RMP plan speeds up gas conversion at Jim Bridger, focuses on renewables and nuclear

Rocky Mountain Power continues its quest for net zero emissions, which will have impacts locally as the company seeks to convert the four units at the Jim Bridger Power Plant to natural gas by 2030.

The conversations away from coal for Jim Bridger's units three and four will take place seven years earlier than initially planned. Units one and two are planned to convert to natural gas by the end of the year.

The company released its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan Friday, which details the company's planned energy investments into the next decade.

"Our Integrated Resource Plan is designed to determine the lowest-cost options for customers, adjusting for risks, future customer needs, system reliability, market projections and changing technology," Rick Link, senior vice president of resource planning, procurement and optimization at PacifiCorp said in a press release announcing the new IRP.

RMP updates its plan every two years to ensure the company is utilizing the best data models to adhere to its goals.

RMP's decision to move up the conversion schedule also means the retirement of the Bridger Coal Company, which fuels the power plant. The underground mine at Jim Bridger was closed in late 2021, which eliminated 94 positions.

The company plans to continue its investments in wind and solar power in the coming years, which includes adding 9,111 megawatts of wind-generated electricity and an additional 7,855 megawatts of solar energy. The plan also highlights an added 500 megawatts of electricity from the Natrium advanced nuclear reactor demonstration project Rocky Mountain Power and TerraPower are working on in Kemmerer, and identifies a desire to provide another 1,000 megawatts of nuclear power "over the long term." The Natrium project solves a problem RMP faces with its push for renewables, which comes from the fact that renewables are not reliable when it comes to fulfilling increased demand during peak usage hours.

Prior to announcing Kemmerer as the site for the Natrium project, RMP President Gary Hoogeveen told Sweetwater County leaders current battery technology limits renewable energy's ability to completely replace other forms of power generation. According to TerraPower, the Natrium reactor can produce power to meet those peak demands, then scale back generation outside of those hours. According to a Casper Star-Tribune article published December 2, RMP seeks to establish five more advanced nuclear reactors in Wyoming and Utah, however the locations of those reactors have not been finalized.

"The advanced nuclear resources that appear in the plan represent a promising future for our employees and communities in rural Utah and Wyoming," Link said. "As we transition to a net-zero energy future, it is important to leverage the experience, skills and dedication of the communities that have supplied our energy needs for the past century."