Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, Amy.Dominguez@sierraclub.org
Wyoming – In its proposed partial disapproval of Wyoming’s State Implementation Plan earlier this month, the EPA has confirmed a retirement date for PacifiCorp’s Dave Johnston coal Unit 3, one of four units at the plant. In its recent proposed rule, EPA declared that the retirement of the unit has a federally-enforceable commitment to shut down by 2027. The utility has also maintained the same retirement date in its latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) meant to forecast how it will source energy for the next two decades.
In 2018, a Sierra Club economics report on PacifiCorp’s coal fleet prompted the company to conduct its own analysis. Both reports concluded that retiring Dave Johnston Unit 3 would likely save customers tens of millions of dollars due to its uneconomic operation.
The locked-in retirement date stems from EPA’s regional haze program which resulted in a 2014 Federal Implementation Plan, giving the utility two choices: retire the unit by the end of 2027 or install pollution reduction technology by 2019. Sierra Club has been deeply involved in securing the unit’s retirement, actively participating in IRP planning, utility rate cases, and strongly advocating for stricter emission control measures.
In response, Sierra Club Staff Attorney, Rose Monahan, released the following statement:
“PacifiCorp may have included Dave Johnston Unit 3’s 2027 retirement in its 2017 IRP, but the utility has a history of unexpectedly changing its plans. With the EPA now confirming that the 2027 retirement date is federally enforceable, we can finally trust that this unit will be retired as promised. This marks a crucial victory for PacifiCorp ratepayers, the communities planning for a clean energy future, and the fight against climate change.”
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