U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said Friday that the Trump administration would continue to fight against state efforts to close coal power plants, including the Ray Nixon Power Plant outside of Colorado Springs.

Wright was joined by Colorado Republican Congress members Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans for a tour of Ray Nixon, the sole coal-powered plant still being used by Colorado Springs Utilities, and spoke to media members outside the building.

The 260-megawatt power plant had been slated to close by the end of 2029 as part of Colorado’s state requirements for utilities to reduce emissions and their carbon footprint. Utilities successfully advocated for Colorado state lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow the plant to run for an additional three years while it made its green energy transition.

When asked what should happen to the power plant after 2032, Wright said he found it “highly unlikely” it would actually close at that point.

“This is an incredible 100-year asset that is essential to providing affordable, reliable electricity,” Wright said. “Don’t build a new gas plant and close a coal plant that is maybe halfway through its lifetime.”

Minutes after Wright’s comments, Utilities staff told the assembled media that there were no plans to seek another extension for Ray Nixon.

“We appreciate the Secretary’s enthusiasm for a diverse energy portfolio. That said, we value our partnership with state policymakers and are committed to complying with state law,” Utilities spokesperson Amy Trinidad said in a statement.

The gas power plant mentioned by Wright is the Williams Creek Generating Station, a 400-MW natural gas generation facility Utilities plans to build southeast of Fountain.

Crank represents Colorado Springs in the 5th Congressional District. Evans represents northern Colorado in the 8th Congressional District but sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and spoke about the recent state legislation that centered on Ray Nixon.

Crank and Evans echoed the support for the Ray Nixon Power Plant and argued that high energy costs in Colorado were largely a result of the state’s renewable energy goals.

“We’re not reducing emissions here in Colorado. Those are still coming over from China or Utah or some other country. What we’re doing by those terrible policies is simply forcing Coloradans to bear the cost of that,” Crank said.

Utah enacted a comprehensive emission reduction plan in 2025 with steps to reduce emissions by around 20% by 2030.

Wright said that coal will be the main energy source in the United States for centuries to come but that solar power, nuclear energy and natural gas have roles to play. Wright pointed to the Geothermal Center of Excellence that the Trump administration opened Friday at the National Laboratory of the Rockies.

Wright, a Colorado native, founded Denver-based Liberty Energy, which provides oil field services including fracking, before he was appointed Secretary of Energy in 2025.

The officials were accompanied at the power plant Friday by Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal and Colorado Springs City Councilmembers and Utilities board members Dave Donelson and Brandy Williams.