Largest grid operator in West plans to give up coal for wind and solar in Wyoming - Buckrail
Largest grid operator in West plans to give up coal for wind and solar in Wyoming
WYOMING — Pacific Corp, the largest grid operator in the western U.S., has released its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that outlines a shift from coal-fired energy towards renewable resources in states including Wyoming.
The 2023 IRP expands a portfolio of solar, wind and storage resources with the aim of lowering costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The plan includes converting two units at the Jim Bridger plant in Rock Springs, Wyoming, to natural gas by 2024, two units at the Naughton plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, by 2026 and shutting down three units at the Dave Johnston plant in Glenrock, Wyoming, by 2028.
In Kemmerer, Pacific Corp is also planning to place a NatriumTM demonstration project at the future retired Naughton facility to support the development of advanced nuclear reactors with integrated salt storage. According to the IRP, this will benefit grid reliability and stability for energy-producing communities in Wyoming and Utah.
The 2023 IRP also commits to boosting vehicle electrification, dispatching renewable energy from batteries to maintain grid stability and pursuing permit applications with federal regulators to advance pumped hydroelectric storage projects in five states including Wyoming.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has recently pushed back on the closure of coal fired power plants and the transition to renewable energy projects in Wyoming. There are also environmental concerns associated with wind farms, particularly habitat disruption and bird-turbine collision mortality, which are not considered in the 2023 IRP.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”