Petersburg Generating Station
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Petersburg Generating Station is an operating power station of at least 1341-megawatts (MW) in Petersburg, Pike, Indiana, United States with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Petersburg IPL power station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Petersburg Generating Station | Petersburg, Pike, Indiana, United States | 38.528267, -87.252886 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 38.528267, -87.252886
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | retired | coal: bituminous | 281.6 | subcritical | 1967 | 2021 |
| Unit 2 | retired[1] | coal: bituminous | 523.3 | subcritical | 1969 | 2023[1] |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal: bituminous | 670.9 | subcritical | 1977 | 2026 (planned) |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal: bituminous | 670.9 | subcritical | 1986 | 2026 (planned) |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] | AES Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] | AES Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] | AES Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Indianapolis Power & Light Co [100%] | AES Corp [100.0%] |
Unit Retirements
AES retired Unit 1 in May 2021. As of January 2020, Unit 2 was slated to be retired in May 2023.[2]
In May 2023, AES stated that they had "plans" to retire Unit 2 in June 2023.[3]
AES retired Unit 2 as planned in June 2023.[4]
Gas and Renewables Conversion Plans
In October 2022, AES proposed plans to convert the facility to run on gas by 2025. All coal-fired units would be retired by this point, and the 1052 MW of gas capacity would use the existing pipeline. AES also proposed installing or purchasing up to 900 MW of wind capacity by 2027. This would be in addition to 450 MW of batteries, 1450 MW solar and 300 MW of additional wind capacity by 2034.[5] Criticisms of the plan were mounted by the Sierra Club, highlighting that the company was favoring gas plans over the opportunity for wholly renewable energy generation.[6]
In August 2024, AES Indiana announced plans to invest US$1.1 billion over 2024–2026 to convert Units 3 and 4 from coal to gas, and to build two renewable energy projects in Pike County.[7] In November 2024, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the proposed coal-to-gas conversion at Petersburg. An AES official reportedly said that Unit 3 was expected to start its repowering outage in February 2026, while Unit 4 would start its outage in June 2026.[8][9]
Emissions Data
- 2006 CO2 Emissions: 12,826,618 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions: 28,566 tons
- 2006 SO2 Emissions per MWh: 15.25 tons per MWh
- 2006 NOx Emissions: 8,729 tons
- 2005 Mercury Emissions: 835 lb.
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Petersburg Generating Station
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[10] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[11]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Petersburg Generating Station
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 57 | $410,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 87 | $9,500,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 950 | $49,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 41 | $950,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 35 | $15,000,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 60 | $22,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed March 2011
Coal Waste Sites
- Petersburg Generating Station Pond A - Discharge
- Petersburg Generating Station Pond B
- Petersburg Generating Station Pond C
Petersburg ranked 85th on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of coal combustion waste (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill.[12] The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[13]
Petersburg Generating Station ranked number 85 on the list, with 309,961 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.[12]
As of June 2020, the power station was the worst water polluter in the state of Indiana.[14]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240207000722/https://www.aes.com/sites/aes.com/files/2023-09/Q2%202023%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 07 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "IPL Plans Early Retirement of Two Coal-fired Units at Petersburg Plant". Indiana Environmental Reporter. December 11, 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
- ↑ "The AES Corporation Fact Sheet: As of May 4, 2023," Sierra Club, October 31, 2022
- ↑ "Q2 2023 Fact Sheet," AES, August 3, 2023
- ↑ "AES Indiana seeks to convert coal-fired units at Petersburg plant to natural gas," Indianapolis Business Journal, October 25, 2022
- ↑ "Despite customer demand for renewable energy, AES Indiana to replace coal with more fossil fuels," Sierra Club, October 31, 2022
- ↑ “AES invests US$1.1bn in coal-to-gas switch, solar and BESS projects (US),” Enerdata, August 12, 2024
- ↑ “AES Indiana wins approval for natural gas conversion,” Indiana Public Media, November 7, 2024
- ↑ “Verified Petition of Indianapolis Power & Light Company D/B/A AES Indiana ("AES Indiana") for (1) Issuance of Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Repower Petersburg Generating Units 3 & 4 to Operate on Natural Gas ("Petersburg Repowering Project"),” Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, November 6, 2024
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sue Sturgis, "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?," Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.
- ↑ TRI Explorer, EPA, accessed January 2009.
- ↑ "IPL's Petersburg plant is the worst water polluter in state, violates permit 120 times," Indianapolis Star, June 8, 2020
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
