On Wednesday, Oct. 29, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) approved Duke Energy Indiana’s proposal for the Cayuga Energy Complex, a natural gas project to replace the old coal-fired plant near the Vermillion County town in west central Indiana.
This is important because it means a large increase in available electricity for everywhere in Indiana served by Duke Energy.
The proposed new plant will include two natural gas-fired combined cycle generating units with a total capacity winter rating of 1,476 megawatts. The new units would be placed in service by September 2029 and May 2030.
Duke Energy released the following statement after the IURC approved the project.
We appreciate the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s careful deliberation and constructive order.
Duke Energy covers parts of 69 of Indiana’s 92 counties stretching from Rochester in the north to New Albany in the south, and the Cayuga project will add highly efficient natural gas power generation to supply the growing electric needs of our more than 920,000 Indiana customers. Our Indiana service area has expanded by approximately 126,000 new customers since we brought our last power plant online in 2013. This includes homes and small businesses as well as large power users such as manufacturers. For generations, our Cayuga power plant in Vermillion County has served the state, and today’s decision ensures it will continue to be a major source of our state’s power generation for decades to come.
[Wednesday’s] regulatory approval also covered agreements with a group representing our largest business customers, as well as Reliable Energy, Inc., which represents some of the state’s largest coal producers. The Reliable Energy settlement aligns with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s recent executive orders encouraging additions to the state’s power supplies and making sure there’s careful evaluation before retiring coal units.
The settlement referenced above means that Duke Energy Indiana has agreed to perform an engineering study to evaluate the technical feasibility of continued operation of the site’s current coal units by third parties that may be interested in purchasing them. Duke Energy would then issue a request for proposal to solicit interest in the coal units, which could be available for sale after the two proposed gas units are placed in service in 2029 and 2030.
“Duke Energy’s exploration of selling its coal units to an independent third party represents a significant step toward Gov. Braun’s vision of ensuring reliable, affordable energy, preserving valuable in-state generation, and strengthening Indiana’s power supply,” Reliable Energy President Savannah Kersteins said. “As power demand continues to rise, a central goal of this vision is to position Indiana as an energy exporter rather than an importer – a milestone that can be achieved by keeping every megawatt of capacity online. Enabling third parties to help advance that effort demonstrates the innovative, entrepreneurial approach that defines Indiana’s energy strategy.”
Duke Energy estimates the project will cost about $3.33 billion. The electricity utility serves about 920,000 customers in 69 Indiana counties. Click here to read more about the Cayuga Energy Complex.