Power plants in the Public Service Company of Colorado balancing area
The Public Service Company of Colorado balancing area takes in 192 power plants with 16.4 GW of nameplate capacity, the 17th-largest of the 40 areas covered here. All of its plants are in Colorado. Natural gas makes up 42% of the mix, and the largest plant is Fort St Vrain (1,148 MW). Since 2020, 3,838 MW has come online here, 60% of it solar.
- Natural gas6,846 MW42%
- Wind4,663 MW28%
- Solar2,803 MW17%
- Coal1,311 MW8.0%
- Battery storage364 MW2.2%
- Pumped-storage hydro300 MW1.8%
- Hydroelectric57.8 MW0.4%
- Oil and petroleum25.2 MW0.2%
- Biomass and waste18.2 MW0.1%
Capacity by decade it came online
CoalNatural gasOil and petroleumHydroelectricPumped-storage hydroWindSolarBattery storageBiomass and waste
Above the line: capacity operating in 2025. Below: capacity retired at plants that still run.
The 25 largest plants in the area
| Rank | Plant | State | Runs on | Capacity | First unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort St Vrain | Colorado | Natural gas | 1,148 MW | 1996 |
| 2 | Cherokee | Colorado | Natural gas | 1,006 MW | 1968 |
| 3 | Rawhide | Colorado | Natural gas | 800 MW | 1984 |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain Energy Center | Colorado | Natural gas | 685 MW | 2004 |
| 5 | Rush Creek Wind | Colorado | Wind | 600 MW | 2018 |
| 6 | Pawnee | Colorado | Coal | 552 MW | 1981 |
| 7 | Cheyenne Ridge Wind Farm | Colorado | Wind | 498 MW | 2020 |
| 8 | Hayden | Colorado | Coal | 465 MW | 1965 |
| 9 | Neptune Energy Center Hybrid | Colorado | Solar | 450 MW | 2023 |
| 10 | Pueblo Airport Generating Station | Colorado | Natural gas | 440 MW | 2012 |
| 11 | Spindle Hill Energy Center | Colorado | Natural gas | 420 MW | 2007 |
| 12 | Blue Spruce Energy Center | Colorado | Natural gas | 398 MW | 2003 |
| 13 | JM Shafer Generating Station | Colorado | Natural gas | 397 MW | 1994 |
| 14 | Thunder Wolf Energy Center Hybrid | Colorado | Solar | 348 MW | 2023 |
| 15 | Rocky Mountain Solar | Colorado | Solar | 325 MW | 2025 |
| 16 | Cedar Creek Wind | Colorado | Wind | 300 MW | 2007 |
| 17 | Bronco Plains Wind, LLC | Colorado | Wind | 300 MW | 2020 |
| 18 | Cabin Creek | Colorado | Pumped-storage hydro | 300 MW | 1967 |
| 19 | Manchief Electric Generating Station | Colorado | Natural gas | 300 MW | 2000 |
| 20 | Brush Generation Facility | Colorado | Natural gas | 273 MW | 1990 |
| 21 | Cedar Point Wind | Colorado | Wind | 252 MW | 2011 |
| 22 | Golden West Power Partners LLC | Colorado | Wind | 250 MW | 2015 |
| 23 | Cedar Creek II | Colorado | Wind | 248 MW | 2011 |
| 24 | Bighorn Solar 1 | Colorado | Solar | 240 MW | 2021 |
| 25 | Fountain Valley Power Facility | Colorado | Natural gas | 228 MW | 2001 |
States
| State | Plants | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 192 | 16.4 GW |
Operators with the most capacity
| Operator | Plants | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Public Service Co of Colorado | 19 | 6,678 MW |
| Platte River Power Authority | 1 | 800 MW |
| Tri-State G & T Assn, Inc | 3 | 696 MW |
| Limon | 3 | 601 MW |
| Invenergy Services LLC | 2 | 480 MW |
| Leeward Asset Management, LLC | 2 | 472 MW |
| Neptune Energy Center, LLC | 1 | 450 MW |
| Black Hills Service Company LLC | 1 | 440 MW |
| Lightsource Renewable Energy Asset Management, LLC | 2 | 440 MW |
| Thunder Wolf Energy Center, LLC | 1 | 348 MW |