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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn an announcement timed with Earth Day, electric utility AES Indiana said Tuesday that its new Pike County battery storage unit is now operational and that it received regulatory approval for a solar and battery project in Dubois County.
The moves in southwest Indiana are the latest examples of state utilities using renewable energy and moving away from reliance on coal.
The now-operational Pike County Battery Energy Storage System, or BESS, has the capacity to power 38,000 homes during times of peak electric demand.
AES Indiana also said Tuesday that it received approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, or IURC, to acquire and construct a solar plus battery storage project, called Crossvine, in Dubois County.
“These announcements represent the latest milestones in our more than a decade-long journey toward transitioning to a more balanced energy portfolio that adds flexibility to the grid while keeping costs affordable for our customers,” AES Indiana President Brandi Davis-Handy said in a written statement.
Announced in August, the Pike County BESS project is part of $1.1 billion of AES investments started or planned in Pike County from 2024 to 2026, including repowering Petersburg Generating Stations Units 3 and 4.
Of that, $300 million is going to converting the coal-burning units at Petersburg to natural gas. Another $300 million is going to a battery storage facility to deliver energy during peak hours. And $500 million is going into solar operations.
BESS uses batteries to store electrical energy for later use, such as times of peak demand. According to AES Indiana, the Pike County BESS can store and deliver 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 38,000 homes, for up to four hours.
The Petersburg power plant, about 120 miles southwest of Indianapolis on the White River, is the largest of the utility’s three generating stations, and the only one that still burns coal.
In its other announcement Tuesday, AES Indiana said it will purchase the Crossvine project from renewable energy developer Lightsource bp with plans to add 85 megawatts of solar capacity and 85 megawatts solar battery storage by mid-2027.
Crossvine will be able to power 14,500 homes, according to AES Indiana.
“We applaud AES for their commitment to homegrown Indiana clean energy,” Kerwin Olson, executive director of consumer group Citizens Action Coalition, said in an email. “The ratepayers of Indianapolis will realize meaningful long-term benefits, as will the quality of our air and water.
“These investments will provide significant economic benefits to those local communities. Here’s hoping that the example set by AES and these counties will lead Indiana to the forefront of the clean energy transition.”
AES Indiana provides electricity to more than 530,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis and parts of other communities surrounding Marion County.
In November 2024, AES Indiana received approval to repower the last two remaining coal units at Petersburg Generating Station, which AES Indiana said would make it the first utility in Indiana to quit using coal by 2026.
Other Indiana utilities are transitioning away from coal.
In February, Duke Energy Indiana filed a petition with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission asking for approval to build two new natural gas-fired units with upgraded transmission lines costing an estimated $3.3 billion at its existing Cayuga Generating Station in Vermillion County. The Plainfield-based utility said the project will coincide with the retirement of the almost 60-year-old coal-fired units at Cayuga.
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I got a tour of the Harding Street BESS several years ago.
AES has developed some amazing technology that I am sure will help boost the use of renewable energy in the state. 200mw of capacity is pretty impressive considering it can be brought on line almost instantly.