Coal fired electric plants in the Western Interconnect (Cheyenne, Laramie: sales, purchase)

[PacoMartin]

The Western Interconnect Coordinating Council (WECC) electric grid consists of 11 western US states, 2 western Canadian provinces, and part of Baja Mexico. I keep hearing that the state government of WECC wants to close down coal production and replace it with renewables. There are 36 electric plants in the WECC (some privately owned), but 14 of them produce 75% of the power generated by coal in the whole WECC.
3 are in Wyoming
4 are in Utah
2 are in Colorado
2 are in New Mexico
1 is in Montana
1 is in Washington
1 is in Arizona

1. 8.92% WY Jim Bridger
2. 6.82% WY Laramie River Station
3. 6.80% UT Hunter
4. 6.76% MT Colstrip
5. 6.41% AZ Springerville
6. 6.38% NM Four Corners
7. 5.93% CO Craig (CO)
8. 5.75% UT Intermountain Power Project
9. 4.39% WA Transalta Centralia Generation
10. 4.03% NM San Juan
11. 3.85% UT Huntington
12. 3.68% WY Dave Johnston
13. 3.40% CO Comanche (CO)
14. 2.78% UT Bonanza

But Wyoming produces the most coal fired electricity in the WECC.
Absent from the above list are California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho which either have no public coal fired plants, or only little ones.

If you live in the Rocky Mountain region of the WECC do you agree that your coal plants should be shut down?

[NDak15]

I got some popcorn ready for the comments.

[DAXhound]

Wyoming coal is low Sulphur. Most statistics boasting renewable energy fail to disclose that they are including people burning peat moss for heat.. Also, electricity isn't even a fourth of energy consumed.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by NDak15

I got some popcorn ready for the comments.

How about that Los Angeles Department of Water & Power owns the second largest coal fired plant in Utah?

Electricity in California is about twice as expensive as it is in the other states in the WECC. So even though California doesn't have coal fired electric utility plants, and they don't import electricity from the other states if it comes from coal-fired plants, if you build a wind-powered utility plant in Wyoming, where are you going to sell the electricity? To California at 16.89 cents per kWh, or to Wyoming residents at 8.1 cents per kWh?

Wyoming residents can meet their own needs with coal.

cents/kWh State

1. 16.89 California
2. 10.52 Arizona
3. 10.17 Colorado
4. 9.02 Montana
5. 8.99 New Mexico
6. 8.81 Oregon
7. 8.78 Nevada
8. 8.24 Utah
9. 8.10 Wyoming
10. 8.04 Washington
11. 7.89 Idaho

I think one of my points is there are no completely guilt-free decisions. California is going to need to import electricity for the next few decades. California , Senate Bill 100 was passed in 2018 which mandated that electric utilities purchase electricity from renewables at 50% by 2026, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2045.

Jim Bridger Power Plant in Wyoming is not just the largest coal-fired power plant in the WECC, it is the 5th largest plant overall.

1. AZ Palo Verde: Nuclear (Opened: 1988)
2. WA Grand Coulee: Hydroelectric Conventional (Opened: 1942)
3. CA Diablo Canyon: Nuclear (Opened: 1968)
4. WA Chief Joseph: Hydroelectric Conventional (Opened: 1979, under construction for 30 years)
5. WY Jim Bridger: Coal (Unit 1 was completed in 1974 and was followed by Unit 2 in 1975 and Unit 3 in 1976. Unit 4 came online in 1979)
6. WA Columbia Generating Station: Nuclear (Opened: 1984)

These 6 plants produce 89.5% of all the electricity produced by wind and solar in the US in the WECC.

PacifiCorp plans to close Jim Bridger Power Plant Unit 1 by the end of 2023. Hundreds of scenarios were explored, and under the preferred portfolio, Jim Bridger Unit 2 will close by 2028 and Units 3 and 4 will operate through 2037. The decisions come as the company said it is investing more in “wind and transmission, while adding significant new solar and battery resources.”

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by PacoMartin

How about that Los Angeles Department of Water & Power owns the second largest coal fired plant in Utah?

Electricity in California is about twice as expensive as it is in the other states in the WECC. So even though California doesn't have coal fired electric utility plants, and they don't import electricity from the other states if it comes from coal-fired plants, if you build a wind-powered utility plant in Wyoming, where are you going to sell the electricity? To California at 16.89 cents per kWh, or to Wyoming residents at 8.1 cents per kWh?

Wyoming residents can meet their own needs with coal.

cents/kWh State

1. 16.89 California
2. 10.52 Arizona
3. 10.17 Colorado
4. 9.02 Montana
5. 8.99 New Mexico
6. 8.81 Oregon
7. 8.78 Nevada
8. 8.24 Utah
9. 8.10 Wyoming
10. 8.04 Washington
11. 7.89 Idaho

I think one of my points is there are no completely guilt-free decisions. California is going to need to import electricity for the next few decades. California , Senate Bill 100 was passed in 2018 which mandated that electric utilities purchase electricity from renewables at 50% by 2026, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2045.

Jim Bridger Power Plant in Wyoming is not just the largest coal-fired power plant in the WECC, it is the 5th largest plant overall.

1. AZ Palo Verde: Nuclear (Opened: 1988)
2. WA Grand Coulee: Hydroelectric Conventional (Opened: 1942)
3. CA Diablo Canyon: Nuclear (Opened: 1968)
4. WA Chief Joseph: Hydroelectric Conventional (Opened: 1979, under construction for 30 years)
5. WY Jim Bridger: Coal (Unit 1 was completed in 1974 and was followed by Unit 2 in 1975 and Unit 3 in 1976. Unit 4 came online in 1979)
6. WA Columbia Generating Station: Nuclear (Opened: 1984)

These 6 plants produce 89.5% of all the electricity produced by wind and solar in the US in the WECC.

PacifiCorp plans to close Jim Bridger Power Plant Unit 1 by the end of 2023. Hundreds of scenarios were explored, and under the preferred portfolio, Jim Bridger Unit 2 will close by 2028 and Units 3 and 4 will operate through 2037. The decisions come as the company said it is investing more in “wind and transmission, while adding significant new solar and battery resources.”

I see my joke went over your head.

[jody_wy]

https://www.countoncoal.org/2021/07/a-global-coal-boom/
The global energy transition is feeling far more like global energy addition. Fossil fuels are having quite the moment. The Biden administration is lobbying OPEC to pump more oil and provide relief at the gas pump. Global natural gas prices are soaring, and coal prices and coal demand have jumped to record levels.
https://www.spp.org/about-us/fast-facts/
https://marketplace.spp.org/pages/generation-mix most are in Wyoming.

https://www.power-eng.com/coal/eia-i...ockpiles/#gref

[DAXhound]

I saw Governor Gordon quoted as saying there are 500 billion tons of recoverable coal in the PRB. One quadrillion pounds? A one and fifteen zeroes.... Can you all verify that? I know it was not mistaken for 500 million tons, (the mainstream media often confuses billion and million), because I recall them mining 400 million tons in a single year. Is there really 1250 big years worth out there?

[OneDawg]

Originally Posted by NDak15

I got some popcorn ready for the comments.

Ditto

[jody_wy]

Originally Posted by DAXhound

I saw Governor Gordon quoted as saying there are 500 billion tons of recoverable coal in the PRB. One quadrillion pounds? A one and fifteen zeroes.... Can you all verify that? I know it was not mistaken for 500 million tons, (the mainstream media often confuses billion and million), because I recall them mining 400 million tons in a single year. Is there really 1250 big years worth out there?

Not sure but seen numbers once that just Campbell county had or 600 years of minable coal

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by DAXhound

I saw Governor Gordon quoted as saying there are 500 billion tons of recoverable coal in the PRB. One quadrillion pounds? A one and fifteen zeroes.... Can you all verify that?

It's certainly in billions of tons, but 500 seems optimistic.

Originally Posted by Abstract

Coal geology and assessment of coal resources and reserves in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana

This report presents the final results of the first assessment of both coal resources and reserves for all significant coal beds in the entire Powder River Basin, northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. The basin covers about 19,500 square miles, exclusive of the part of the basin within the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations in Montana. The Powder River Basin, which contains the largest resources of low-sulfur, low-ash, subbituminous coal in the United States, is the single most important coal basin in the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey used a geology-based assessment methodology to estimate an original coal resource of about 1.16 trillion short tons for 47 coal beds in the Powder River Basin; in-place (remaining) resources are about 1.15 trillion short tons. This is the first time that all beds were mapped individually over the entire basin. A total of 162 billion short tons of recoverable coal resources (coal reserve base) are estimated at a 10:1 stripping ratio or less. An estimated 25 billion short tons of that coal reserve base met the definition of reserves, which are resources that can be economically produced at or below the current sales price at the time of the evaluation. The total underground coal resource in coal beds 10–20 feet thick is estimated at 304 billion short tons.