NIPSCO intends to decommission its Michigan City generating plant within a decade as it shifts to renewable energy sources. Staff photo by John J. Watkins
NIPSCO is looking to make what once industry observer described as potentially one of the biggest solar energy procurements "in America, if not the world."
The Merrillville-based utility, whose parent company NiSource was a Fortune 500 company until it spun off its faster-growing pipeline business a few years ago, issued a request for proposals as it looks to retire coal-fired electricity generation by 2028 and replace it with wind, solar and other cleaner and lower-cost energy sources.
NIPSCO, which is the largest natural gas provider and the second-largest electricity provider headquartered in Indiana, is pursuing a goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2030.
“As we continue to further our Your Energy, Your Future, customer-focused plan, it’s important to consider all energy source options that balance the needs of our customers and communities,” NIPSCO President Violet Sistovaris said. “This effort is consistent with our goal to focus on providing affordable, reliable energy while maintaining flexibility for future technology and market changes.”
NIPSCO, which currently generates power from natural gas, coal, hydroelectric, purchased wind power and customer-owned renewables, said it is considerating all cleaner options, including for energy storage. It is specifically soliciting proposals for thermal energy, 300 megawatts of wind capacity, and 2,300 megawatts of solar or solar paired with storage.
Ben Inskeep, an Indianapolis-based senior energy policy analyst at the Research energy data services firm, said it was potentially one of the largest requests for proposals ever issued in America specifically for solar and solar plus storage.
"If all of this capacity is built in Indiana, this RFP alone would result in a 648% increase in the entire state's installed solar capacity by 2023," he said. "It is more solar than Duke Energy Indiana, our largest utility, plans to build over the next two decades here."
In fact, NIPSCO's request for proposals seeks to produce more solar than is currently installed in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota and Wisconsin combined, Inskeep said.
"I've never personally seen an RFP of this size," he said. "It's very notable that it's happening in Indiana, a coal state that doesn't have a lot of state-level support for renewable energy. It came from stakeholders and resource planning.
"A few years ago, renewables might not have been cost-effective or seen as too risky. With the cost of the technologies, you needed a mandate or incentives. But now we're seeing renewables compete when they're looking at all resources. That's a pretty significant development you never would have expected just a few years ago, but it shows how quickly things are changing."
Other Midwestern utilities like Consumers Energy in Michigan and Xcel Energy in Minnesota have been buying solar, but more piecemeal and over a longer period of time, Inskeep said.
"They've made similar plans but it's a more staged process looking out toward 2025 and 2030," he said. "What's noteworthy about this is that they are not waiting. They're going all-in. It's noteworthy that they're doing it all at once."
NIPSCO is acting fast to take advantage of expiring federal tax credits, Inskeep said. But the RFP also shows that solar energy has become more cost-effective.
"You're seeing the results of how far it's come down in costs," Inskeep said. "You'll see more folks taking the renewable approach over natural gas and coal-fired. You see the benefits from a cost perspective, and from folks breathing in cleaner air."
Proposals are due by Nov. 20.
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