Power Plants in Colorado

Colorado's generating fleet holds 22,945 megawatts of nameplate capacity as of May 2026, ranking 22nd among the 51 states and territories. The fleet includes 326 plants, all currently in service. This is capacity — what the equipment could produce running flat out — not generation: a megawatt of solar and a megawatt of coal appear the same here and produce very different amounts of electricity over a year.

Natural gas carries 35% of the state's capacity at 8,020 megawatts across 30 plants, followed by wind at 23.3% and 5,351 megawatts. Coal accounts for 18.4% of capacity, solar for 16.1%, hydro for 5.2%, battery storage for 1.2%, and other fuels for 0.8%. The five largest plants are Craig at 1,428 megawatts, Comanche at 1,253 megawatts, Fort St Vrain at 1,149 megawatts, Cherokee at 1,006 megawatts, and Rawhide at 800 megawatts. Craig and Comanche burn coal; Fort St Vrain and Cherokee burn natural gas; Rawhide burns coal.

The fleet spans nearly a century. Manitou Springs, which first came online in May 1927, is the oldest plant still listed. The newest plant, USS Calico Solar LLC, entered service in April 2026. Plant counts here include everything down to sub-megawatt backup generators; capacity is the meaningful size measure for fleet size.