Black & Veatch gets OE job for 840-MW hydrogen-powered project in Utah

US critical human infrastructure builder Black & Veatch will act as Owner’s Engineer (OE) for the coal-to-gas-to-renewable hydrogen project at the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) in Utah.

Black & Veatch designed the original coal power plant roughly 40 years ago and it will now take part in the IPP Renewal Project.

The 1.9-GW thermal power plant is planned to start using, from 2025, a fuel mix of 30% hydrogen and 70% natural gas. Then, over a period of 20 years, it will gradually transition to 100% renewable hydrogen. As part of the project, the geologic salt caverns next to the plant will be used for long-duration hydrogen storage.

In 2045 the renewed facility, owned by Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), will have a capacity of 840 MW, producing low-carbon power for Los Angeles and municipalities in other parts of California and Utah.

Black & Veatch will install the two combined-cycle units at the plant and will also support the expansion of existing switchyards, new HVDC converter stations, and conversion of the two existing 900-MW generators into synchronous condensers. The company is assisting IPA with system studies, technology selection, design, procurement and construction.

“The location in central Utah is significant because the local geology provides the capability to store excess hydrogen in large underground caverns, and existing regional transmission infrastructure will serve as a hub for collecting and transporting renewable energy to southern California,” Brian Sheets, project manager with Black & Veatch’s power business, said.

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