Welcome to A People's Atlas of Nuclear Colorado
To experience the full richness of the Atlas, please view on desktop.
Navigating the Atlas
You may browse the Atlas by following the curated "paths" of information and interpretation provided by the editors. These paths roughly track the movement of radioactive materials from the earth, into weapons or energy sources, and then into unmanageable waste—along with the environmental, social, technical, and ethical ramifications of these processes. In addition to the stages of the production process, you may view in sequence the positivist, technocratic version of this story, or the often hidden or repressed shadow side to the industrial processing of nuclear materials.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Using the buttons on the left, you may also browse the Atlas's artworks and scholarly essays, access geolocated material on a map, and learn more about contributors to the project.
If you would like to contribute materials to the Atlas, please reach out to the editors: Sarah Kanouse (s.kanouse at northeastern.edu) and Shiloh Krupar (srk34 at georgetown.edu).
Cover Image by Shanna Merola, "An Invisible Yet Highly Energetic Form of Light," from Nuclear Winter.
Atlas design by Byse.
Funded by grants from Georgetown University and Northeastern University. Initial release September 2021.
Satellite image from Google Earth of former Cameo Power Plant Site, 2020, Google Earth/USDS Farm Services Agency
Site
Former Cameo Power Plant
The Cameo Power Plant, located in Grand Junction, Colorado, was a 1,100-acre coal-fired power plant owned and operated by Xcel Energy since 1956. Tailings, most likely from the Climax Uranium Mill, were used in the plant’s foundation, and the Cameo site served as the disposal ground for uncontrolled tailings prior to the facility’s construction. By 2010, Xcel shut down the site and, in 2013, Ontario Specialty Corporation headed the deconstruction and imploding efforts, donating the remaining scrap metal to VanGundy’s metal recovery facility in Grand Junction. Xcel agreed to install a 12-acre, 6,000-panel solar garden near the former coal plant, with the goal of making Grand Junction run on 100% renewable energy. The agreement claims that the town will save about $1 million over the course of the 20-year contract. These efforts have been part of the larger initiative by the State of Colorado to cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. Xcel also opened its first ever solar-coal hybrid power plant in a unit of the Cameo Station in 2010. The plant includes a 1-MW test Concentrating Solar Power plant that cost $45 million and generates 1 MW (of its 49 megawatts) of energy from solar power sources. Meanwhile, low-income communities of color remain disproportionately affected by pollution from the site.
McNeil, Megan. "6,000 Solar Panels to Go in Cameo." KJCT News 8, ABC. May 9, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Proctor, Cathy. "Xcel Takes Unusual Step to Shut Down Coal Power Plants." Bizjournals.com. August 20, 2008. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Svaldi, Aldo. "Coal's Future as a Power Source in Colorado Flickering." The Denver Post, January 11, 2018 [last updated]. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Sources
Dames, Joseph. "Familiar I-70 Landmark Topples after Implosion." KKCO 11 News.com. Apr 17, 2013. Accessed July 31, 2020.McNeil, Megan. "6,000 Solar Panels to Go in Cameo." KJCT News 8, ABC. May 9, 2018. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Proctor, Cathy. "Xcel Takes Unusual Step to Shut Down Coal Power Plants." Bizjournals.com. August 20, 2008. Accessed July 31, 2020.
Svaldi, Aldo. "Coal's Future as a Power Source in Colorado Flickering." The Denver Post, January 11, 2018 [last updated]. Accessed July 31, 2020.
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