Closing Coal-Fired Power Plants: The Other Side of the Issue

Those of us in the green building and energy efficiency industries are, in general, pretty much in agreement that we'd much prefer to see cleaner, viable alternatives used to generate power rather than burning coal to do so.  Indeed, the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, signed into law in April of this year, requires Xcel Energy to cut nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80 percent from several Front Range coal plants by the end of 2017 - including Boulder's Valmont Station. Some plants (like Valmont) would be closed while others would be converted to natural gas - creating jobs in that sector - and Xcel would have to find alternative sources of energy to make up the difference, including solar and wind energy. All in all, a good thing in most people's minds.

Yet not everyone agrees, particularly the people who provide the coal that these plants use to generate power. Colorado has a decent-sized coal mining industry, and the reduced use of coal in Colorado's power plants will naturally have a negative impact on employment in that sector. The coal industry claims that up to 500 jobs statewide could be lost, in fact. 

This is not to say that progress should stop because jobs could be lost. Rather, it is just a reminder that there are always two sides to every issue and people are affected on both sides.

Click here to read the article in the Denver Post.