![]() ![]() "We trust that once have the state engineer's permit they do have enough water," Burbridge says, "You know it's the old Ronald Reagan thing, 'Trust, but verify.'"īut the state engineer Gebhart says a water right isn't a promise of water forever for coal plants. He says the PSC defers to the state engineer. The Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) officially regulates plant operator Rocky Mountain Power, but the PSC's chief counsel John Burbridge tells NPR his office has not taken steps to ensure there's enough water to keep the power on. "If inadequate precipitation occurs in the watershed that supplies that region, PNM may have to decrease generation at these plants," the utility writes, "Drought conditions or actions taken by the court system, regulators, or legislators could limit PNM's supply of water, which would adversely impact PNM's business."īut for a coal plant like Jim Bridger, it can be unclear who is regulating this risk at ground-level, where power shortages could affect millions of Americans. In its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, New Mexico utility PNM outlines the risks of drought to its coal plants on the San Juan river, a tributary of the Colorado. In the west, the risk of low water is leading to new alerts for Wall Street investors. Earlier this year in its reliability assessment, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued a warning that drought in the Missouri River Basin could affect power plants, including coal plants, that use river water for cooling. Who ensures that coal plants have enough water?ĭrought threatens coal plant operations and customers across the US. Julia Simon for NPR The coal plant sources its water by pipeline from the Green River, a tributary of the shrinking Colorado River. It is a very disruptive event," he says, "If you're not aware of those risks, then you are not really operating your power plants responsibly." "If you don't have water to cool it, you can't run it, right? Like it's not a minor risk. "With all the concerns about the use of fossil fuels, climate change, and the use of water in this way," Eskelsen says, "that has to be balanced against the role that these particular power plants play in the stability of the regional transmission system."īut rising water scarcity in the West means the stability of coal plants like Jim Bridger is no longer a sure thing, says Joe Smyth, research manager at the Energy and Policy Institute, a utility watchdog group. Old coal plants like Jim Bridger have for decades been critical to the grid, says David Eskelsen, spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, which operates the Wyoming plant. But there's uncertainty at the state level over which officials are responsible for managing drought risk to power plants and the threat of brownouts and blackouts. Some utilities are already sending warnings, telling federal regulators that the drought could threaten coal plant operations. ![]() Now the very plants whose emissions help drive climate change are at risk of shutdowns, because the water they need to operate has fallen to unprecedented levels. hasn't been this dry for more than 1,200 years, but 30 western coal plants continue to suck up 156 million gallons a day of the region's scarce water, according to the Energy Information Administration. Unless they were able to find a different source of water, we would have to just shut off their water and not allow them to divert," Gebhart says. "They would be likely the first one shut off. Now, amidst a decades-long drought and a shortage of water downstream across the Southwest, future conservation in the basin could mean industrial users like Jim Bridger see their water shut off, says Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart. This water is piped here from the Green River, a tributary of the rapidly shrinking Colorado River. The plant sucks up about 16 million gallons of water each day, using it to power more than million homes across six western states, all the way to Oregon.īut there's a problem that looms for the coal plant operator and the customers that rely on it for electricity. At the plant's edge there's a reservoir, lined with rocks and clumps of drying grass. This is the Jim Bridger power plant, one of the largest coal-fired power sources in the nation and an enormous emitter of carbon dioxide pollution. Driving through the Wyoming sagebrush west of Cheyenne, the clouds of dust rising from the road give way to giant plumes of steam shooting into the warming sky.
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