First Bridger unit retirement set for 2023

The retirement for the first unit at Jim Bridger Power Plant will take place in 2023, according to a presentation released by Rocky Mountain Power last week.

The presentation was given at a meeting hosted by RMP Oct. 3-4. Jim Bridger Unit 1, which produces 351 megawatts, is set to be retired in 2023. Naughton Units 1 and 2 near Kemmerer are set to close in 2025. The third Naughton Unit will be converted to natural gas next year. The second Jim Bridger Unit, producing 356 megawatts, will be closed in 2028, a year after RMP plans to shut down its Dave Johnston Power Plant in Glenrock.

While the closures mean the Jim Bridger Power Plant will lose the capability to produce 708 megawatts, RMP plans to replace it with 713 megawatts of solar-generated electricity through two solar projects listed to start in 2024 and 2029. A third solar project, listed to take place in 2038, will replace another 702 megawatts of transmission capability when the last two units at Jim Bridger are retired in 2037. The location of these proposed solar farms are only listed as “within Bridger WY transmission area.”

According to its 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, RMP plans to continue investing heavily into solar and wind generation projects, as well as additional transmission capacity. Through 2023, RMP plans to have 1,821 megawatts of power generation through new solar sources and 1,989 through new wind generation. RMP’s portfolio will include 5,186 megawatts of new solar generation and 3,110 megawatts of new wind generation by 2038. RMP’s plan also calls for the construction of its Energy Gateway South transmission project by the end of 2023.

While the company plans to replace coal-generated electricity with solar, that also means it would need fewer employees. RMP officials previously stated the company plans to avoid layoffs and would cut jobs through attrition, meaning jobs would be closed as employees leave. Those officials also said jobs would also be shifted to other areas, however, for Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo, the reduction in jobs will impact the city.

“... any loss of jobs will harm our economy as the loss of jobs means loss of workers purchasing those things that we all need to survive,” Kaumo wrote in an email to the Star.

Wyoming cities receive a majority of their funding through sales tax, which is distributed based on population. The Jim Bridger Power Plant and the nearby Jim Bridger and Black Butte mines, are major employers for Sweetwater County residents, many of whom live in Rock Springs. Those eventual plant closures also will result in a reduced demand for coal, impacting mining jobs outside the plant. This creates a situation where the city could see decreased sales tax generation, resulting in lower revenues for the city and decreased population numbers, which would impact the sales tax distribution in Sweetwater County after the 2030 U.S. Census.

While Kaumo believes some jobs and tax generation would be replaced through the new energy sources RMP will invest in, he said those jobs won’t pay as well as coal-based jobs. Kaumo also cites growth in the trona industry as means of replacing lost coal jobs.

“I’m hoping that the other industries, especially trona, will grow to replace the lost economic benefits we are used to and brought from the coal industry,” Kaumo wrote. According to the presentation, RMP has tentative plans to host a Nov. 7 meeting after it files its IRP Oct. 18.

 

Reader Comments(0)