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SALT LAKE CITY – PacifiCorp, operator of the largest transmission system in the West, plans to procure a combined 6,554 megawatts of new utility-scale battery storage and solar and wind resources by 2030 — an important step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The utility detailed its expected resource needs in its 2025 integrated resource plan (IRP), filed March 31 with the regulatory agencies of the six states in PacifiCorp’s service area — California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

WRA applauds PacifiCorp’s plan to issue a new all-source request for proposals, or RFP, to acquire resources for new energy projects to be commercially available by the end of 2029. PacifiCorp terminated its previous RFP arising out of the 2021 IRP, citing factors including wildfire risks and liability and uncertainty regarding how new federal rules would affect fossil fuel generation.

In its latest IRP, PacifiCorp gives two scenarios for the retirement of coal plants based on whether compliance with the EPA’s Clean Air Act greenhouse gas rules will be required. If compliance is required, four of PacifiCorp’s five remaining coal units in Utah — Hunter units 2 and 3 and Huntington units 1 and 2 — would be converted to run on biodiesel. Hunter’s unit 1 would retire by 2032. If compliance is not required, these coal units would remain in operation indefinitely.

“Burning coal indefinitely doesn’t make economic sense, but competing state and federal policy are ultimately driving PacifiCorp’s decisions to retire coal units or keep them running,” added Hayes. “PacifiCorp makes it clear that changes in  policy may impair its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, placing serious cost risks onto the backs of customers. In the face of changing federal regulations, states have an important role to play — for good or ill — in addressing the challenges of climate change.”

PacifiCorp prepares its IRPs every two years, filing its plan with state utility commissions during each odd numbered year. For five of its six state jurisdictions, the company receives a formal acknowledgement on whether the IRP meets the commissions’ IRP standards and guidelines. PacifiCorp’s 2023 IRP was partially acknowledged by the Utah Public Service Commission in April 2024.

WRA has offered expert commentary and suggested technical guidance for PacifiCorp’s integrated resource planning for more than 25 years and will continue to examine and analyze the utility’s latest IRP. To learn more about WRA’s work with IRPs across the Interior West, read our three-part series here.