PacifiCorp’s Wyoming Coal Plant Closures on the Horizon
Posted on May 14, 2019 by Sudeshna Pal
Tags, Energy
In its April 2019 Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) public meeting, PacifiCorp proposed early retirement of four of its coal plants located in Wyoming. The closures are the result of an economic analysis of closing multiple coal plants at one time. The analysis showed that closing Naughton Units 1 and 2 and Jim Bridger Units 1 and 2 by 2022 would save customers up to $248 million over a 20-year period. These plants together account for more than 1000MW of coal generated power. The company is going to replace the lost coal-fired generation with a natural gas-fired plant and a host of solar and wind resources combined with battery storage.
PacifiCorp is the second largest electric utility serving Oregon, and while other utilities have proposed plans to move toward carbon free generation, this is essentially the first significant step PacifiCorp has taken toward such commitment. The economic analysis of coal plants was undertaken as a response to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC)’s request for the study back in 2017 (see PUC Comments on Coal Studies for details).
As we discussed in an earlier blog, the two-part study that PacifiCorp presented in December 2018 consisted of economic analyses of a) retiring coal plants early unit by unit, and b) retiring multiple plants in a group, or “stacked”. While these stacked studies showed retirements of six coal units as saving customers up to $300 million, the analysis did not account for hourly reliability assessments. The present study, which is a part of PacifiCorp’s 2019 IRP, addresses reliability issues by considering incremental alternative resource costs. The final assessment of the study, which is in progress, will also include additional considerations for community transitions, carbon policy risks, and other factors.
CUB was among several stakeholders who recommended the stacked analysis and welcomes the proposed retirements by PacifiCorp. The closures will not only save customers a big chunk of money, but are also consistent with meeting the target of eliminating coal entirely from Oregon’s electricity supply by 2030 (see SB 1547 for details). It is also worth noting that Idaho Power Company, which co-owns Jim Bridger Units I and II, recently announced its own target of supplying 100 percent of its power from carbon-free resources by 2045. The early retirement of the multiple coal plants by PacifiCorp was a much needed and awaited step from one of the largest utilities serving the state of Oregon.
Finally, with the Oregon legislature considering HB 2020, the Oregon Climate Action Program (also sometimes called Clean Energy Jobs), Oregon’s energy policy is moving away from carbon intensive resources. Reducing coal generation is the easiest way for utilities to prepare for this low carbon future.
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05/14/19 | 0 Comments | PacifiCorp’s Wyoming Coal Plant Closures on the Horizon