April 27 marked one year of continuous operation for Platte River Power Authority's Rawhide Energy Station. The previous record was 292 days, which ended July 19, 2011.
During the past 12 months, Unit 1 – Rawhide’s coal-fired generator – produced more than two million megawatt-hours of electricity. This output is approximately equal to the average annual use of more than 235,000 homes in the communities Platte River serves – Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Loveland, Colorado.
“The vast experience of Rawhide employees, proactive maintenance and continued investments in capital infrastructure are key drivers in reaching this tremendous level of reliability,” said Platte River’s General Manager and CEO, Jackie Sargent. “This exceptional performance is a direct reflection of the dedication, commitment and expertise of our employees across the company, and the ongoing support from our board of directors.”
Rawhide Unit 1 is one of the country's best-utilized coal-fired power plants. In its November-December 2014 issue, Electric Light & Power magazine reported that Rawhide's 95.9 percent capacity factor in 2013 was highest among all 708 coal-fired plants analyzed. Outstanding capacity factor is a result of high reliability and low operational costs. Capacity factor is a ratio of the actual output of the plant over a period of time to output if it had operated at full capacity over the same period.