Clean Energy Utah – An Update

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Not removed from some of the lovely spots on this planet, Arches Nationwide Park (as proven within the picture under), Moab, the Inexperienced River, and the Colorado River, there’s a large new inexperienced power venture, the Inexperienced River Vitality Middle, which is below development (as proven within the lead picture above).

The venture is positioned near the huge Hunter 1577MW and Huntington 1000MW coal-fired energy vegetation close to Fortress Dale, Utah, proven within the two images under.

What’s to turn out to be of those enormous coal energy vegetation as cheaper clear power with no recurring gasoline prices begin to substitute them? Lately Rocky Mountain Energy, which owns the vegetation, deliberate to close them each down by 2032. Nonetheless, the newest plans for the vegetation name to maintain them working indefinitely. The vegetation wouldn’t function at full capability, however would simply produce simply sufficient to backfill for the photo voltaic and wind vegetation at evening and through calm climate.

On my fact-finding tour of the area, I ended on the little historic city of Helper. Helper will get its title from using helper locomotives to recover from the 7500-ft Soldier Summit Cross between Huntington and Spanish Fork, Utah. I occur to take a seat down at a diner subsequent to a coal miner who labored close by. The miner informed me that all the output of the mine goes to the Hunter Energy Plant. To my shock, he informed me that the coal goes not by rail however by truck to the facility plant, as you see within the picture under.

The Inexperienced River Vitality Middle will encompass a really massive 400MW photo voltaic farm as proven below development within the lead picture, and an enormous 1600MWh battery storage facility. In my earlier article on the topic, I confirmed photos of a Tesla Megapack storage system, nevertheless it seems that these photos have been simulations or from one other facility. After I visited the positioning on February 10, 2025, the large photo voltaic farm as proven within the lead picture was below development, however the development of the Tesla Megapack storage system had not but begun. The Inexperienced River Vitality Middle is simply south of the Hunter plant. It additionally seems that photo voltaic farms have additionally already been constructed each north and south of the Hunter plant. One small portion of 1 is proven under.

Why is that this occurring, and why right here? An enormous purpose for the development is the dedication by Meta (Fb) to solely energy its information facilities with clear power. One in all them is the large facility in Eagle Mountain, Utah County, Utah, as proven under. The photo voltaic farm and battery storage facility will be capable to provide all the facility wanted for the information heart, a minimum of on the longer sunny days in summer season.

Why right here? These photo voltaic amenities will use the transmission networks already in place for the coal energy vegetation. The picture under exhibits the Hunter Energy Plant Electrical Substation, the place energy from the plant begins its journey to prospects.

It seems that Meta isn’t the one buyer which calls for clear energy from Utah. About 100 miles south of me, 130 miles south of Salt Lake Metropolis, in Delta, is the Intermountain 1900MW coal fired Energy Plant (IPP) proven within the picture under.

The shopper for the electrical energy from the plant is the Los Angeles Division of Water and Energy. After this 12 months, the LADWP will not buy energy from coal-fired vegetation. IPP is trying to convert to fully clear power by 2045. Due to this fact, IPP is within the technique of changing the plant to a 70% fossil gasoline/30% inexperienced hydrogen combine to energy a mixed cycle gasoline turbine by the tip of 2025. A mixed cycle gasoline turbine makes use of waste warmth from the gasoline turbine to provide steam. The steam is then used to energy generators like in a traditional thermodynamic plant. The purpose is to transform to 100% inexperienced hydrogen by 2045. There shall be an electrolysis plant constructed on website to provide the inexperienced hydrogen.

Surprisingly, the electrical energy for the plant will come up the identical energy traces that run to California for the output of the plant. I assume they are going to be sourcing clear California solar energy. Hopefully it’ll come from mid-day durations when California has a surplus of solar energy. It could appear to make extra sense to generate the facility for the inexperienced hydrogen from native photo voltaic farms, particularly as they go to 100% inexperienced hydrogen. Utah has loads of barren land and copious sunny days for the photo voltaic farms and also you don’t have to fret concerning the lack of electrical energy at evening when making inexperienced hydrogen.

Nonetheless, I agree with the arguments made by CleanTechnica authors that clear hydrogen is extraordinarily impractical and uneconomic to be used to gasoline automobiles, buses, vans, and airplanes. It makes far more sense to make use of batteries for automobiles, buses, and vans. The Delta website has underground salt domes that shall be used to retailer the inexperienced hydrogen. If the facility from California is extra that will be curtailed anyway and it’s not essential to compress the hydrogen, a few the key effectivity robbing traits of hydrogen use could be eradicated.

I perceive that the Trump administration has already killed all leases for offshore wind. It’s already shifting shortly to kill subsidies for electrical automobiles, EV charging, onshore wind, and solar energy. Nonetheless, the monetary steadiness for clear wind and photo voltaic is so robust, and with firms like Meta and establishments like LADWP demanding clear energy, it gained’t be capable to cease new onshore clear energy era totally.

On my subsequent reality discovering journey I plan to go to one among Utah’s geothermal energy vegetation. I’ll focus on geothermal energy in my subsequent article. I consider within the clear energy bible written by Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford College. He explains why Wind, Water, and Solar are the one sensible and economical means to transform the world shortly to wash power. He is aware of that the current era of geothermal energy vegetation have to be positioned within the comparatively few areas of the world with scorching sufficient rocks and water near the floor. Due to this fact, he has not included utilizing geothermal within the quick time period to transform the world to wash power. I’ll focus on the promise of deeper sources of thermal power in additional areas which will presumably be accessed sooner or later.

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