(COLORADO SPRINGS) — After less than two years of demolition work, the former Martin Drake Power Plant (Drake) has been taken to ground level, marking a dramatic change in the city’s skyline for the first time in 100 years.
Community leaders are celebrating the milestone while looking toward a cleaner and more sustainable future.
“There’s been thousands and thousands of our community members that have worked at this plant over the last hundred years, spent holidays, their nights, their weekends, did everything they could to make sure that we had reliable generations,” said Travas Deal, Chief Executive Officer at Colorado Springs Utilities (Springs Utilities). “We always want to celebrate what this plant did for this great city and now we want to celebrate what’s next.”
Springs Utilities began demolition efforts in the summer of 2023. From that time through July 2024, the project consisted of more than 83,000 hours of labor and the removal of approximately 8,700 gross tons of metal, filling 770 truckloads. The demolition project cost about $20 million, a price tag city leaders said would have grown without the offsets achieved by selling scrap material.
“This demolition is not the end of an era, but the beginning of a new chapter of our city,” Mayor Yemi Mobolade explained. “As we look forward and look ahead, we are committed to ensuring that this site is transformed into something that benefits all Colorado Springs residents, whether it becomes a space for new development, green spaces, or community resources.”
Drake was permanently closed in September 2022 after nearly 100 years in operation. Before its closure, the plant’s role had shifted to a peak demand facility. The six state-of-the-art natural gas units located to the west of the former plant now serve Drake’s role as peak generation.
Based on state regulatory mandates aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Springs Utilities said the ongoing operation of coal-fired plants is not sustainable long term. Beyond Drake, Springs Utilities’ only other coal-fired plant located south of Colorado Springs, the Ray Nixon Power Plant, is targeted for a December 2029 closure.
The Drake site will feature utilities-related facilities for years to come. For example, the onsite substation and the six natural gas generating units will remain there for the foreseeable future to provide electric grid reliability and resiliency. Environmental studies of the Drake site will be explored in the future, although specific timelines and details are unknown at this time.
The natural gas units and the closure of Drake are key components of Springs Utilities’ Sustainable Energy Plan, adopted by the Utilities Board in June 2020. The adoption came after an 18-month public process to obtain customer and community input, and an assessment of a growing regulatory landscape that includes aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to move away from fossil fuels.
“Although we’ll soon turn the page on coal-fired power plants in our state, it is critical that we move forward carefully to not overburden customers with unreasonable costs and reduced reliability,” said Utilities Board Chair Dave Donelson. “That is why ongoing investments in natural gas-based power generation will continue in parallel with the responsible integration of renewables.”
