It begins with coal pulverized into the consistency of talcum powder that is burned to heat water in a huge boiler which produces high-pressure steam. Steam spins a large turbine generator to produce electricity that is delivered to communities through high-voltage transmission lines.

Cooling towers or water from reservoirs or wells condense spent steam back into water. The cooled water then returns to the boiler to start the process all over again.

Engineered for the Environment
Our coal plants use the most currently available technology in every process to meet the toughest air and water quality standards. Plant design features, fuel supply and plant operating practices play a role in controlling air pollutants that could be emitted.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) are two gases produced when coal is burned that are believed to contribute to acid rain and the greenhouse effect. They are reduced by using only low-sulfur coal. Next, scrubbers remove sulfur dioxide after the coal is burned.

Fly ash is another concern. Electrostatic precipitators prevent more than 99 percent of fly ash from reaching the atmosphere. Some recycled fly ash is used for concrete and road construction material and as fill to prevent soil erosion.

Comprehensive ecological programs are now conducted to monitor plant impact on soils, vegetation, waterfowl, birds of prey and fish in the area.

Coal is nature's energy storehouse. This geologic legacy is the foundation of Idaho Power’s three coal-fired plants—the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Wyoming, the Boardman Coal Plant in Oregon, and the North Valmy Generating Station in Nevada.

These facilities convert one of nature’s most bountiful energy sources into reliable, low-cost electricity while adhering to the strictest standards for protecting the environment.

Jim Bridger
Named after the renowned explorer and mountain man, Jim Bridger, the plant employs approximately 400 people and is owned by Idaho Power (one-third) and PacifiCorp (two-thirds). Each of the four turbine-generator sets has a nameplate rating of 706,667 kilowatts.

Its boilers each burn over 500,000 pounds of coal per-hour to produce 4,000,000 pounds of steam an hour. This steam drives the turbines. Water for the plant comes from the Green River through a 40-mile-long steel pipeline to a reservoir at the plant site.

Sub-bituminous coal which fuels the plant is delivered by an overland conveyor from the Bridger Mine or by train and truck.

Boardman
The Boardman plant is jointly owned by Idaho Power Co. (10 percent); Pacific Northwest Generating Co. (10 percent); General Electric Credit Corp. (15 percent); Portland General Electric Co. (65 percent) and has 130 employees.

Boardman is located 13 miles southwest of Boardman, Ore., in north central Oregon, and is considered to be one of the nation’s cleanest coal plants.

Cooling water comes from Carty Reservoir, a 1,450-acre pond that eliminates the need for cooling water from natural streams or rivers, thus avoiding discharge that might have an impact on fish and wildlife. At 656-feet, the plant's chimney is Oregon’s tallest man-made structure, with a base diameter of 48 feet and a top diameter of 30 feet.

The boiler consumes 5.1 billion Btu per hour through coal combustion to produce 3.8 million lbs an hour of 1,005-degree Fahrenheit steam and can generate up to 58,500 kilowatts of electricity per hour.

North Valmy
Converting coal into reliable, low-cost energy is a full-time job at North Valmy. Twenty-four-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year, it generates the electricity customers depend on to run their homes and businesses.

At the same time, all plant operations place a strong emphasis in protecting the environment.

Cooling water comes from three well fields and from the Lone Tree Gold Mine’s dewatering projects, putting what was once waste water to a beneficial use.

Ownership is shared equally by Idaho Power and Sierra Pacific. Sierra Pacific is responsible for plant operations and employs approximately 106 people on-site.

The low-sulfur coal used at the plant comes from Utah or Wyoming.

Danskin Power Plant
Housed with the Evander Andrews Complex, the 90-megawatt Danskin Power Plant consists of two 45-megawatt simple cycle combustion turbines, using technology that is similar to an aircraft jet engine. On an airplane, a turbine engine is used to create thrust to push it through the sky. In a power plant application, that thrust turns an electrical generator to produce electricity.

The plant was constructed to help Idaho Power have adequate generating resources to meet present and future energy needs. 

Bennett Mountain
The 160-MW Bennett Mountain Power Plant also is located in Mountain Home – about five miles east of the Evander Andrews complex – and is the second natural gas-fired plant Idaho Power has built there. Bennett Mountain is also a simple cycle combustion turbine power plant. Construction was completed in early 2005 and the plant produced its first electricity for the grid in late February 2005.

Salmon Diesel
Two diesel units provide 5.5 MW as a back up power supply for the Salmon, Idaho area. If the community were to lose its main transmission line the diesel generators would provide needed power for customers like the hospital and utilities like telephone and power.

The units, located about a half-mile north of Salmon are operated only during outage situations or for maintenance tests to verify their continued ability to serve.  The diesel units were installed in 1967.