By: Olivia Dicks Changes in climate and the effort to reduce industrial emissions of greenhouse gasses are beginning to create significant uncertainties for power plant workers and those who use electricity in Colorado Springs. “The industry has basically flipped on its head,” according to Ian Gavin, the plant manager at the coal-fired Martin Drake Power…
By Emily Stamper Five men and a woman sat inside the 1925 boiler room at the Colorado Springs’ Coal-Fired Power Plant, seemingly excited to share their experience. Each held a plastic cup of filtered water. One of them, plant manager Ian Gavin, got his start in nuclear power school. He then moved to the coal…
By Rachel Colchete In a conference room inside Colorado Springs’ coal-burning Martin Drake power plant, five utility workers sat across from a group of Colorado College students clutching notebooks—barriers that seemed to separate the students from the workers who feel misunderstood by the public. The Drake plant has become a hot topic within Colorado Springs.…
By Leah Thayer COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO As a part of Colorado’s goal to reduce emissions and air pollution, the Martin Drake coal-run power plant is currently planned to be decommissioned by 2035. With this plan, comes uncertainty regarding the jobs of almost 1,800 people throughout the corporation. “It hurts a little bit, thinking about decommissioning,” said…
By Sam Bower COLORADO SPRINGS – Sitting in the conference room with its drop ceiling hiding evidence of the relic boiler that used to occupy the space, workers in Colorado Springs’ coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant grappled with the impending 2035 decommissioning as part of a shift toward cleaner energy. “This is home,” plant manager…
By Mitchell Adams Employees at the coal-burning Martin Drake Power Station in Colorado Springs say they feel misunderstood by climate activists who view burning fossil fuels negatively due to their prolific emission of harmful greenhouse gasses. “We have the cards that we’ve been dealt,” said Ian Gavin, the manager of the power plant, while discussing…
By Lili Weir Workers at Colorado Springs’ coal-fired Martin Drake power plant put on brave faces this month as a push for renewable energy threatens their jobs and makes their lives more precarious. “I really don’t have any concerns……..I will be in utilities somewhere,” plant operator David Bertrand said. Like other workers, he says his…
By: Carly Valerious As Americans awaken to the harsh realities of greenhouse gas emissions, companies that use problematic energy sources, like coal, are changing. And workers inside the Colorado Springs coal fired Martin Drake Power Plant are wrestling with the implications of those changes. “Energy has flipped over on its head since I started. When…
By Johnna Geick With fossil fuel emissions driving global warming, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is pushing hard to transition to cleaner, renewable energy state-wide. But closer to home, workers at the coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant under Colorado Springs Utilities challenged the practicality of immediate change. Colorado aims to cut emissions…
By Whitton Feer As the energy industry shifts away from burning coal, the people working in Colorado Springs’ Martin Drake power plant face a future in which their skills are growing irrelevant. The Drake plant is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2035, according to Colorado Springs Utilities officials. That threatens the jobs of the 87 employees.…
