Xcel Energy Boosts Power Of Colorado Plant

DENVER (AP) — Two new units have boosted capacity at Xcel Energy's Fort St. Vrain plant to nearly 1,000 megawatts, making it the largest gas-fired power plant in Colorado.

The plant near Platteville, about 40 miles northeast of Denver, will be able to generate enough electricity for 750,000 homes. The new units will be used when demand is high and will also provide backup for existing plants.

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. says the combustion turbines use advanced technology to reduce nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions.

There are now six gas-fired units at Fort St. Vrain, originally a nuclear power plant. The nuclear plant was shut down in 1989 because of mechanical problems and the reactor and equipment were decommissioned in 1995.