Powering Colorado with LM2500XPRESS: A conversation with United Power and Kindle Energy
Ty Remington, Mark A. Gabriel, and Lee Davis
October 20, 2025
9 min read
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Colorado is in the midst of an energy transition: retiring coal plants, integrating more renewables, and preparing for the marketplace. Against this backdrop, United Power, a member-owned not-for-profit electric cooperative serving more than 116,000 meters, and Kindle Energy collaborated with GE Vernova to deploy six LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbine packages at the new Mountain Peak Power (Mountain Peak) facility in Weld County.
Ty Remington (VP, Gas Power Sales at GE Vernova) sat down with Mark A. Gabriel (President and CEO, United Power) and Lee Davis (CEO, Kindle Energy) to explore the story behind United Power’s Mountain Peak project, a showcase of modular, fast install aeroderivative technology and a blueprint for future power generation. Their discussion covered marketplace, technology innovation, project execution, and a shared vision for resilient, reliable, and more sustainable energy portfolios.
Meeting the need for fast, flexible and more sustainable power
Ty (GE Vernova): Mark, Lee, thank you for joining me. Let us start with the basics. What was United Power’s need, and how did Kindle Energy and GE Vernova come together to meet it?
Lee Davis (Kindle Energy): Kindle is a power plant developer. Our role is to take a customer’s need and turn it into a reliable project. United Power had a clear requirement—fast, flexible and more sustainable power to support their members—and a very tight timeline. We worked with GE Vernova to identify the LM2500XPRESS as the right fit because it could be deployed quickly, while also meeting Colorado’s stringent environmental standards.
Speed and project execution
Ty: Speed seemed to be a key part of this project. How quickly did this project come together?
Lee Davis: Speed was super important. We actually purchased the turbines before permits were finalized—not typical in this industry, but it allowed us to compress the build schedule by at least 12 months. GE Vernova’s LM2500XPRESS is engineered for rapid deployment, and its modular configuration means it can be installed in less than 60 days once foundations are ready. That flexibility made it possible to meet United Power’s urgent needs.
Ty: And from GE Vernova’s perspective, this collaboration was a big factor in execution. The trust between Kindle, United Power, and GE Vernova allowed us to move from contract to delivery at record pace. The LM2500XPRESS was purpose-built for this type of challenge, derived from our TM2500 which is on wheels, but enhanced for lower cost and fixed installation, but modular enough where relocation is very feasible should the need arise.
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We actually purchased the turbines before permits were finalized—not typical in this industry, but it allowed us to compress the build schedule by at least 12 months.
Lee Davis
Marketplace participation and financial value
Ty: Mark, let’s talk about the financial and marketplace side. How do these units position United Power?
Mark A. Gabriel (United Power): We will be entering the marketplace as a participant in April 2026 through SPP (Southwest Power Pool). Units like this provide both physical and financial benefits by having capacity ready when there is a demand for it. The quick start capability is critical. We can bring units online in less than 10 minutes, and pair them with batteries that respond in two seconds. That combination represents huge value for our members.
The other advantage is these units do not just start fast; they ramp quickly too. That means they can easily perform three or four starts a day with high reliability, making them great peakers. They give us the ability to back up intermittent renewables like wind and solar, and during peak conditions this summer, their quick-response capability literally saved us millions of dollars.
Once the full marketplace structure is in place, the ability to balance between gas, solar, and batteries can create even more value. As a cooperative, every dollar saved goes straight back to our member-owners.
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The quick spin-up capability is critical; we can bring units online in less than 10 minutes, and pair them with batteries that respond in two seconds. That combination represents huge value for our members.
Mark A. Gabriel
Performance and reliability
Ty: How has the Mountain Peak facility performed since coming online?
Mark A. Gabriel: It has been a game changer. United Power has been growing an average of 22 MW a year since 2005. In July 2025, we hit our system peak of 680 MW, and the plant had just come online weeks earlier. Without it, we would have had to buy very expensive power, at times over $220 per megawatt-hour. Instead, the six LM2500XPRESS units delivered local, reliable power and saved us millions in just the first weeks of operation.
Beyond dollars and cents, it is about resilience. We are working to hyper-localize all our resources. These six units dispatch to two substations at the distribution level, which means we can control and manage power directly for our members rather than depending only on distant sources. This site at our Tesla substation also happens to sit right next to a Colorado Interstate Gas pipeline, so we did not need big investments in gas infrastructure. Combine that with our 69kV transmission line, batteries, and the LM2500XPRESS fleet, and you have a complete energy center. It really is a model for the future across the country.
Paired with 11 MW of batteries on-site, they give us a flexible portfolio to balance solar, wind, hydro, and marketplace purchases.
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The six LM2500XPRESS units literally saved us millions in just the first weeks of operation.
Mark A. Gabriel
Environmental and regulatory fit
Ty: Lee, you mentioned environmental standards earlier. How do these units fit Colorado’s context?
Lee Davis: Colorado has some of the strictest emissions standards in the country. The LM2500XPRESS includes GE Vernova’s Dry Low Emissions (DLE) system, which reduces emissions without using water, a critical advantage in northeast Colorado where water is scarce. That compliance, plus the ability to ramp quickly and integrate with renewables, made it the best solution available.
Future plans
Ty: Looking ahead, what does the future hold for United Power and Kindle in Colorado?
Lee Davis: We are already closed and preparing for construction on another, nearly identical facility southeast of Denver for a different customer. The modular configuration lets us replicate quickly what we have done on Mountain Peak. Permitting is faster the second time around, and we can apply lessons learned to speed up delivery. It is proof that this model works, and we expect to see more like it.
Mark A. Gabriel: For United Power, growth is the driver. We are adding large loads—data centers, rail, and more—and expect our load to double in size by 2030. Our strategy is deploying modular units like this across our system, paired with batteries, to keep power close to load. That is how we will help ensure resilience and keep costs down. Large-scale projects often face regulatory hurdles; smaller, distributed projects like this are the future.
Closing thoughts
Ty: Thank you both. What we have heard is that the LM2500XPRESS is not just about fast-start, reliable and resilient technology, it has also helped to enable growth, marketplace participation, and renewable integration, all while maintaining environmental standards. United Power, Kindle Energy, and GE Vernova have shown how aeroderivative modular, rapidly deployable technology can help deliver immediate value today and build a foundation for the future.
Ty Remington
VP, Gas Power Sales at GE Vernova
Ty Remington is a seasoned executive in the energy sector with extensive experience in sales and management roles, currently serving as the General Manager, North America Sales Regional Executive at GE Vernova since January 2023. Previously, Ty held several positions at GE Vernova, including Sales Director for Gas Power Systems and Sales Manager for Power & Water, where responsibilities included strategy development, product management, and contract negotiations for various power generation technologies.
Mark A. Gabriel
President and CEO of United Power
Mark A. Gabriel is the President and CEO of United Power in Brighton, Colorado, a position he assumed in March 2021. United Power is one of Colorado's largest rural electric power cooperative with nearly 120,000 meters supporting 300,000+ members at homes and businesses on the northern front range.
Lee Davis
CEO at Kindle Energy
Lee Davis has spent his entire career in the power generation sector. His engineering background combined with his business acumen, have made Lee a trusted leader in the energy industry. Lee is Kindle Energy’s founding Chief Executive Officer and runs the organization that provides asset management services and acquires, develops, and optimizes power generation assets throughout North America.
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