QUICK NEWS, July 2: Wyoming Coal Is No Longer In The Money; Montana Is Wired For New Energy

Wyoming Coal Is No Longer In The Money Study suggests coal power in Wyoming is too expensive

Heather Richards, July 2, 2018 (Gillette News Record)

“…[In the nation’s largest coal-producing state, coal power from coal plants owned by Wyoming’s largest utility isn’t] always the cheapest power source for customers, particularly compared to renewables. That finding [from the PacifiCorp Coal Valuation Study] runs counter to assumptions that proximity to coal mines always drives down the cost of coal power, compared with other options…Wyoming coal-fired power plant Jim Bridger in Sweetwater County provides some of the most expensive power in the utility’s 22-coal unit fleet…

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[Natural gas generation prices] have been cheap and are expected to remain low, while many of the country’s coal plants are aging…Add to that picture the falling cost of developing wind and the coal industry has faced an unprecedented shift in demand…Coal continues to be part of the electricity mix, particularly for PacifiCorp. The question is, should it remain so…[The analysis] does not provide a full picture, sidelining costs like transmission and the price tag of replacing a significant amount of power now available from coal with new wind or solar…It is clear, nevertheless, that the ongoing costs of operating PacifiCorp’s coal units to supply electricity to customers are increasing while the cost of renewable energy is falling…” click here for more

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Montana Is Wired For New Energy Montana's Transmission System Ready For New Wind Energy, Report Says

Corin Cates-Carney, July 2, 2018 (Montana Public Radio)

Montana could play a significant role in meeting the demand for renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest…[because it has an electricity transmission system capable of carrying new wind energy westward], according to a new study from the Bonneville Power Administration and the state of Montana…[A] significant amount of Montana wind energy can be cost-effectively delivered today, and that there are additional actions that can take place to ensure more energy in the future…[T]he cost of delivering renewable energy from Montana to the west coast could compete with other renewable resources in the Northwest, but several uncertainties remain about how that power would be transmitted that could limit that potential…[Two units at the Colstrip coal-fired power plant] are scheduled to go offline no later than 2022…[E]lectricity generated by the Colstrip power plant can be entirely replaced, megawatt for megawatt, with renewable electricity with minimal cost or technical modifications…[because the transmission system used by Colstrip can] support one-for-one replacement of Colstrip generation with new resources…” click here for more

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