USA-based Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) has awarded Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) a contract for two gas turbine power trains for an advanced renewable energy-hydrogen power project in Utah.
MHPS will supply two M501JAC power trains for the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP), which IPA is converting from coal to renewable hydrogen firing in a gradual transition between 2025 and 2045.
Under the project plans, the gas turbines will start operating using a mix of 30 per cent hydrogen and 70 per cent natural gas fuel. This fuel mixture will reduce carbon emissions by more than 75 per cent compared to the retiring coal-fired technology.
Between 2025 and 2045, the hydrogen capability will be systematically increased to 100 per cent renewable hydrogen, enabling carbon-free utility-scale power generation.
IPA’s order includes two 1-on-1 M501JAC power trains with gas turbines, steam turbines, heat recovery steam generators, and auxiliary equipment. MHPS will service the plant under a 20-year long-term service agreement.
The repowered plant will provide 840 MW of energy. Dan Eldredge, General Manager of IPA said: “Our mission is to provide affordable, reliable power with a future vision of becoming a net-zero carbon energy resource. The unique Intermountain Power Project site and existing regional energy infrastructure provide an ideal opportunity for accomplishing this mission.”
In May of 2019, MHPS partnered with Magnum Development to announce plans to develop the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project adjacent to IPP. The ACES project will use renewable power to produce hydrogen through electrolysis. The hydrogen will be stored in an underground salt dome at the site, using technology that has been in operation for the past 30 years to supply hydrogen to US refineries in the Gulf Coast of the United States.
