Tri-State is exploring participating with Xcel Energy in a feasibility study for a coal-fired integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant in Colorado. The project would utilize IGCC technology with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).

IGCC is a clean-coal technology that uses a chemical process to turn coal into a gas, which is then burned in a modified combustion turbine to generate electricity. The potential benefits of this technology include increased energy-efficiency and reduced emissions. IGCC also facilitates the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) before it is emitted into the atmosphere. TheCO2 can then be sequestered, for example, underground in depleted oil wells. The project seeks to determine how IGCC can be developed at altitude with the use of Western coal, and would be subject to Colorado Public Utilities Commission approval.

Following completion of the feasibility study, Tri-State will evaluate further participation in the project.