Indiana state utility NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Company) has inaugurated operations at two solar PV plants in its home state with a combined 465MW generation capacity.
The Indiana Crossroads and Dunns Bridge I solar projects are the first that NIPSCO – a subsidiary of US-wide utility NiSource – owns in Indiana. Crossroads, located in White County, is a 200MW project whilst Dunns Bridge I is the first, 265MW phase of a 435MW/75MW solar-plus-storage project located across Jasper and Starke counties. The latter is set to be fully operational next year.
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Indiana Crossroads was developed by renewables company EDP Renewables North America and was initially scheduled for completion in late 2022. The project will bring US$2.6 million of Economic Development Agreement funds to White County, NIPSCO said.
Mike Hooper, NIPSCO president said: “The addition of our first solar parks to our electric generating portfolio represent meaningful investments in the state of Indiana and a direct benefit to our customers. These completed projects are a crucial step in advancing our long-term energy transition plan, providing sustainable, reliable and cost-effective energy now and into the future.”
In a press release, the company said that it plans to retire all of its coal generation plants by 2028; Dunns Bridge I is located nearby the soon-to-be-retired R.M. Schahfer coal generating station which NIPSCO owns.
NIPSCO has two other solar PV projects in its pipeline in addition to the second phase of Dunns Bridge: the 200MW/60MW Cavalry solar-plus-storage project in White County and the 250MW Fairbanks Solar farm in Sullivan County. The projects are due on line in 2024 and 2025 respectively.