The operator of one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the Western U.S. will continue to run the facility, changing course about a year after a company executive said the plant was not economically viable.

A spokesman for Talen Energy confirmed to POWER on August 9 that the company will continue to operate the 2,094-MW Colstrip Generating Station in Montana. The company last year told the ownership group it would need to find a new operator by mid-2018.

Todd Martin, a spokesman for Talen, told POWER in an email: “I can confirm that the ownership group has determined that Talen Montana will continue to operate the Colstrip Station.” He said the company would have “no additional public information to share at this time.”

The Billings (Mont.) Gazette first reported August 9 that Colstrip would remain open, based on its interviews in the past week with representatives of the six utilities that co-own the plant.

Montana legislators earlier this year approved a deal that would allow Pennsylvania-based Talen to borrow up to $ 10 million a year to keep the plant operating until 2022.…

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