Jim Bridger Steam Plant

Jim Bridger Steam Plant is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by MidAmerican Energy (which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway) near Point of Rocks, Wyoming. The existing Jim Bridger Plant in Wyoming comprises four units, totaling 2110 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Completed in 1974, these generators use coal from the Bridger Coal and Black Butte mines.

Pressure for Cleaner Energy from PacifiCorp
In 2006, PacifiCorp announced its intention to build a 600-800 MW expansion at the same site.

On Jan. 18, 2007, the Oregon Public Utility Commission argued that PacifiCorp had failed to demonstrate a need for new coal-fired facilities in Wyoming and Utah. On June 7, PacifiCorp, based in Oregon, announced plans to build 1200 miles of transmission lines to connect the proposed plant to customers in three other states. The power produced at the Jim Bridger facility is primarily exported to the Northwest to supply power.

On Nov. 28, 2007, PacifiCorp notified the Utah Public Service Commission that it was no longer pursuing this project, due to “the time frame and the uncertainty around coal, based on climate change issues.” Ultimately, PacifiCorp is concerned about potential for clean energy projects in the quest to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Plant Data

 * Owner: PacifiCorp
 * Parent Company: MidAmerican Energy (owned by Berkshire Hathaway)
 * Plant Nameplate Capacity: 2,318 MW
 * Units and In-Service Dates: 578 MW (1974), 578 MW (1975), 578 MW (1976), 584 MW (1979)
 * Location: 9 miles north of Point of Rocks, WY 82942
 * GPS Coordinates: 41.74, -108.785
 * Coal Consumption:
 * Coal Source: Jim Bridger Mine, Black Butte Mine, Bridger Underground Coal Mine
 * Number of Employees:

Emissions Data

 * 2006 CO2 Emissions: 15,884,734 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions: 20,055 tons
 * 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh:
 * 2006 NOx Emissions: 28,054 tons
 * 2005 Mercury Emissions: 388 lb.

Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Jim Bridger Steam Plant
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants. Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.

Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Jim Bridger Steam Plant
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011

Citizen groups

 * Powder River Basin Resource Council
 * Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter
 * Wyoming Conservation Voters
 * Wyoming Conservation Voters Education Fund
 * Wyoming Outdoor Council

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Wyoming and coal
 * PacifiCorp
 * MidAmerican Energy
 * Berkshire Hathaway
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming