A Town Built on Coal Charts a New Course
In the heart of Moffat County, Colorado, the Cooper family's legacy is deeply entwined with the earth's resources. For generations, they have worked in energy extraction, from oil to coal. Now, Matt Cooper and his son Matthew are mastering a shiny red drill, not for mining coal, but for tapping into the Earth's constant temperature to install geothermal heat pumps. Their new venture, High Altitude Geothermal, symbolises a profound shift in a community built on fossil fuels.
"People have to start looking beyond coal," said Matt Cooper. "Our economy has been so focused on coal and coal-fired power plants. And we need the diversity." This sentiment echoes across Craig as one of the area's three coal mines closes, part of a statewide move towards cleaner energy. The Coopers worked at the Colowyo Mine near Meeker, where active mining has ended and site cleanup begins in January.
Political Crosswinds and Economic Reality
This local transition unfolds against a backdrop of national political conflict. President Donald Trump has aggressively promoted coal, using executive orders, sales from public lands, and regulatory relief to bolster the declining industry. He has even offered hundreds of millions of dollars to restore coal plants. Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado asserts the state "will not let this administration drag us backwards into an overreliance on expensive fossil fuels."
The economic data supports the shift. A June analysis from Energy Innovation found coal power was 28% more expensive nationally in 2024 than in 2021, costing consumers an extra $6.2 billion. Colorado's six remaining coal-fired plants are scheduled to close or convert to natural gas by 2031. The state is rapidly adding cheaper solar and wind, with renewables set to provide over 70% of power by 2030.
The immediate impact is keenly felt in Craig. The Colowyo Mine supplied the Craig Generating Station, a 1,400-megawatt plant. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association will close Craig's Unit 1 by year's end, with two other units closing in 2028. Together with the nearby Hayden Station, these plants employ about 200 people.
Entrepreneurial Spirit in a Time of Crisis
Facing this uncertainty, Craig's residents are harnessing their entrepreneurial grit. Kirstie McPherson, board president for the Craig Chamber of Commerce, notes the community's deep ties to coal. "When that starts going away... you have an entire culture, an entire community that is also having that same crisis," she said.
Yet, new businesses are emerging from the shadow of the cooling towers. Wade Gerber, a power plant worker with three decades in coal, used education subsidies to learn distilling. He is now opening the Bad Alibi Distillery, while his wife and McPherson launch a cocktail bar next door. "For me, my products can go elsewhere," Gerber said. "For someone relying on Craig, it's even scarier."
Others, like gift shop owner Tammy Villard, opened a commercial print shop as a practical hedge. A former Colowyo employee, she questions the speed of the transition. "The pendulum has to come back to the middle," said Villard, a moderate Republican, criticising the stark policy swings between administrations.
For the Coopers, the future is geothermal. "Maybe we’ll never go back to coal," Matt Cooper mused. Their story, and that of Craig, reflects a broader national tension between preserving the past and powering a sustainable future, one geothermal drill hole at a time.
