FLEXIBLE, CLEAN INDUSTRY AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POWER STRONG ECONOMIES

This case study proposes the development of an "energy park" in Pueblo, Colorado, as a clean, reliable replacement for the Comanche Unit 3 coal-fired power plant slated for retirement in 2031. The energy park model integrates renewable generation, short-duration batteries, flexible industrial loads (such as thermal batteries and electrolyzers), and long-duration energy storage to mimic the dispatch profile of a firm power resource while driving local economic development.

• A modeled energy park in Pueblo can achieve 99 percent reliability in matching the target dispatch profile of Comanche Unit 3, which is an improvement over the actual coal plant's 90 percent reliability. The system is designed to export enough electricity to meet grid needs while keeping over 40 percent of generated energy within Pueblo County to support industrial activity.
• The energy park is projected to generate significant economic benefits for Pueblo County, including more than $40 million in annual property taxes and over 350 permanent jobs. These benefits would stem from a diversified portfolio of resources, reducing the community's dependence on a single large facility and avoiding a "tax revenue cliff" upon the coal plant's retirement.
• The energy park is estimated to be significantly more cost-effective for Colorado electricity ratepayers than a comparable clean firm resource, such as a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR). The overall cost is approximately 30 percent lower, and the cost specifically allocated to electricity customers is roughly halved because industrial customers pay for a significant portion of the capital investment.
• The proposed energy park consists of four integrated components: 2,000 MW of solar and 1,600 MW of wind; 500 MW/2,000 MWh of short-duration battery storage; flexible industrial loads including 800 MW of thermal batteries for heat and 400 MW of electrolyzers for hydrogen; and 1,600 MW of on-site thermal batteries for long-duration storage to drive a steam turbine.
• The energy park model supports Colorado's state policy goals, specifically the clean electricity standard (100 percent clean retail sales by 2050) and the clean heat standard (22 percent emissions reduction from heating by 2030). The use of thermal batteries provides a pathway to decarbonize non-residential industrial heat users.
• Key deployment barriers include the need to attract industrial customers to act as flexible loads and the requirement for a central coordinator to orchestrate the various components. The authors suggest that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission needs to establish a framework for pricing power for flexible loads to make these arrangements just and reasonable.

APA

Gimon, E., & Solomon, M. (2025). FLEXIBLE, CLEAN INDUSTRY AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POWER STRONG ECONOMIES. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Parks-Comanche-Case-Study.pdf

Chicago

Gimon, Eric, and Michelle Solomon. FLEXIBLE, CLEAN INDUSTRY AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POWER STRONG ECONOMIES. Energy Innovation, 2025. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Parks-Comanche-Case-Study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gimon |first1=Eric |last2=Solomon |first2=Michelle |title=FLEXIBLE, CLEAN INDUSTRY AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POWER STRONG ECONOMIES |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=April 2025 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Parks-Comanche-Case-Study.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gimon2025flexible, author = {Gimon, Eric and Solomon, Michelle}, title = {{FLEXIBLE, CLEAN INDUSTRY AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POWER STRONG ECONOMIES}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Energy-Parks-Comanche-Case-Study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }