The Interountain Power project, which generates electricity for six -state communities and as far as Los Angeles, is achieving a refreshment that will allow it to continue to operate for decades while producing less greenhouse gas emissions and adds flexibility in the form of energy storage. The renewed billionaire IPP project is adding a pair of cleaner turbines fed with hydrogen as the coal units of the power plant approach retirement and make other key updates to the installation thanks in part to the unusual features of the site.
IPP was presented online in the 1980’s in a 4,614 hectares in more than 100 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, near Delta, Utah. It supplies energy to 35 participating services, mainly in Utah and southern California. Its generation and transmission assets are the property of the Interouuntain Power (IPA) agency, a political subdivision of 23 Utah municipalities, while the Los Angeles Water and Power (LADWP) department (LADWP), which is the largest buyer of the IPP, serves as an IPP operational agent and project manager.
“For almost four decades, [IPP] In the center of Utah has generated and provided a critical energy supply, “says Mia Rose Wong, a Ladwp senior public relations specialist.
However, the agreements for the sale of the 1,800 MW coal plant were planned to end in 2027. In 2015, most IPP participants decided to build a new energy generation capacity in the site and remain with it until 2077, according to Wong. After conducting feasibility studies, they decided to install natural gas units with the possibility of using a mixture of hydrogen fuel that would generate less emissions.
The project aims to expand the life of the plant for decades while producing less emissions.
Photo Courtesia Interountain Power Agency
The project has two main components: dollars of $ 1.7 million around new generating units on the plant and $ 2.7 million updates to the South IPA transmission system. The construction of the plant began in 2022, with work divided into various contract packages. Granite Construction Co. He managed the place preparation and MJ Electric LED work on a yard expansion. Industrial Co. (ICT) is the construction contractor in generation engineer and his work is expected to be fulfilled this year.
“Given the scope and complexity of the project, EPC was an ideal adjustment, as it guarantees a single point of responsibility and a rationalized coordination between all parties,” says Petar Willhite, ICT project manager.
According to Willhite, more than 2,000 employees have put more than 5 million working hours combined in the project. To ensure that enough workers would be available, ICT brought its centralized training program to the field for the first time, offering certifications at work.
“This also gave our offices the opportunity to improve their careers and accelerate their ways to become travelers,” says Willhite.
“This salt dome presented a unique opportunity to develop large -scale energy storage on the long -term.”
—John Ward, spokesman, Power Interouuntin Agency
In the 2000’s, the California Law established emission limits for fossil fuels and 2010 Ladwp officials pledged to end coal power. For the renewed IPP, they plan to use “green hydrogen”, which is produced with electrolysis water through renewable energy.
The plant adapts exclusively to use hydrogen thanks to its location above a dome of geological salt where an independent developer team plans to build a hydrogen hub that stores underground gas in a couple of 4.5 million caves that will provide fuel for the plant.
“Through a good fortune, the original Power Interouuntain project was built directly on a geological salt dome that is rare in this part of the country,” says IPA spokesman John Ward. “This salt dome presented a unique opportunity to develop large -scale long -term energy storage, as well as the new generating capacity.”
The US Department of Energy provides a $ 504.4 million loan guarantee for the estimated $ 1 billion project called Delta Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES). Its initial design will allow it to turn more than 220 MW of renewable energy to 100 metric tons of green hydrogen daily, according to Mitsubishi Power, which is one of the companies of the ACES Delta project.
The IPP participants will provide their renewable energy surplus to Delta Ases for hydrogen conversion, which can be stored until necessary, according to Ward. This causes the IPP hydrogen component to renew “an important opportunity to deploy seasonal renewable energy storage on a massive scale,” he says.
IPA also chose Mitsubishi Power to supply two of its M501jac gas turbines with a combined capacity of 840 MW for the plant. The plan for the combined plant of gas turbine is initially using a 30% hydrogen mix with natural gas and, eventually, increasing the percentage of hydrogen as Mitsubishi improves its technology. The company claims that its equipment will be able to generate 100% hydrogen by 2045.
The fuel change will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the plant by more than 75% compared to coal generation, according to Mitsubishi.
With a strong transport needed to move equipment to the site, ICT did not want to have to trust the calendar and reliability of a special subcontractor. Thus, the contractor decided to carry out his own work for the first time using self -propelled modular transport units (SPMT).
“ICT is proud to make the majority of our reach,” says Willhite. “Adding heavy ferry to this list is a game changing room.”
The final project is the modernization of the 2,400 MW transmission system that connects the plant with the south of California. This will include the creation of new DC converters stations at both ends of the line. It is due to its completion by 2027.
Advance the project to this point has required a lot of cooperation. The participating utilities of the IPP range from the largest in the country to some very small cities, and have very different needs, and Ward highlights the cooperation needed to complete the work.
“We were able to meet for a project that works for everyone relying on the relationships of good will and work that have been developed for almost 40 years of operation of the original project,” says Ward. “This is really a brilliant example of the advantages of regional energy cooperation.”
