Troubled Indiana gasification plant begins operation
Duke Energy said that its $3.5 billion, high-tech 618-megawatt plant near Vincennes will produce 10 times as much power as a former plant but emit about 70 percent less pollution.
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Indiana court wades into coal gas plant dispute
The state Supreme Court agreed Thursday to step into a legal fight between backers and opponents of a proposed $2.8 billion coal-gasification plant in southwestern Indiana.
Sierra Club puts Harding coal plant in crosshairs
The Sierra Club wants the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to block an IPL plan to spend $511 million on pollution controls at its 39-year-old Harding Street plant, plus a four-unit station in the southwestern Indiana town of Petersburg.
Developers suspend most Rockport gas plant work
Indiana Gasification project manager Mark Lubbers told the Evansville Courier & Press that neither the General Assembly nor Gov. Mike Pence support the project.
IPL’s $631M power plant to start construction in 2014
Plans for the plant, officially announced Wednesday, call for an environmentally friendly facility outside of Martinsville that could produce 650 megawatts of power. Construction could employ 660 workers.
Developers: Law will likely kill coal-gas plant
Indiana Gasification LLC project manager Mark Lubbers said developers wouldn't have tried to build the plant at Rockport if the law passed early Saturday morning had been in place.
Change gives Rockport gasification plant better odds
Rep. Matt Ubelhor, R-Bloomfield, successfully pushed an amendment Wednesday that would shield the southern Indiana project from the review sought by the plant's opponents, who contend it could saddle ratepayers with higher bills.
Developers say bill would kill Indiana coal-gas plant
The House Utility Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would send the $2.8 billion project back to regulators for another round of reviews unless the Indiana Supreme Court sides with the project’s developers
Indiana Supreme Court asked to review Rockport gas deal
A Court of Appeals ruling upheld the 30-year contract between developers of the $2.6 billion synthetic gas plant and the Indiana Finance Authority. The agency would buy gas at a pre-negotiated rate and resell it to customers at a fixed rate.
Senate panel waters down coal-gas measure
A Senate committee is leaving a contentious battle over a proposed $3 billion coal-gasification plant in the Indiana Supreme Court’s hands for now.
Indiana coal industry scrambling to save its future
Options include increasing exports as opposition to coal-fired electricity generation heats up at both national and local levels.
IPL assessed $214,200 penalty in plant explosion
The Indiana Department of Labor alleges lack of proper safeguards in an August blast that injured two workers at IPL’s Harding Street generating station on the southwest side.
Indiana Senate panel delays Rockport plant hearing
Senate Utilities Committee chairman Sen. Jim Merritt said Thursday he's delayed until next week a hearing on the bill involving Indiana Gasification LLC's planned $2.8 billion plant in the Ohio River city of Rockport.
Regulators snuff $42M Duke Energy proposal
Utility wanted to conduct a study to determine how to dispose of carbon dioxide produced by its Edwardsport coal gasification plant.
Bill could be hurdle for proposed $2.8B synthetic gas plant
Under the legislation, state utility regulators could order Indiana Gasification LLC to make refunds to gas customers every three years if the price of synthetic gas it produces from coal is greater than the market price of natural gas over the period.
Vectren digs in to fight gas plant
A synthetic natural gas plant proposed downstate need only tweak its contract with would-be gas purchaser Indiana Finance Authority to comply with an October court ruling and to proceed with the project, Indiana Gasification said in a recent filing with the Indiana Court of Appeals. But opponents of the plant, led by Evansville-based gas and electric utility Vectren, immediately objected.
IURC caps ratepayers’ share of Edwardsport plant at $2.6B
Opponents call the deal too generous to Duke Energy and say it doesn’t protect ratepayers from rising financing costs.
Wabash Valley Power aggressively shifting to greener alternatives
The Wabash Valley Power Association has been reducing its dependence on energy produced from coal—from 95 percent five years ago to 54 percent today. The utility is leaning more on natural gas and even renewable-energy sources like methane from landfills and animal waste.
Backers of 30-year gas-purchase deal to press on
The Indiana Finance Authority and Indiana Gasification LLC plan to amend a 30-year contract that obligates the state to buy the company's synthetic natural gas. The move is in reaction to an appeals court ruling that reversed regulators' approval of the deal.
Vectren: Coal-gas plant to cost Indiana consumers $1B
The Evansville-based utility estimates all residential gas customers would see their gas bills increase an average of $3.90 per month for eight years—for a total cost of $375 per consumer.