Power and Renewables

Integrated Resource Plans: An Introduction to Future Capacity and Decommissions

byMarie Amice

Electric utility providers’ primary objective is to deliver reliable energy to customers and plan for the future. Utilities closely monitor energy demand and if they have capacity to meet future needs or not. Market conditions evolve — plants reach the end of their lifecycle, new policies get introduced, communities grow or decline. Emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles, surge, and energy security and natural disasters risk arise.

Utilities prepare for upcoming supply and demand shifts with short- and long-term plans that preserve reliability and strengthen infrastructure to supply sustainable energy for future generations. In the past 30 years, we have seen 200 gigawatts of wind and solar power come online.

What is an integrated resource plan?

An integrated resources plan (IRP) is a roadmap that large utilities develop to meet forecasted energy needs using supply and demand resources to ensure cost-efficient, reliable energy distribution to customers. Utilities use IRPs to identify the five, 10 or 20-plus year outlooks of plant retirements and how utilities plan to meet future demand and invest in new technologies.

Integrated resource plans also address market factors such as:

  • Growing and declining population.
  • Future energy demand.
  • Generation capacity.
  • Crisis response.
  • Energy security.

IRPs offer a long-term perspective into the future energy landscape, some with a view through 2050. However, they are lengthy documents and time-consuming to digest at scale, thus, it can be difficult to easily locate the valuable information.

Charts in Enverus PRISM.
Source: Enverus PRISM.

How can IRPs help?

Understanding which generation a utility plans to add, decommission or invest in is essential to a business development strategy. You can use IRPs as a pre-screening tool for entering a new market or understanding how the utility generation will change. When paired with power plants, LMP, parcels, suitable land analytics and grid infrastructure, you have a powerhouse of tools to confirm your market analysis.

Graph showing Capacity (MW) by utility, IRP technology type, sum, IRP scorecard
Source: Enverus PRISM.

Project developers can leverage IRPs to identify potential renewable energy partnerships with PRISM for Power & Renewables. Position yourself in advance and uncover utilities plan to meet demand and the various incentives and mandates to add more renewable energy and storage to the grid. With Enverus IRPs you can:

Browse through key IRP content

Source and analyze utilities’ near- and long-term plans to meet electricity demand and upcoming plant decommission. Easily visualize projects by added and decommissioned capacity.

Conduct a market potential analysis

Drill down and analyze ISO areas, companies and projects by stage. View the market players associated with projects, infrastructure and find available parcels for development.

Easily synthesize and compare data

Quickly review and compare multiple utility IRPs and turn policy data into an actionable business development strategy.

Ready to identify potential renewable energy partnerships and see IRPs in Enverus PRISM? Fill out the form below and request a demo.

Picture of Marie Amice

Marie Amice

Senior Project Manager, Power & Renewables at Enverus

Subscribe to the Enverus Blog

A weekly update on the latest “no-fluff” insight and analysis of the energy industry.

Related Content
Enverus Media Advisory - Trump vs. Harris: A tale of two energy policies
Operators
BySimon Goettl

Accelerate inventory evaluation for oil and gas deals with Enverus ONE: location-level valuations, AI-assisted screening, and faster deal decisions.

Enverus Press Release - Enverus Earns Top Workplaces Honors for Fourth Consecutive Year
Energy Transition
ByAdam Robinson, Enverus Intelligence® | Research (EIR) Contributor

Fervo Energy valuation examined: Enverus warns of water-loss, thermal drawdown, and capex hurdles for EGS.

Enverus Intelligence® Research Press Release - OPEC+ cuts and Trump tariffs force price downgrade
Generative AI Other
ByAkash Sharma

Most energy companies have tried AI and walked away skeptical. This post breaks down the three-stage adoption curve, why energy is structurally different from every other industry, and how to diagnose exactly where your organization is stuck.

Enverus Intelligence® Research Press Release - Enhanced geothermal systems: The future of reliable, green power for AI data centers?
Power and Renewables
ByRebekah Mitchell

Greenfield costs are up, queues are long, and policy headwinds are real. Here's why more developers are turning to M&A to capture power market tailwinds.

Enverus Press Release - Price forecast downgraded in latest Fundamental Edge report
Energy Market Wrap
ByEnverus

BKV boosts Barnett output, Range targets growth, ET expands exports and Chevron builds power for AI demand in this week’s Energy Market Wrap.

Enverus Press Release - Natural gas emerges as premier choice for grid stability amid rising demand and coal retirements
Power and Renewables
ByEnverus

See how Enverus day-ahead wind forecasts outperformed ISO forecasts across ERCOT, SPP, and MISO during high-volatility spring ramp events in April–May 2026.

Enverus Press Release - Seeing the ceiling: Maximizing output for today’s natural gas-fired grid
Energy Transition
ByCarson Kearl, Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR) Contributor

Project Jade Wyoming data center update: Crusoe out of 1.8GW Cheyenne campus; impacts on queue risk, interconnection and investors.

Global gas, LNG, Haynesville and Permian outlooks reveal key trends in production, pricing and infrastructure expansion
Business Automation
ByIan Elchitz

This is the sixth installment in our series of blog articles dealing with source-to-pay and upstream oil and gas. Read the previous blog here. For finance leaders in upstream oil and gas, invoice accuracy has long been the standard of...

Enverus Press Release - Looking past the CCUS power plant pipe dream
Power and Renewables
ByBryan DiRenzo

Renewable Sentiment in Enverus PRISM® scores county-level regulatory and community risk. See which markets are worth developing before you commit capital.

Let’s get started!

We’ll follow up right away to show you a quick product tour.

Let’s get started!

We’ll follow up right away to show you a quick product tour.

Sign up for our Blog

Ready to Subscribe?

Ready to Get Started?