Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) has brought online six modular natural gas-fired units totaling 162 MW to replace the shuttered 207 MW Martin Drake coal-fired power plant.

In a video posted online Tuesday (May 30), CSU highlighted the gas-fired units’ “small footprint and high reliability,” along with their “low emissions and low maintenance needs…”

Following a testing period, the units are expected to enter full commercial operation in June. 

“These flexible power generators will help us transition to a clean energy future,” the company said. 

By 2030, CSU is aiming to retire all of its coal-fired capacity and source more than 55% of its energy from carbon-free sources.

CSU services about 615,000 electric, gas and water meters in El Paso County, CO,...