Colorado Coal Town Reinvents Itself: Families Pivot to Geothermal While Federal Moves Try To Rescue Coal

Craig, Colo.: From Coal Rigs to Geothermal Drills

The Cooper family has spent generations operating heavy machinery in Colorado's energy industry — from oil to coal. Now father and son Matt and Matthew Cooper are applying those same skills to a very different kind of drilling as they build High Altitude Geothermal, a local company that installs geothermal heat pumps using the Earth's steady subsurface temperature to heat and cool buildings.

“People have to start looking beyond coal,” Matt Cooper said. “Our economy has been so focused on coal and coal-fired power plants. And we need the diversity.”

Local Closures and the Economic Reality

The shift is driven both by local decisions and broader market forces. The Colowyo Mine near Meeker is ending active extraction and will begin site cleanup in January; it employs about 130 workers and supplies the nearby Craig Generating Station, a 1,400-megawatt coal-fired plant. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association plans to retire Craig's Unit 1 by the end of this year for economic reasons and to meet emissions requirements, with the remaining units scheduled to close by 2028. Xcel Energy's Hayden Station — roughly 30 minutes away — says it will keep its current retirement dates, while another coal unit in Pueblo has been extended to meet rising electricity demand.

Colorado’s utilities plan to close or convert the state's remaining coal-fired plants to natural gas by 2031 as the state adds cheap renewable resources. Renewables already supply more than 40% of Colorado’s power and, according to utility plans, are expected to exceed 70% by the end of the decade.

Markets, Policy, And The National Picture

Economic pressures have compounded the political debate. A June analysis from the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation found coal-fired power was roughly 28% more expensive in 2024 than in 2021, adding an estimated $6.2 billion in costs for consumers; analysts cited higher operating costs for aging plants and inflation. Nationally, wind and solar continued to expand and — as of the latest October data — produced more electricity than coal in 2025, according to the energy think tank Ember.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump has promoted coal through executive actions, expanded sales of coal from public lands, regulatory rollbacks and proposals for federal funding to revive plants. Those efforts have created uncertainty in coal-dependent communities: some residents hope for federal intervention while others retrain for new careers.

Entrepreneurship And Community Transition

Craig residents are responding in varied ways. The Coopers are committed to geothermal and see a possible multigenerational future in it. Wade Gerber, a three-decade coal-plant employee, is opening Bad Alibi Distillery after using education subsidies to train in distilling. Others are learning trades, opening small businesses, or expanding services that can serve markets beyond Craig.

Still, the social and cultural impacts run deep. Kirstie McPherson, president of the Craig Chamber of Commerce, says the loss of coal affects a whole community identity: “You have a whole community who has always been told you are an energy town, you’re a coal town... an entire culture that is also having that same crisis.”

Some residents, like Tammy Villard — who worked at Colowyo for a decade and now runs a local gift shop and print business — worry the transition is too fast and fear grid reliability and lost wages. “The pendulum has to come back to the middle,” she said, urging steadier, less politicized planning.

Looking Ahead: Craig's experience highlights how market economics, state policy and federal actions combine to reshape energy communities. Local entrepreneurship and retraining offer paths forward, but the town's story also underscores the social costs and uncertainties that accompany a major energy transition.

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