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Released April 04, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas--The integrated resource plan (IRP) filed March 31 by PacifiCorp (Portland, Oregon), a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated (NYSE:BRK.A) (Omaha, Nebraska), said the utility's preferred portfolio of resources for the next 20 years included significant additions of solar, wind and battery energy storage systems (BESS), though the preferred addition of wind generation over the next two decades significantly lags prior plans. The IRP reiterated the utility's commitment to bring on 500 megawatts (MW) of new-build nuclear generation from the planned Natrium advanced nuclear power plant slated to be constructed in Wyoming.
"Our Integrated Resource Plan is designed to determine the lowest-cost options for customers, adjusting for risks, future customer needs, system reliability, market projections and changing technology," Rick Link, senior vice president for resource planning, procurement and optimization, said in a statement that accompanied the release of the 2025 IRP. "We are grateful for public involvement by utility regulators, customers and other stakeholder groups to develop this plan."
He added: "We are in the midst of a fundamental remaking of our regional generation and transmission network, which has served our customers so well for decades. As the energy policies of the states we serve increasingly diverge, we will take the prudent actions necessary to expand our network and ensure the reliability and reasonable costs our customers expect and deserve."
Overall, PacifiCorp projected its electric generation needs would more than double over the next 20 years, to over 40,000 MW in 2045 from about 18,000 MW today.
Click on the image at right to see PacifiCorp's 20-year preferred generation resource portfolio.
In addition to changes in its preferred generation resource portfolio, PacifiCorp, which serves over two million customers in Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, seeks to add about $4.2 billion of new transmission assets over the next two decades.
Its preferred portfolio also envisioned a sharp year-over-year increase in the amount of battery energy storage systems, to 7,523 MW by 2045 compared to last year's projection of 4,016 MW in 2044. In its 2023 IRP, PacifiCorp's preferred portfolio included 8,095 MW of BESS operating by 2043.
PacifiCorp produces a new IRP on odd-numbered years. In even-numbered years, it provides a mid-cycle update. Before beginning the process to build or acquire new resources, the utility's plan must be approved by the six states where it provides electric service.
Thermal Generation
The IRP, filed with six state utility regulatory commissions March 31, detailed the company's plan to continue relying on coal-fired generation, reversing an earlier commitment that it would cease burning coal by 2032. For more on PacifiCorp's 2023 IRP and its 2024 update, see April 10, 2024, article - PacifiCorp's New Plan: Use Coal Longer, Cut Renewables and Storage and April 24, 2023, article - PacifiCorp Seeks More Solar, Wind, Storage and Transmission, Less Coal Generation.
In its latest IRP, PacifiCorp continued its and the industry's recent trend of pushing back or removing the planned retirement dates for coal-fired generators, partly to meet an expected surge in electric demand stemming from data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). For more on that, see February 6, 2025, article - Rising Electric Demand Growth Delays Retirement Dates for Coal-Fired Generation.
One factor that likely affected PacifiCorp's planning is the Trump administration's commitment to blocking or rolling back his predecessor's energy and environment agenda, including Biden-era rules on power plant emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
PacifiCorp's 2023 IRP, prepared during the Biden presidency, said the company would be out of coal-fired generation altogether by 2032. Two Utah coal-fired stations, Huntington Canyon Power Station and Hunter Power Station, were slated to close by then. But last year's mid-cycle update to the 2023 IRP said it wanted to delay the closure dates for those two plants to 2036 for Huntington and 2042 for Hunter Point. The newest IRP, filed March 31, gave no retirement dates to those two plants.
The other key thermal power plant options preferred by PacifiCorp included:
Click on the image at right to see how PacifiCorp's current 20-year plan to add renewable generation compares to prior plans.
While the IRP presents PacifiCorp's preferred resource portfolio for two decades, the company also provided a short-term assessment of how its reliance on different generations could shift between now and 2031, assuming state regulators approve the current plan. Over that seven-year timeframe, PacifiCorp said the use of coal to generate electricity would be cut more than half, to 16% from 35% currently. Natural gas use also would decline sharply: 10% of its electricity would be generated by gas in 2031 compared to 19% today. But growing percentages of electricity would come from solar and wind by 2031.
Click on the image at right to see how PacifiCorp's preferred portfolio could shift by 2031.
Transmission
The newest IRP includes 15 transmission projects, with a combined capacity of about 4,250 MW, that it wants to bring into service by 2039. These projects build on and expand on major transmission projects completed in late 2024:
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
"Our Integrated Resource Plan is designed to determine the lowest-cost options for customers, adjusting for risks, future customer needs, system reliability, market projections and changing technology," Rick Link, senior vice president for resource planning, procurement and optimization, said in a statement that accompanied the release of the 2025 IRP. "We are grateful for public involvement by utility regulators, customers and other stakeholder groups to develop this plan."
He added: "We are in the midst of a fundamental remaking of our regional generation and transmission network, which has served our customers so well for decades. As the energy policies of the states we serve increasingly diverge, we will take the prudent actions necessary to expand our network and ensure the reliability and reasonable costs our customers expect and deserve."
Overall, PacifiCorp projected its electric generation needs would more than double over the next 20 years, to over 40,000 MW in 2045 from about 18,000 MW today.
In addition to changes in its preferred generation resource portfolio, PacifiCorp, which serves over two million customers in Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, seeks to add about $4.2 billion of new transmission assets over the next two decades.
Its preferred portfolio also envisioned a sharp year-over-year increase in the amount of battery energy storage systems, to 7,523 MW by 2045 compared to last year's projection of 4,016 MW in 2044. In its 2023 IRP, PacifiCorp's preferred portfolio included 8,095 MW of BESS operating by 2043.
PacifiCorp produces a new IRP on odd-numbered years. In even-numbered years, it provides a mid-cycle update. Before beginning the process to build or acquire new resources, the utility's plan must be approved by the six states where it provides electric service.
Thermal Generation
The IRP, filed with six state utility regulatory commissions March 31, detailed the company's plan to continue relying on coal-fired generation, reversing an earlier commitment that it would cease burning coal by 2032. For more on PacifiCorp's 2023 IRP and its 2024 update, see April 10, 2024, article - PacifiCorp's New Plan: Use Coal Longer, Cut Renewables and Storage and April 24, 2023, article - PacifiCorp Seeks More Solar, Wind, Storage and Transmission, Less Coal Generation.
In its latest IRP, PacifiCorp continued its and the industry's recent trend of pushing back or removing the planned retirement dates for coal-fired generators, partly to meet an expected surge in electric demand stemming from data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). For more on that, see February 6, 2025, article - Rising Electric Demand Growth Delays Retirement Dates for Coal-Fired Generation.
One factor that likely affected PacifiCorp's planning is the Trump administration's commitment to blocking or rolling back his predecessor's energy and environment agenda, including Biden-era rules on power plant emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
PacifiCorp's 2023 IRP, prepared during the Biden presidency, said the company would be out of coal-fired generation altogether by 2032. Two Utah coal-fired stations, Huntington Canyon Power Station and Hunter Power Station, were slated to close by then. But last year's mid-cycle update to the 2023 IRP said it wanted to delay the closure dates for those two plants to 2036 for Huntington and 2042 for Hunter Point. The newest IRP, filed March 31, gave no retirement dates to those two plants.
The other key thermal power plant options preferred by PacifiCorp included:
- Continue to work with co-owners to develop the most cost-effective path toward an exit from the Colstrip project in Montana by 2030
- Continue the process of coal-to-gas conversion of Naughton Units 1 and 2 in Kemmerer, Wyoming, for completion by 2026
- Initiate the process of coal-to-gas conversion of Dave Johnston Units 1 and 2 in Glenrock, Wyoming, for completion by 2029, and
- Continue to evaluate carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) options for Jim Bridger Units 3 and 4 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, for completion by 2030 to comply with Wyoming's low carbon portfolio standard
While the IRP presents PacifiCorp's preferred resource portfolio for two decades, the company also provided a short-term assessment of how its reliance on different generations could shift between now and 2031, assuming state regulators approve the current plan. Over that seven-year timeframe, PacifiCorp said the use of coal to generate electricity would be cut more than half, to 16% from 35% currently. Natural gas use also would decline sharply: 10% of its electricity would be generated by gas in 2031 compared to 19% today. But growing percentages of electricity would come from solar and wind by 2031.
Transmission
The newest IRP includes 15 transmission projects, with a combined capacity of about 4,250 MW, that it wants to bring into service by 2039. These projects build on and expand on major transmission projects completed in late 2024:
- The Energy Gateway South transmission line--a new 416-mile, 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and associated infrastructure running from the Aeolus substation near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, to the Clover substation near Mona, Utah
- The Energy Gateway West Subsegment D1 project--a new 230-kV transmission line and a rebuild of an existing 230 kV transmission line from the Shirley Basin substation in southeastern Wyoming to the Windstar substation near Glenrock, Wyoming.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
