It’s possible Duke Energy’s Cayuga coal plant might not shut down after all. The utility reached an agreement with a coal trade association on Tuesday. It said Duke Energy will study the idea of selling the coal plant — if it gets the right approvals from the state.
Duke Energy’s original plan was to close the aging Vermillion County coal plant and build a new, $3 billion natural gas plant to serve its growing customers.
Both President Donald Trump and Gov. Mike Braun have released executive orders that support extending the life of Indiana's coal plants — which could decrease the cost of operating Cayuga.
In the settlement with Reliable Energy Inc., Duke said it will hire an engineering firm to study the feasibility of building the new gas plant while keeping Cayuga running. But that’s only if the state approves the gas plant and the settlement.
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Duke has also asked Indiana to allow it to recover the cost of the study from its ratepayers.
The group, Citizens Action Coalition, said it has concerns about what selling Cayuga would mean for Duke’s customers, coal ash cleanup at the plant and the greenhouse gas emissions of operating both the coal and gas plant at the same time.
This wouldn't be the first time a coal plant has been sold in recent years. The coal subsidiary Hallador Energy bought the Merom coal plant from Hoosier Energy in 2022 before it was expected to shut down. Hoosier Energy now purchases energy from Hallador for its customers.
Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or on Signal at IPBenvironment.01. Follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.