Western US electricity utility Pacificorp has released its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlining significant solar, wind and storage capacity expansions as well as investment into new transmission lines.By 2032, Pacificorp is planning to have an installed solar and wind capacity of over 20GW across the six states in which it operates – Utah, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. This is almost a fourfold increase on its current capacity. It is also planning 7.4GW of energy storage systems by 2029.
The IRP also continues Pacificorp’s plans to add 2,500 miles of transmission lines, spanning the range of its territory between the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, to support the deployment of the renewables.
The utility said its plans will result in a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, with an 87% reduction by 2035 and 100% by 2050.
A further plan, to be realised through 2042, outlines:
7,855MW of new solar resources (most paired with battery storage)
8,095MW of storage resources
9,111MW of new wind resources
4,953MW of capacity saved through energy efficiency programs
929MW of capacity saved through direct load control programs
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