Renewable Development Thrives in PA’s Minelands, Power Plants
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AES Indiana’s Petersburg Generating Station plans to shut down its last coal-burning unit in 2025, replacing two of them with cleaner-burning natural gas units and building an 800 megawatt-hour battery storage array. This move towards renewable energy sources is a trend seen across the country, often driven by state policies and legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides tax credits for renewable energy projects. However, while transitioning from old fossil fuel sites to renewable energy facilities has many benefits, challenges such as resistance to new renewable developments, connection backlogs, and siting difficulties need to be addressed.
Petersburg Coal Plant to End Operations, Replace with Natural Gas and Battery Storage
AES Indiana’s Petersburg Generating Station, operating since the late 1960s, will cease coal-burning activities soon. Two of its four coal-burning units have already retired, with the final one slated to shut down in 2025.
Post-coal retirement, AES Indiana will continue power generation by converting two retired coal units to natural gas. They will also construct an 800 megawatt-hour battery storage array at the Petersburg plant, taking advantage of the existing grid connections and fulfilling their electric capacity obligations. This includes storing power when demand is low and prices are beneficial, and releasing it when demand is high and the regional grid operator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), requires it.
The move towards battery storage and natural gas came after careful consideration of customer obligations and the larger grid, with an emphasis on generation technologies’ cost-effectiveness and new tax rules favoring renewables.
This transition isn’t exclusive to AES. The growing resistance to new renewable developments and the significant backlogs in connecting new power projects to the grid have made former mine lands attractive for renewable development. This shift is apparent in various states like New Jersey, Nevada, and Louisiana.
Conversion of old coal plant sites to renewable projects is essential in reducing the cost of replacement generation, said Justin Tomljanovic, a vice president at Xcel Energy, which provides electricity to 3.1 million customers in eight states and is constructing two battery arrays near retiring coal plants in Becker, Minnesota, and Pueblo, Colorado.
Role of States in Clean Energy Transition
States also have a significant part in facilitating these transitions, says Harry Godfrey, managing director at Advanced Energy United. Renewable energy mandates and decarbonization mandates are influencing the shift to clean electricity. With 23 states having 100% clean energy goals, and policies like securitization legislation helping to manage the costs of retiring coal plants, the financing options for renewable energy are broadening.
Additional tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act include a bonus 10% credit for energy communities, which are defined as brownfield sites or areas with significant historic levels of employment or tax revenue derived from fossil fuels. This act aims to foster broad-based economic opportunity and create jobs in communities that have relied on coal.
States keen on accelerating the transition from fossil fuel sites to renewable energy facilities need to take proactive steps. This includes inventorying and packaging sites to attract developers for economic development projects. The Inflation Reduction Act is designed to foster these transitions and the role of the state in economic development is pivotal, Godfrey adds.
Minelands and Brownfields: The Future of Renewable Energy?
Due to opposition to large solar farms, companies are opting for ‘previously disturbed areas’ like former mine lands for renewable projects. Sun Tribe Solar, a Virginia-based clean energy company, is collaborating with The Nature Conservancy to build solar projects on former coal mine lands in Southwest Virginia, Eastern Tennessee, and Eastern Kentucky.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests that there are approximately 43 million acres of brownfields suitable for renewable power development. The transition from old fossil fuel sites to new renewable energy facilities is gaining momentum across the country, from West Virginia to Vermont.
To meet decarbonization targets, we’ll need a buildout of electric infrastructure on the scale of the U.S. highway system, and the least controversial sites for development should be chosen, says Nels Johnson, senior adviser for renewable energy at The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Mitigation Program.
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