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Image Source: Haydencolorado.com
The Town of Hayden, CO, received $5.2 million in federal grant funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2022 for a regional industrial park that town leaders hope will retain and expand local businesses following the closure of the Hayden Station coal-fired power plant.
In April 2024, the Town of Hayden broke ground on the business park, which will ultimately include 117.1 acres with 23 lots and give local businesses the opportunity to expand their footprint across the region. Phase 1 of the Northwest Colorado Business District will include 58 developed acres, with 13 lots, and is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
Courtesy of the American Rescue Plan, Hayden and its neighboring Colorado community, Craig, received nearly $8.5 million together. Funding for the industrial park will go toward improving infrastructure, including roads, water and sewer. The park was designed to be a place where businesses can set up, expand and thrive for decades.
“This is all part of our forward plan,” said Bob Reese, Mayor Pro Tem of Hayden. “I believe our responsibility isn’t only today and tomorrow, but we’ve got to look 20 years down the road, and this will take us 20 years down the road along with the housing projects that we’re doing. And this isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.”
Colorado has various communities included in the Energy Communities IWG’s top 25 priority communities. Over the past 160 years, more than 1,700 coal mines have operated in Colorado to generate electricity for the state’s population. As of 2022, only six coal-fired power plants remained in the state, all of which have been officially scheduled to close between 2023 and 2031. Approximately 2,000 Colorado workers are at risk of losing their jobs due to coal power plant closures.
Hayden’s new industrial park is designed with this issue in mind. The project, which is being matched by more than $700,000 in local and state funding, is estimated to produce nearly 80 jobs and approximately $12 million in private investment. In fact, one of the tenants alone has the potential to add as many as 55 jobs.
The Energy Communities IWG is charged with advancing an interagency commitment of robust federal leadership in direct partnership with energy communities to foster economic investment and revitalization and ensure the creation of good-paying jobs. The Energy Communities IWG has identified billions of dollars in funding to support transitioning energy communities in reviving their economy for the future. Investments in projects, such as Hayden’s infrastructure park, help ensure new jobs and opportunities will become available in all pockets of America.