Generation resources inherently have long lead times for development. To ensure that Tri-State is prepared to meet future member load growth, the association has begun laying the necessary groundwork to develop a new power plant called the Colorado Power Project at a site in southeast Colorado. Preliminary planning and preparatory work has commenced, including environmental studies and site acquisition.

In 2007, Tri-State will construct a meteorological tower and install monitoring equipment to collect environmental data and will begin a water change case to convert existing agricultural water rights to industrial use.

The Colorado Power Project site would be available for development to meet longer-term power needs. Member cooperative load growth will determine the development schedule, and the availability of emerging technologies could influence the project's design.