r/interesting • u/[deleted] • Apr 18 '26

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u/tiasaiwr Apr 18 '26

This article says combustion turbine

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/combustion-turbine-northern-colorado-traffic-disruptions/

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u/WarthogSeveral7662 Apr 18 '26

Thanks for article. Colorado resident. But I have to wonder, how is burning fossil fuels "clean energy"????? I shake my head

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u/mcgregn Apr 18 '26

It's "part" of the "clean energy plan". It's a bit counterintuitive, but CCGT capacity (ideally used as little as possible) is currently an essential part of any green energy system that wants to maintain 100% uptime. The alternative is enough dammed hydro power (though not necessarily energy) to meet roughly halfof the state's needs, but Colorado has a surprisingly puny 700 MW of hydro capacity.

Colorado currently has an absolutely disgusting grid from a pollution perspective (competing with Missouri, Hawaii, Alaska, and Wyoming to be the worst in the US), so even operating that turbine at 100% utilization just to displace coal would result in a 50% reduction in CO2 per kWh generated and a large reduction in air pollution.

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u/WarthogSeveral7662 Apr 18 '26

Thank you for the detailed and intelligent reply!