Pawnee Station

Location: Brush, Colorado

Plant Description: Pawnee Station is a coal-fired, steam-electric generating station

Power Production Capabilities: 505 megawatts (MW) from one unit

Fuel Source: Low-sulfur coal from the Eagle Butte Mine near Gillette, Wyoming.

Plant History: Construction began at the plant in 1977, and it started operating in December 1981.

Interesting Features: Pawnee has a comprehensive control system with CRT interface, which allows reliable operations and state-of-the-art diagnostic troubleshooting. Also located on Pawnee Station property is the Manchief Power Plant, a 250 MW gas-fired combustion turbine plant. Manchief is owned by TransCanada and operated by Colorado Energy Management. Xcel Energy purchases the electric output of Manchief.

Environmental Highlights: Air emissions are controlled at Pawnee Station by a baghouse, which was installed in 1994. A baghouse acts like a giant vacuum cleaner, removing particulate emissions from the flue gas by more than 99 percent. The plant also has fuel blending facilities, dust suppression and collection equipment and low NOx burners to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides.

Pawnee Station is a zero discharge plant, which means no process water is discharged from the plant site. Water for Pawnee is pumped five miles from wells to a 140-acre reservoir on the plant site. The Colorado Division of Wildlife raises fish in this reservoir.

Community Involvement: Pawnee Station employees are involved in various civic and community organizations in the Brush and Ft. Morgan area, including the Brush Rotary and Chamber of Commerce. The plant sponsors community activities and events including the Brush Rodeo. Pawnee Station also provides tours of the facility for the community.

Contact Information:

• Plant Information and Tour Requests — 1-800-895-4999
• Media Inquiries — 303-294-2300
• Manchief Power Plant — 970-842-9870, ext.2221