Scott Pruitt, the scandal-ridden former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, registered Thursday as fossil-fuels interests in the state fight to block the proposed closure of several coal-fired power plants.
The House voted 53-38 Thursday to strip language that would have prohibited the state from approving new power plants for two years, a move widely seen as delaying construction of renewable energy projects.
The House Utilities Committee advanced legislation this week along party lines that would prohibit state regulators from approving any large new power plants until 2021. Environmentalists and utilities say the move could interrupt the transition from coal to renewable fuels and natural gas.
The industry is retiring coal-fired plants in favor of cheaper energy sources, including gas, solar and wind.
The utility, with more than 300,000 customers in central Indiana, announced a settlement agreement Tuesday with consumer groups.
American Resources Corp., formed in 2015, specializes in buying distressed coal assets from struggling or bankrupt coal operators.
Cleanup options include excavating ponds or capping the ponds and keeping the ash in place. Both methods require steps to be taken to protect the water quality of nearby rivers or lakes.
White Stallion Energy of Evansville says workers will be given the chance to transfer to one of the company’s other mine sites.
The farms stretching over four counties and a portion of central Indiana would have nearly 300 wind turbines that could be spinning as early as 2020.
The record amount of cargo was due in large part to increases in shipments of coal, soy products, grain and steel.
As part of the acquisition, NineStar Connect agreed to run high-speed fiber to each home and business in the Gem Water Utility territory.
Gaylor Electric would spend $4.4 million to build a 49,000-square-foot prefabrication facility. It has requested tax incentives on the project that would save it more than $500,000.
Rogers’ path to building the nation’s largest electric utility began in 1988, when he took over struggling PSI Energy in Indiana.
Craig Jackson, who took over executive leadership of Indianapolis Power & Light in February as part of a corporate restructuring by parent AES Corp., plans to resign at the end of the month.
Indiana, one of the largest per-capita energy consumers in the nation, ranks 40th among states for energy efficiency, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into the natural gas explosions and fires that rocked three communities near Boston in September, killing one person and injuring 25 others.
The utility is seeking a nearly 17 percent rate increase to help pay for more than $542 million of infrastructure investments.
Rafael Sanchez, who left his job as president and CEO of Indianapolis Power & Light Co. this year as part of a corporate restructuring, has been hired by another of Indiana’s corporate heavyweights.
State regulators approved a 30 percent increase from Citizens in 2016. The utility now says it needs to raise rates to continue funding its massive DigIndy tunnel system project.
The state of New York is blaming 49 industrial sites in Indiana—and hundreds of other sites across the Midwest—for causing it to miss ozone air-pollution requirements.
