Dive Brief:

• The Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association agreed to cut 80% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to its wholesale electricity sales in Colorado from 2005 levels by 2030 under a settlement agreement submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). 
• The settlement agreement for Tri-State's 2020 Electric Resource Plan will also see the power supply cooperative set incremental annual efficiency savings targets for its Colorado member load that will reach 1% by 2030. 
• The CPUC will review and consider approval of the submission – agreed to by more than two dozen parties – in the first quarter of 2022. Tri-State will also issue a request for proposals for "highly competitive" renewable and storage to come online through 2026 to comply with the settlement.

Dive Insight:

In its 2020 Responsible Energy Plan, Tri-State announced its initial 80% GHG reduction goal in line with a 2019 state law that requires utilities to cut emissions by 100% by 2050. The settlement agreement – including Tri-State's member distribution systems, Colorado state regulatory agencies, environmental groups and the Interwest Energy Alliance – will step up that goal, implementing several short-term targets. Under the agreement, Tri-State will reduce GHG emissions 26% from 2005 levels by 2025, 36% by 2026 and 46% by 2027 before reaching the 80% target at the end of the decade.

Cindy Schonhaut, director for the Colorado Office of Utility Consumer Advocate, said in a statement that the process "puts Tri-State on the path that strikes a measured balance that meets the needs of co-op members and ratepayers, advances the state's decarbonization goals, and includes a process for ensuring a strong commitment to communities transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy resources." The agreement "well positions Tri-State and its members to continue to lead these efforts cooperatively into the future," Schonhaut added.

The announcement comes as the CPUC is considering electric resource plans from both Tri-State and Xcel Energy, the state's two largest utilities. In November, Xcel announced a partial agreement on some points of its plan, which the utility said could exceed an 80% GHG emission reduction by 2030 through increased renewable energy generation. However, environmentalists have criticized the plan for not setting sufficient near-term targets and for not closing the utility's coal plants early enough. 

Environmental groups, meanwhile, have praised Tri-State's settlement. Western Resource Advocates (WRA), which was a party in the process, commended Tri-State for setting "near-term, enforceable reductions" in GHG emissions. As part of the agreement, Tri-State says it will close the Craig Station coal-fired power plant by 2030 and participate in a stakeholder engagement process to prepare the local community for the plant's closure. 

"While other utilities have commitments to reduce emissions in 2030, we know we don't have a moment to spare in drastically reducing the fossil-fuel pollution that causes climate change," said WRA president Jon Goldin-Dubois in a statement. "This agreement will make significant progress in accelerating emission reductions in the West, all while reducing costs for customers and supporting communities most impacted by the transition."

As part of its Responsible Energy Plan, Tri-State added two new wind projects totaling 304 MW in 2021 and plans to add six additional projects by 2024. In November 2021, 40% of the electricity consumed by Tri-State's 45 members across four states came from renewable resources and Tri-State predicts that 70% of energy for its members will come from renewables by 2030. 

"Tri-State is grateful to our members, state officials, environmental advocates and labor representatives who worked with us to achieve this settlement, which is a meaningful advancement in our efforts to transform our cooperative as we responsibly serve reliable and affordable power to rural communities, for our members and Colorado," said Tri-State CEO Duane Highley.