Power Plant Sites Across Colorado, From Denver to the Eastern Plains

Colorado produces electricity from natural gas, coal, wind, solar and hydropower, and the plants behind it are spread from the Denver metro area to wheat country near the Kansas line. This directory lists power plant sites by city and county so you can identify the facility behind a name on a utility notice, a land-use hearing or a map. Some entries are large generating stations. Others are small solar arrays, wind farms, cogeneration units or on-site generators at industrial and municipal properties.

Most plants have no public front desk. They run as controlled industrial sites, and the useful contact is usually the owner, the utility that buys the power or the county that approved the project. Knowing which of those applies saves a lot of phone calls.

Who Oversees Power Generation in Colorado

Several bodies share responsibility, and each one answers a different question.

Together, these layers mean a single plant can answer to a county, a state air regulator and a federal agency at the same time.

Not every utility answers to the PUC on rates. Municipal systems such as Colorado Springs Utilities and Fort Collins Utilities are governed by their city councils. Member-owned electric cooperatives are run by elected boards, and many buy wholesale power from generation cooperatives such as Tri-State. If a plant's owner is a city or a co-op, your first stop for questions is its council or board, not the state.

Front Range Power Plants: Dense, Urban and Mixed-Use

The Front Range corridor holds the largest cluster of listings. Denver has the biggest city count in the state, led by the Cherokee entry at 6198 Franklin Street. In Boulder County, the 75th Street Wastewater Treatment Power Plant at 4049 North 75th Street shows that some listings are utility-adjacent facilities rather than stand-alone generating stations.

West of Denver, Jefferson County includes Plains End II on Colorado 93 in Arvada and the Doe Golden Nwtc Load Side entry on Golden Gate Canyon Road. The Nwtc in that name refers to the National Wind Technology Center, a federal wind energy research site, so this one is as much a laboratory as a power source.

East of the city, Adams County covers Denver Metro Solar at 2950 Hudson Road in Watkins, and Aurora's Blue Spruce Energy Center at 1751 North Powhaton Road sits in Arapahoe County. Farther north, Weld County has more listings than any other county in the state. Examples include the Fort Lupton Cogeneration Facility on County Road 31 and Thermo Greeley at 846 North 6th Avenue. Weld is also Colorado's leading oil and gas county, a setting where industrial-scale power sites are common.

South along I-25, El Paso County lists Afa Solar Farm on Huntington Beach Drive in Colorado Springs and the Front Range Power Plant at 6615 Generation Drive in Fountain. Pueblo County includes Vestas Towers America at 100 Tower Road. That entry is a wind tower manufacturer, a reminder that the category also captures businesses tied to the energy supply chain.

Colorado's Eastern Plains, Wind Corridors and the San Luis Valley

Outside the metro area, the pattern changes. Wind farms cluster on the high, open plains, where land is inexpensive and the wind is steady. Logan County lists Logan Wind Energy Power Plant on County Road 78 in Peetz, and Peetz has seven listings in all. Cedar Point Wind sits on County Road 21 near Limon in Lincoln County. Carousel Wind Farm is on County Road 54 near Burlington in Kit Carson County, and Twin Buttes Wind Project is on County Road C near Lamar in Prowers County.

Wind projects usually lease land from ranchers and pay county property taxes. County commissioners therefore hear from supporters and neighbors alike when a new project is proposed.

Morgan County has thermal generation instead. Manchief Electric Generating Station near Brush and Pawnee near Fort Morgan both sit on County Road 24. Plants of this size feed high-voltage lines that carry power toward the Front Range.

In the south, the San Luis Valley's clear skies and high elevation suit solar. Sune Alamosa at 8900 Lane 8 North in Mosca is one example. Baca County has the Vilas Solar Array near Springfield, and Huerfano River Wind is listed along Interstate 25 near Walsenburg.

Western Colorado entries include the Rifle Generating Station on County Road 352 in Garfield County, Drop 5 on Pahgre Road in Montrose and Redlands Water & Power in Grand Junction. Several of those names point to water-linked generation, which fits the Western Slope's canals and irrigation systems.

Why Some Listing Names Look Unusual

Names such as Rv Csu Power Ii in Fort Collins or Drop 5 in Montrose often come from federal energy registries rather than signs at the gate. A listing may describe a project code, a unit number or a research load. Check the address and county before assuming a name is a business you can visit.

How to Research or Contact a Colorado Power Plant

Plan any visit around site rules. Gates are locked, and photographing substations or fences can draw security attention. Most owners offer tours only by appointment or on community open days, if at all. A short written request to the owner usually gets a clearer answer than driving out unannounced.

Power plant facilities in Colorado include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Colorado's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 91 cities across Colorado. They are spread across 47 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Denver, Boulder, Pueblo, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Colorado who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Colorado who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Colorado, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Colorado to find the nearest location.

What Colorado Weather and Geography Mean for Power Plant Sites

Colorado's landscape shapes where plants sit and how they run. Wind output on the eastern plains tends to be strong in spring and often rises overnight. Solar in the San Luis Valley and along the Front Range produces the most during long summer days. Gas plants near Denver, Fountain and Brush help cover demand on hot afternoons and during winter cold snaps.

Weather also affects residents directly. Xcel Energy operates a public safety power shutoff program for periods of extreme wildfire risk, which matters for foothill neighborhoods in Jefferson and Boulder counties. Heavy spring snow can bring down lines on the plains. Check your utility's outage map, keep a charged battery backup for medical devices, and tell your utility if someone in your home depends on powered equipment.

Distances matter too. Towns like Limon, Burlington and Lamar are a long drive from the metro area, and many wind and solar sites sit on gravel county roads with patchy cell coverage. Download a map before you go, and confirm with the county road department if a road is closed after storms.

No single agency covers everything. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission regulates investor-owned utilities, including their rates and requests to build generation. The Air Pollution Control Division at the state health department issues air permits. Counties control land use through local permits and their 1041 powers. Municipal utilities and cooperatives are mostly governed by city councils or member-elected boards. Start with whoever owns the plant, then work outward to the county or state body that matches your question.

Usually not as a walk-in. Generating stations restrict access for safety and security, and tours are typically arranged in advance through the owner or operator. Schools and community groups have the best chance. Wind farms such as those near Peetz, Limon and Burlington can be viewed from public county roads, but stay on the road right-of-way and never enter fenced or posted land. Many sites are on private ranches, so a closed gate means the property is off limits.

Begin with the county planning or community development office, since county land-use permits are where most projects first appear. Agendas for planning commission and commissioner meetings are public and usually posted online. Counties often mail notices to nearby landowners, though the notice distance varies by county. If a regulated utility will own or buy the project, the PUC also keeps public dockets you can search by project name. Weld, Logan and Morgan counties see frequent energy applications.

Contact your electric utility first, because it owns the lines and the billing system. Your bill shows whether you are served by an investor-owned company, a city utility such as Colorado Springs Utilities, or a cooperative. If a PUC-regulated utility does not resolve a complaint, you can file with the PUC's consumer affairs staff. City utility and co-op customers generally take unresolved issues to the city council or the co-op board. Power plants themselves do not handle customer accounts.

The plains offer steady wind, flat open land and few obstructions, and developers can lease large parcels from landowners. Transmission lines also run through the region toward the Front Range, where demand is highest. That combination explains listings such as Logan Wind Energy near Peetz, Cedar Point Wind near Limon, Carousel Wind Farm near Burlington and Twin Buttes near Lamar. Rural counties often gain lease income and property tax revenue, which is why local hearings on new projects draw strong views both ways.

Search the Air Pollution Control Division's public permit and notice pages at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Larger sources also appear in the U.S. EPA's ECHO database, which shows inspection and compliance history. For records held by a city or county, such as zoning approvals or meeting minutes, you can file a request under the Colorado Open Records Act. Agencies generally respond within three working days, with limited extensions allowed. Have the plant's exact name and address ready, since similar names are common.