National data show coal production continues to decline, and recent updates with projects in southwest Wyoming reflect that.
A national trend to extend the life of aging power plants is to shift them from coal to natural gas.
That’s long been the plan for Rocky Mountain Power’s (RMP) Naughton Power Plant near Kemmerer. The company last month officially filed its application to do so with the Wyoming Public Service Commission (WPSC), which regulates public utilities in the state.
“The Company determined … [it’s] the least-cost, least-risk option for the Company and its customers,” according to the RMP application.
If approved by the WPSC, the natural gas conversion will begin June 2025. The plant will fully stop using coal by the end of 2025 – putting a question mark on the local coal mine that serves it. The shift marks the end of an era for Kemmerer, which has long relied on coal. The town is now looking toward nuclear energy with Bill Gates’ TerraPower project.
For those wanting to comment on RMP’s application for Naughton or to request a public hearing, write the WPSC by Dec. 20. More details on what to include can be found here.
The same coal to natural gas transition happened earlier this year at RMP’s Jim Bridger Power Plant, just east of Rock Springs. A year ago, two of the four units stopped using coal. They were converted to natural gas and are now fully up and running.
The company is considering using carbon capture technology on the other two units. The idea is to make coal a more environmentally friendly option, and it’s spurred on by a Wyoming law that requires utilities to put forth a good faith effort to use the technology. But at an estimate of a billion dollars a pop, it’s unclear how realistic the switch is. Just to explore the idea has amounted to a 0.3 percent rate hike to RMP customers back in early 2023.
Both Jim Bridger and Naughton power plants are old, at over 50 years old. Regardless of conversions, they are still slated to fully close in 2039 and 2036, respectively. RMP’s parent company, PacifiCorp, has indicated a shift toward renewables and nuclear power.
