{"id":152854,"date":"2026-01-28T05:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T05:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/152854\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T05:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T05:26:15","slug":"heres-how-california-got-around-its-anti-coal-regulations-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/152854\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how California got around its anti-coal regulations \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a misty, gray morning in Delta, Utah, two Teslas drove past the little town\u2019s towering coal plant. Their motors\u2019 thin hums matched the now-silent behemoth that sits dormant after burning pulverized powder for nearly 40 years.<\/p>\n

Two shinier, smaller natural gas plants sit in front of it, whirring gently, spitting out steam. These plants, which currently burn 30% hydrogen, were designed and built by Mitsubishi. Inside, half of the control room\u2019s chairs are filled by central Utahns in cowboy boots, and the other half are filled by Japanese engineers. <\/p>\n

Delta, population 3,700, has been home to state-of-the-art power plants since the 1980s. But the electricity it produces is not for Utahns. Their main customer is Southern California. <\/p>\n

This all started in the 1970s. Conflict in the oil-rich Middle East made Americans realize they needed a self-sufficient and diverse energy industry, and Utahns in particular saw the crisis as an opportunity to use their abundance<\/a> of easy-to-access coal. <\/p>\n

Although it had the fuel supply, Utah didn\u2019t have enough demand for power to build the kind of coal plant it wanted. So 23 Utah municipalities approached Los Angeles \u2014 the biggest municipal electric utility in the country \u2014 and five neighboring cities to make a deal. <\/p>\n

By 1987, the Intermountain Power Project, known by most as IPP, had built two coal-fired units, and electricity was zipping 490 miles down from Delta to Southern California. <\/p>\n

\"\"Steam rises into the air from the new natural gas plant adjacent to the old coal plant at the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton near Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The coal plant generated billions of dollars for Utah<\/p>\n

Intermountain Power Project electrified Delta\u2019s economy right from its inception. <\/p>\n

Jay Shaw, who was hired by IPP in 1985, told the Deseret News that when the coal plant was under construction, traffic on the town\u2019s Brush Wellman Road \u2014 a previously quiet, middle-of-the-desert road \u2014 \u201cwould be two or three lanes wide, moving one direction\u201d toward the plant. <\/p>\n

The store where Shaw worked before switching to IPP was the \u201chighest selling beer store in the state for a little while,\u201d because there were so many workers in Delta who arrived from other states to help build the plant.<\/p>\n

He said more than 200 people moved to the small town to help build the facility.<\/p>\n

Since the coal plant\u2019s turbines began generating electricity in the mid-\u201980s, it has generated $866 million annually<\/a> in economic activity. Another Intermountain Power Agency report from 2023<\/a> showed IPP with a cash flow of $326 million from operating activities, and $349 million in 2022. <\/p>\n

\"\"Matt Kolste and John Ward talk while standing in the now-shut down coal portion of the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton in Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

And while nonprofits are typically tax-exempt, the Intermountain Power Project agreed to pay state and local taxes, \u201cso it is a tax payer, not a tax taker,\u201d John Ward, a spokesperson for the Intermountain Power Agency, told the Deseret News. Since its inception, IPP has paid Utah $720 million in state and local taxes. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo public money or public investment went into this,\u201d Ward said. \u201cAll of the financing for building this plant is done by issuing municipal bonds in the publicly traded municipal bond market. So the cost for repaying those bonds and for operating the plant is covered by power sales to whoever is buying power.\u201d <\/p>\n

And who has bought 98% of the coal-generated power from IPP? Californians. <\/p>\n

Delta\u2019s power infrastructure exists because of California regulations<\/p>\n

If coal and natural gas plants provide so many tax dollars, why would California allow them to be built in another state? <\/p>\n

There are several reasons. First, it\u2019s economical for a coal plant to be near its power supply, and in that sense, Utah is the perfect spot. A state report from 1990<\/a> described Utah\u2019s \u201cunparalleled accomplishment\u201d in the coal industry, producing a record high of 22 million tons that year. <\/p>\n

The report also mentions that California not only received coal-generated electricity from Utah, but it bought nearly one million tons of \u201celectric utility coal\u201d to fuel its own units (all of which have been shut down). <\/p>\n

Second, California\u2019s Environmental Quality Act<\/a>, which passed in 1970, posed significant challenges to anyone wanting to build a coal plant in the state. If a plant was built in Utah, it would simply face fewer regulatory risks, permitting costs and delays. <\/p>\n

California politicians \u201crealized they could not produce coal without environmentalists \u2014 especially in LA \u2014 going crazy. So, take it from Utah,\u201d Lance Christensen, a former legislative consultant in the California state Senate and current vice president of California Policy Center, told the Deseret News. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can displace those environmental costs off to people in Utah but still receive the benefit of that energy, then why wouldn\u2019t you do that?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"\"Portions of the old coal section of the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton in Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

In California, Christensen said coal\u2019s reputation hasn\u2019t kept pace with technological advancements, making it an outdated and inaccurate picture. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people\u2019s mentalities never switched,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cCoal is automatically dirty, because they remember these movies from the \u201950s, \u201960s and \u201970s where LA was a completely smog-filled city, and it\u2019s not anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cWe (in California) have relied too heavily on the prediction of environmental doomsayers instead of understanding how we can get good, clean and accessible energy out of coal plants that we\u2019ve already built and can sustain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the regulations are tough, innovation prevails\"\"Matt Kolste and John Ward walk in the new natural gas portion during a tour of the now-shut down coal portion of the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton in Delta on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

California re-signed<\/a> a contract in 2015 called \u201cIPP Renewed,\u201d with 21 Utah municipalities through 2077 in hopes Mitsubishi will transition to 100% hydrogen by 2045, achieving the state\u2019s zero-emissions goals. <\/p>\n

All power generated by IPP Renewed will comply<\/a> with California\u2019s Renewable Energy Resources Act, Global Warming Solutions Act (2006), Clean Energy And Pollution Reduction Act (2015), the 100 Percent Clean Energy Act (2018) and other legislation. <\/p>\n

Requiring zero carbon emissions from power generation by 2045, as California does, requires massive innovation. And it just so happens that the land beneath Delta is perfectly formed to make that happen. <\/p>\n

When power developers poked around in search of natural gas and coal, they instead discovered Empire State-sized salt reserves beneath the power plants. When solution-mined, these reserves, part of the West\u2019s only high-quality geologic salt dome, can be naturally developed to store hydrogen \u2014 the fuel required for IPP\u2019s new plants. <\/p>\n

This natural feature \u201cwas zero consideration in why they put the coal plant there, but as it turns out, we are right on top of it,\u201d Ward told the Deseret News.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Southern California\u2019s sunny weather and tax incentives<\/a> have encouraged people to blanket their roofs in solar panels. During peak hours, Los Angeles and its neighbors have more solar power than they can use, so they send the power back through the 490 miles of transmission lines to Delta. <\/p>\n

\"\"Powerlines leading toward the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton near Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

With this new power source, a host of developers, including Sawtooth, Chevron New Ventures, Big Oil Company and Mitsubishi, have created a joint-venture called \u201cAces Delta,\u201d where engineers use LA\u2019s solar power to split water molecules (electrolysis) for its H2. That hydrogen is then stored in the salt caverns where it waits to be burned in IPP\u2019s natural gas-hydrogen plants. <\/p>\n

When it\u2019s completed, Delta\u2019s plant will be one of the first to achieve large-scale hydrogen generation, storage and power production. <\/p>\n

\"\"Piping systems inside one of the new natural gas portions at the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton that was coal fired and is now natural gas operated near Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Who gets Delta\u2019s dormant coal plant now?<\/p>\n

California\u2019s 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act has ended any future for coal-generated power sales to the state. <\/p>\n

However, \u201cUtah\u2019s state Legislature has been very interested in trying to save those coal units,\u201d Ward told the Deseret News. <\/p>\n

In anticipation of IPP\u2019s coal units coming off the grid, the Legislature formed a Utah Energy Council, which is looking for new users for the coal units. In case they could find one, IPP\u2019s plant workers made sure both units were retired in operable condition, so they could come back to life easily.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steam rises into the air from the new natural gas plant at the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton near Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Ward said at the beginning of December, there were 14 parties interested in the plant, but as of Jan. 8, Utah\u2019s Office of Energy Development told the Deseret News there are still no buyers.<\/p>\n

This is not without reason. The coal units need updates that will cost at least $125 million<\/a>, and much of the state\u2019s rich and accessible coal has been smashed and burned. <\/p>\n

Compounding the issue is Utah\u2019s own power laws. <\/p>\n

Rocky Mountain Power, which is currently owned by Warren Buffett, claims service territory for most of Utah, southeastern Idaho and southwestern Wyoming. The only places that can legally opt in to using IPP\u2019s power are those 23 Utah municipalities that signed the contract, which runs through 2027. <\/p>\n

Because IPP is located in Delta, which is not one of those 23 municipalities, it can\u2019t use the power generated at its plants to run its own lights. Every month, it has to pay a power bill to Rocky Mountain Power. <\/p>\n

\"\"Devin Harding monitors several different screens in the control center of the new natural gas section at the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton near Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Even if the coal plant is sold for parts, IPP has prepared Delta for future innovation<\/p>\n

If all else fails, and the coal plant is divvied up for pulverizers and pipes, IPP\u2019s existing power infrastructure could still attract new power innovators. <\/p>\n

Their transmission line to California is undergoing a more than $2 billion upgrade, taking it from its 2,400 megawatt capacity to 3,000 by 2027. IPP also built a new gas line that extends from I-15\u2019s interstate pipeline, and the project has ample water supply. <\/p>\n

Intermountain Power Agency\u2019s vision for the site is that it must \u201cbecome an energy hub,\u201d Ward said. \u201cIt needs to adapt to whatever energy development makes sense for our project participants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Steam lines inside the natural gas portion at the Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton in Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

And as the Deseret News<\/a> previously reported, two Utah-based companies are running feasibility studies to build at least 2 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity to power a 25-acre data center in Delta. If it moves forward, it would easily become the world\u2019s largest data center campus, spanning 20 million square feet. <\/p>\n

In justifying the location, Creekstone Energy wrote<\/a>, \u201cOur strategic location adjacent to the 1.9 GW Intermountain Power Project site provides unparalleled grid connectivity. This ensures robust power stability, access to major transmission networks, and the flexibility to support even the most demanding hyperscale AI computing requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if Creekstone falls through, and if other power projects take root elsewhere, they will still likely use IPP\u2019s massive transmission line to California. <\/p>\n

\u201cEither more stuff is going to get built in Millard County that fits what California power consumers want, or all those windmills being built up in Wyoming are going to build transmission lines through Utah, hook into that line in Delta, and Utah is going to sit here and watch Wyoming wind molecules whiz by for the next 50 years,\u201d Ward said. <\/p>\n

\"\"The Intermountain Power Project Intermountain Generating Station and Converter Staton near Delta, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a misty, gray morning in Delta, Utah, two Teslas drove past the little town\u2019s towering coal plant.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,11547],"class_list":{"0":"post-152854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-news-feed-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}