For financing purposes, the four cities found it desirable to change the association to the Platte River Power Authority, a separate governmental entity and political subdivision of the State of Colorado, owned by the four cities. Platte River is governed by an eight member board of directors with two directors appointed from each city. Platte River's first effort to obtain a new electric energy source was to participate in Yampa, a coal-fired power project to be built near Craig, Colorado. Construction on Yampa began in 1974 and was completed in 1979. Platte River owns 18 percent, or 154 megawatts, which, together with federal hydro, met the four cities' energy requirements until the mid-1980s.
In 1975, Platte River anticipated the need for additional electric energy to supply its constituent cities' load growth. The planning and search for new sources of energy commenced. Consideration was given to all technologies that were cost-effective and capable of commercial operation in time to meet Platte River's needs in addition to satisfying environmental policies.
After deciding that the new power supply would be coal-fired, Platte River began in 1976 to search for a suitable site- one where a coal-fired electric generating facility would qualify environmentally and produce energy at a reasonable cost. An environmental planning firm was commissioned to make a thorough study of all possibilities.
The selected site, located about 26 miles north of Fort Collins and three miles west of Interstate Highway 25, was found to be convenient for rail transportation and to have good geology for a cooling reservoir. The name near the site on the U.S. Geological Survey map jumped out at Platte River engineers, "Rawhide!" it was a name instantly accepted. Long associated with the early pioneering days in the American West, "Rawhide" was synonymous with toughness, durability and reliability.
Investigation of the Rawhide site found that the area would provide acceptable visual screening, low population density and little impact on rangeland. Trains would be able to deliver coal from Wyoming by the shortest route resulting in the least cost. No community impact from coal trains was found to occur, and access from every direction was across desert-like rangeland rather than agricultural land.
The geology and natural terrain at Rawhide was found to be ideally suited for a cooling reservoir. Cooling water delivery was arranged from a Fort Collins sewage treatment plant to Rawhide by way of underground pipeline.
On March 26, 1979, the Rawhide site was approved through special review by the Larimer County Commissioners. Groundbreaking took place on September 8, 1979. After the final air emissions permit was received from the Environmental Protection Agency, construction of the Rawhide Energy Station began in May 1980. Erection of the power plant structures commenced early in 1981. Initial testing of the station started in December 1983 and commercial operation began March 31, 1984- one day ahead of schedule.
The site's 500-acre cooling reservoir, pipelines, transmission lines and coal-handling facilities have all been designed to accommodate additional units. As energy needs expand, the capacity at Rawhide can be increased to 750 MW, under existing air quality regulations.
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