PacifiCorp to focus on solar energy paired with battery storage in new IRP
PacifiCorp released its 2021 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) this week and it showed a strong focus on solar energy paired with battery storage.
The new IRP plans for a 74% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and states that continued clean energy acquisition and “foundational transmission investments” will result in 98% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, according to a press release.
PacifiCorp sees a big potential for solar paired with battery storage in its system, “which is why there is a significant amount of it in this plan," said company spokesman David Eskelsen.
And though the IRP doesn’t pick specific projects, it does look at resource types, cost analysis, what customers will need in the future and a cost risk and reliability analysis, Eskelsen said.
“The IRP mentions and lists the resource types that we’re looking at over the 20-year planning horizon and in addition to those specific resource types and their associated capacity,” he explained.
The IRP’s 2021 roadmap outlined the company’s “bold vision for the West between now and 2040,” setting up a path to achieve clean, resilient, and affordable energy through a “modernized and expanded grid.”
It showed PacifiCorp’s goal to continue its growth into a clean energy grid, with some projects already online and others with executed agreements that will come online through 2023.
According to the IRP, the plan for this growth included:
4,290 MW from energy efficiency programs
5,628 MW of new solar resources (most paired with storage)
3,628 MW of new wind resources
6,181 MW of storage resources, including battery storage co-located with solar, standalone battery storage and pumped hydro storage resources
2,448 MW of direct load control programs
500 MW of advanced nuclear (the Natrium TM reactor demonstration project) in 2028, with an additional 1,000 MW of advanced nuclear over the long-term
Eskelsen said that some states may see more projects come from this IRP, such as Wyoming and Idaho in regard to wind possibilities.
“There are wind sites in Utah that we have PPAs with, but the wind density in Utah is somewhat less, so those projects aren’t as economic as the ones in Wyoming and Idaho,” he said, but added that central Utah has a lot of solar potential.
He said that the IRP looks at transmission additions and “these are important because the transmission additions really speak to not only being able to get energy generated to where customers are but has significant impact on system reliability.”
Eskelsen explained that as PacifiCorp’s system has been changing in recent years, it needed a way to expand its transmission system. Since 2007, it has been building key segments on its Energy Gateway to do just that.
The new IRP stated that PacifiCorp plans to “connect and optimize these diverse, clean resources across the West with a strengthened and modernized transmission network.” This included:
416 miles of new transmission from the new Aeolus substation near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, to the Clover substation near Mona, Utah (Energy Gateway South)
59 miles of new transmission from the Shirley Basin substation in southeastern Wyoming to the Windstar substation near Glenrock, Wyoming (Energy Gateway West Sub-Segment D.1)
290 miles of new transmission from the Boardman substation in north central Oregon to the Hemingway substation in south central Idaho
Also stated in the IRP, PacifiCorp is accelerating its progress into renewable energy by expanding its supply while increasing storage capacity.
“It’s very important that we have enough capacity to move the power generated, in particular during peak times of the year,” Eskelsen said.
According to Eskelsen, PacifiCorp’s peak time is in the summer due to air conditioning though a smaller peak is seen in the winter in a few areas as well.
“We have to build for that peak period,” he said.
Key changes
Some of the other key changes seen in the new IRP include coal-to-conventional gas in Wyoming, which Eskelsen said was not anticipated in the 2019 IRP.
The new IRP lists a completed coal-to-gas peaker conversion of the Naughton Unit 3 in Kemmerer, Wyoming, as well as beginning the process of a coal-to-gas peaker conversion of the Jim Bridger Units 1 and 2 in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
The IRP also shows a coal retirement schedule, including some plants in Wyoming.
And for the first time, the plan includes an advanced nuclear facility in Wyoming. The developer, TerraPower, is expected to select a site at a retiring coal plant before the end of the year, according to the press release.
“I also think there is a significant uptick in our expectations for energy efficiency and demand response programs,” Eskelsen said.
He explained that there are two types of these programs. The first includes cash incentives for energy efficiency for customers.
“This helps them invest in more efficient improvements to use the electricity they need and runs the gambit on incentives to have residential customers install more efficient lighting, additional insulation in their homes,” he said.
Meanwhile, for commercial and industrial customers, it incentivizes operations to use more efficient electric motors, lighting, and ventilation systems.
The second type of program is demand management, which Eskelsen said “is irrigation load control and air conditioning load control.”
“We expect that kind of technology to increase, and those programs help us manage peak demand,” he said.
In the press release, PacifiCorp wrote, “The plan continues investment in new clean energy resources” and that the IRP builds on work the company has recently completed. This includes its USD 3 billion Energy Vision 2020 wind power and transmission projects and its recent Request for Proposals which is now in its negotiation period.
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