Utah’s Intermountain Power Project, which generates electricity for communities in six states and as far away as Los Angeles, is getting a refresh that will allow it to continue operating for decades while producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions and adding flexibility in the form of energy storage. The multibillion-dollar IPP Renewed project is adding a pair of cleaner hydrogen-fueled turbines as coal-fired units at the power plant approach retirement and is making other key upgrades to the facility thanks in part to the site’s unusual features.

IPP came online in the 1980s at a 4,614-acre site more than 100 miles southwest of Salt Lake City near Delta, Utah to supply energy to 35 participating utilities, mostly in Utah and Southern California. Its generation and transmission assets are owned by the Intermountain Power Agency, a political subdivision of 23 Utah municipalities, while the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power, which is IPP’s largest buyer, serves as its operating agent and project manager.

“For nearly four decades, [IPP] in central Utah has generated and delivered a critical energy supply,” says Mia Rose Wong, senior public relations specialist at the Los Angeles power agency.

However, the agreements for selling power from the 1,800-MW coal plant were scheduled to terminate in 2027. In 2015, most IPP participants decided to construct new power generation capacity at the site and to remain with it until 2077, Wong says. After conducting feasibility studies, they decided to install natural gas units with the ability to use a hydrogen fuel blend that would generate fewer emissions.

The project has two main components: the $1.7-billion work around the new generating units at the plant and the $2.7-billion upgrades to IPA’s Southern Transmission System. Construction at the plant started in 2022, with work split into multiple contract packages. Granite Construction Co. handled site preparation, and M.J. Electric led work on a switchyard expansion. The Industrial Co. (TIC) is the generation engineer-procure-construct contractor, and its work is scheduled to complete this year.

“Given the scope and complexity of the project, EPC was an ideal fit as it ensures a single point of accountability and streamlined coordination among all parties,” says Petar Willhite, TIC project manager.

More than 2,000 employees have put more than 5 million labor hours combined into the project so far, according to Willhite. To ensure they would have enough workers available, TIC brought its centralized training program to the field for the first time, offering certifications on the job.

“This gave more of our craft the opportunity to enhance their careers and accelerate their paths to becoming journeymen,” Willhite says.

“That salt dome presented a unique opportunity to develop long-term, large-scale energy storage.” —John Ward, Spokesman, Intermountain Power Agency

In the 2000s, California law set emissions limits for fossil fuel power plants, and in the 2010s, LA power agency officials committed to eventually ending the use of coal power altogether. For the revamped IPP, they plan to use “green hydrogen,” which is produced with water by electrolysis using renewable energy.

“Through a stroke of good fortune, the original Intermountain Power Project was constructed directly above a geologic salt dome that is uncommon in this part of the country,” says IPA spokesman John Ward. “That salt dome presented a unique opportunity to develop long-term, large-scale energy storage in addition to the new generating capacity.”

The U.S. Dept. of Energy is providing a $504.4-million loan guarantee for the estimated $1-billion hub project called Advanced Clean Energy Storage Delta. Its initial design will allow it to convert more than 220 MW of renewable energy to 100 metric tons of green hydrogen daily, according to Mitsubishi Power, which is one of the firms behind the Delta project.

IPP participants will bring their own surplus renewable energy to ACES Delta for conversion into hydrogen, which can be stored until it’s needed, according to Ward. That makes the hydrogen component of IPP Renewed “a significant opportunity for deploying seasonable renewable energy storage at a massive scale,” he says.

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Who know Los Angeles depended on Utah for its power needs. Overall this is a cool project. The government coming in with a massive loan is no surprise. I’m not a huge supporter of the green/renewable energy industry due to the high cost and overall O&M but this project is very interesting. Good luck to the team! Hopefully NEPA doesn’t bite them in the behind!