Indiana Michigan Power files for additional generation
To improve its reliability and affordability, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) recently filed with Indiana regulators for the right to add generation resources, including solar, wind, and natural gas options, to its mix.
These filings included the proposed 100 MW Elkhart County solar facility, 180 MW Hoosier Line solar facility, 100 MW Meadow Lake IV wind facility, and 697 MW Lawrenceburg natural gas site. While combined, these would be enough to power tens of thousands of homes, Lawrenceburg will be unique among them because it is a capacity-only agreement through which I&M would purchase capacity, not energy. Similar filings should also follow in July for the Michigan Public Service Commission.
I&M would purchase the power for the wind and solar plants, although other private developers would build the solar plants. While Meadow Lake already exists, it needs to be repowered.
“I&M’s commitment to developing a robust, diverse energy portfolio highlights our focus to appropriately balance reliability, environmental sustainability, and affordability while allowing us to best fulfill the needs of our customers,” Steve Baker, I&M president and COO, said.
Combined with I&M’s existing resources, the company claimed that these additions would help diversify and add flexibility to its portfolio going forward, giving it a greater ability to support customer demand. It would also advance I&M’s net zero CO2 emission goals for 2045.
These would also help shore up any deficit as the company moves to retire older fossil fuel-generated units, such as the coal-fueled plant in Rockport, Indiana, which will be fully retired in 2028.
