The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on Wednesday cleared the way for AES Indiana to transition two units at its Petersburg Generating Station from coal to gas.
The move came after opposition from the coal industry and even U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who was elected governor Tuesday night.
“AES Indiana has no plans to retire Petersburg Units 3 and 4, as it views these units as valuable capacity and energy resources. AES Indiana proposes to repower these units to reduce operating costs and environmental regulatory risk so that the units may further the utility’s provision of reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable service,” the IURC order said.
“Substantial evidence demonstrates that the proposed repowering of Petersburg to natural gas is a long-term, low-cost solution that will help provide resource adequacy for a long period of time.”
Evidence in the case is that the Petersburg conversion will save $281 million over a 20-year period compared to keeping the units on coal.
The approval will allow AES Indiana to be the first Hoosier investor-owned electric utility to stop burning coal, according to the Indiana Utility Report.
Braun sent a letter last month to the state’s top utility regulators, saying he was concerned that “taking offline legacy sources of energy too quickly will have lasting implications that cannot be reversed.”
This article was written by Indiana Capital Chronicle editor Niki Kelly.
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