Bridger retrofit continues

Work on two of the Jim Bridger Power Plant’s power generation units continues east of Rock Springs, despite complaints of its cost.

Rocky Mountain Power, owners of the plant, are installing selective catalytic reduction technology into Units Three and Four in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the plant.

Mike Saunders, project manager for the construction work, said the project was part of a 2010 settlement Rocky Mountain Power reached with the Environmental Protection Agency and is part of a $1 billion company-wide investment to upgrade existing facilities and reduce carbon emissions. Once the two units are retrofitted with the carbon reduction equipment, carbon dioxide emissions from the two stacks are anticipated to decrease by about 73 percent.

Construction started late last year, with the company required to complete work on Unit Three by the end of 2015 and Unit Four by the end of 2016. Saunders estimates the units will come online nearly a month before their respective deadlines. The other two units at the power plant are anticipated to be completed in 2021 and 2022.

The projects’ total costs were not made public as they’re sealed as part of the settlement, but estimates suggest the project costs Rocky Mountain Power more than $100 million per unit.

The project supports more than 200 construction jobs at the plant, in addition to the more than 500 regular employees of both the power plant and the Jim Bridger surface and underground coal mines. The cost, along with the statement that the power customers will end up bearing the cost on their electric bills has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some Sweetwater County Commissioners.

“We opposed that (EPA ruling,)” Commissioner Wally Johnson said. “In our opinion, it was flawed.”

Johnson said the decision involving regional haze didn’t take into consideration the effect forest fires or heavy pollution blowing across the Pacific Ocean from China has on the haze issue seen in the western United States. In Sweetwater County, Johnson said the haze is only viewable during the summer months, linking the problem primarily with forest fires.

“The air is relatively clear in the winter. The big difference is forest fires,” Johnson said.

Johnson, representing Sweetwater County, testified to the EPA during a hearing regarding the regional haze issue -- testimony he believes fell upon deaf ears.

“It was obvious that the person listening could care less,” Johnson said.

The retrofit has dampened discussion of building a fifth power-generation unit at the plant. Johnson and other commissioners believe the ruling, along with other perceived attacks on the coal industry in across the country are the result of a war on coal being waged by the Obama Administration.

Johnson questions the viability and usefulness of renewable power compared to coal.

“Would you rather have 500 wind units on White Mountain or Aspen Mountain or have Unit Five burning Bridger coal,” Johnson asked.