IPL announces completion of Eagle Valley natural gas plant

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL), a subsidiary of The AES Corporation announced a historic milestone has been met as the 671 megawatt Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) natural gas plant reached substantial completion and began commercial operations.  The completion of IPL’s Eagle Valley Generating Station, located in Martinsville, Indiana, ensures a more diverse, reliable and cleaner portfolio of generation for customers.  

“This is an important investment for our customers and community as the plant will have a lower rate of emissions than the coal units it replaces, and is the most reasonable cost option for our customers,” said Craig Jackson, IPL President and CEO. “Our future is focused on accelerating cleaner, smarter and affordable options for our customers and we are proud of the efforts we’ve made over the last few years to significantly reduce our dependence on coal and focus toward a more balanced energy mix.”

The new natural gas plant is one of the cleanest, most efficient thermal power plants to be built in Indiana. Additionally, it reduces the rate of key emissions by 98 percent compared to the six coal- and oil-fired units it replaced. Connected to two interstate natural gas pipelines, IPL’s natural gas plant can access low-cost fuel from most of the major natural-gas producing basins in the United States.

IPL received approval in 2014 from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to invest approximately $600 million to build the natural gas plant. This project, along with the conversion of coal-fired units to natural gas at IPL’s Harding Street Station in 2016, makes natural gas IPL’s largest source of generating capacity. IPL also added advanced battery-based storage to its fleet, which enables more efficient operations and supports the ongoing integration of renewable generation resources.

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