AES Indiana pours USD 1.1bn in coal exit, new green megawatts

An AES Corp (NYSE:AES) utility is set to invest around USD 1.1 billion (EUR 1.01bn) in energy transition projects in Pike County, Indiana, in 2024-2026 to install new solar and battery energy storage capacity and convert its last remaining coal-fired units in that state to run on gas.

AES Indiana said on Thursday that its investments in the county will include completing a solar-plus-storage project, currently under construction, by the end of 2025, and delivering a new 200-MW standalone battery energy storage system (BESS), which stands to become one of the largest such facilities in its grid area.

The Petersburg Energy Center, featuring over half a million solar modules, will generate 250 MW of solar power and will store 180 MWh in its co-located BESS. The standalone battery, called the Pike County Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), will be able to store and deliver up 200 MW of electricity for four hours once its goes online in December 2024, the Indiana utility said.

Finally, AES Indiana’s energy diversification plan for Pike County in the next two years will be rounded out by the makeover of the Petersburg Generating Station. Pending approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), the Petersburg plant’s units 3 and 4 will be refashioned to burn natural gas instead of coal.

The conversion project is expected to be finalised by the end of 2026, a milestone that may make AES Indiana the first utility in the state to exit coal-based power production.

The company said these projects were in line with its 2022 Integrated Resource Plan, which covers the transition from coal to natural gas and the addition of wind, solar and BESS capacity over the next five years.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.916)

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