Most Polluting Power Plants in Colorado

Power plants in Colorado emit a combined 31.2M metric tons of CO₂ per year. The table below ranks the top emitters — predominantly coal and natural gas plants. Emission rates vary widely even within the same fuel type: efficient combined-cycle gas plants produce roughly 900 lb CO₂/MWh, while older coal plants can exceed 2,200 lb/MWh.

Emissions data comes from the EPA eGRID program. Zero-emission sources (nuclear, solar, wind, hydro) are excluded from this ranking. For methodology details, see the methodology page.

#PlantStateFuelCO₂ (tons/yr)
1Comanche (Co)ColoradoCoal7.7M
2Craig (Co)ColoradoCoal5.8M
3PawneeColoradoCoal3.4M
4HaydenColoradoCoal2.9M
5Fort St VrainColoradoNatural Gas1.8M
6CherokeeColoradoNatural Gas1.7M
7RawhideColoradoCoal1.6M
8Rocky Mountain Energy CenterColoradoNatural Gas1.2M
9Ray D NixonColoradoCoal1.2M
10Front Range Power PlantColoradoNatural Gas959.0k
11Pueblo Airport Generating StationColoradoNatural Gas800.6k
12Jm Shafer Generating StationColoradoNatural Gas530.6k
13Blue Spruce Energy CenterColoradoNatural Gas297.0k
14Manchief Electric Generating StationColoradoNatural Gas226.9k
15AlamosaColoradoOil218.5k
16Frank KnutsonColoradoNatural Gas190.3k
17Spindle Hill Energy CenterColoradoNatural Gas163.2k
18Arapahoe Combustion Turbine ProjectColoradoNatural Gas118.3k
19Limon Generating StationColoradoNatural Gas105.0k
20South Plant (Co)ColoradoNatural Gas83.7k
21Fountain Valley Power FacilityColoradoNatural Gas52.9k
22Brush Generation FacilityColoradoNatural Gas48.9k
23Colorado Energy Nations CompanyColoradoNatural Gas45.9k
24George BirdsallColoradoNatural Gas25.8k
25American Gypsum CogenerationColoradoNatural Gas23.2k
26Valmont Combustion Turbine ProjectColoradoNatural Gas16.7k
27Plains End Ii LlcColoradoNatural Gas11.1k
28Gaylord Rockies ChpColoradoNatural Gas10.4k
29Fort LuptonColoradoNatural Gas6.0k
30ValmontColoradoNatural Gas5.7k
31FruitaColoradoNatural Gas4.8k
32Burlington (Co)ColoradoOil4.0k
33Plains EndColoradoNatural Gas3.2k
34Western Sugar Coop- Ft MorganColoradoNatural Gas2.2k
35University Of ColoradoColoradoNatural Gas819
36Rocky FordColoradoOil69
37PuebloColoradoOil42
38Airport IndustrialColoradoOil42
39Trinidad (Co)ColoradoOil19
40HollyColoradoOil17

Cite this page

PowerPlantsNearMe.com. (2026). Most Polluting Power Plants in Colorado. Derived from EIA Form 860, EIA Form 923, and EPA eGRID. Retrieved from https://powerplantsnearme.com/most-polluting-power-plants/colorado

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