A significant Indiana utility stated it’s getting ready to modify its remaining coal-fired energy plant to burn pure fuel. AES Indiana on March 12 stated the 2 coal-burning items at its Petersburg Producing Station, in Pike County in southwestern Indiana about 100 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky, would cease utilizing coal and begin utilizing pure fuel in 2026.
AES Indiana, previously generally known as Indianapolis Energy & Mild, filed a request for the change with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Fee (IURC). The utility additionally stated it desires to triple its use of renewable vitality by 2027.
Officers with the utility stated the plan would “ship cleaner, extra environment friendly and cost-effective vitality options,” and would save clients $280 million over 20 years by avoiding prices associated to upgrading expertise at coal-fired items. The utility stated ending using coal at Petersburg would scale back emissions of carbon dioxide by 70% by 2030, in comparison with 2018 ranges.
“Over the previous decade, how we serve our clients has advanced resulting from elements like new expertise, the ageing of our present amenities, environmental laws and financial situations,” stated Brandi Davis-Helpful, president of AES Indiana, in a information launch. “Repowering our Petersburg Producing Station aligns with our state’s all-of-the-above vitality coverage whereas permitting us to proceed our 50-plus-year dedication to Pike County.”
Aligns with IRP
The utility stated that changing Petersburg Items 3 and 4 to burn pure fuel “aligns with AES Indiana’s 2022 Built-in Useful resource Plan (IRP), which outlines probably the most dependable and least-cost portfolio for AES Indiana’s clients.” The corporate stated its “least-cost portfolio” technique “consists of including roughly 1,300 megawatts (MW) of wind, photo voltaic and battery vitality storage by way of competitively bid tasks.”
Items 3 and 4, which got here on-line in 1977 and 1986, respectively, every have 670 MW of technology capability. Two different coal-fired items at Petersburg have been retired in 2021 and 2023.
The corporate stated the primary new gas-fired unit at Petersburg is anticipated to start business operation in June 2026. The second would possible begin business operation in December 2026.
AES Indiana earlier this month stated it had acquired the Hoosier Wind challenge, a 106-MW wind farm in Benton County, Indiana. The utility earlier this yr acquired IURC approval for a 200-MW, 4-hour standalone battery vitality storage system (BESS). The group stated the BESS challenge can be the most important up to now within the Midcontinent Impartial System Operator (MISO) area. MISO is the grid operator that serves a lot of the Midwest and likewise elements of the U.S. South.
The utility additionally beforehand acquired approval for solar energy tasks in Pike and Clinton counties in Indiana.
The utility in its regulatory submitting stated it at present generates 31% of its electrical energy from coal, with 51% from pure fuel. The group stated it expects its pure gas-fired technology will embody about 70% of its portfolio after the Petersburg conversion.
The utility in its submitting stated Babcock & Wilcox Co. will lead the coal-to-gas conversion challenge. A one-mile-long pure fuel lateral pipeline, to be constructed by Midwestern Gasoline Transmission Co., will present feedstock to the brand new items.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
