Despite customer demand for renewable energy, AES Indiana to replace coal with more fossil fuels

INDIANAPOLIS — AES Indiana, formerly Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL), today released its plan for how the utility will generate electricity for its customers over the next two decades with a proposal to convert the Petersburg Super Polluter to burn gas instead of coal. 

Petersburg is one of the dirtiest and most polluting coal plants in the country, and was described as Indiana's worst water polluter by the Indianapolis Star. AES Indiana’s 20-year energy plan calls for the conversion of Petersburg to climate-disrupting gas in 2025.

For years, Sierra Club and its community supporters and volunteers have urged AES Indiana to implement a plan to retire their Super Polluter coal plant and replace it with clean renewable energy, not more fossil fuels, a call joined by the City-County Council of Indianapolis and the City of Beech Grove, which each passed resolutions calling on AES to retire Petersburg by 2028 and replace it with renewable energy. 

AES Indiana’s customers have asked the utility for clean energy for Indiana’s capital city for years. In September, 2022 more than 2,850 petitions were submitted to AES calling for a transition to renewable energy.  The Indianapolis Thrive Plan calls for Indianapolis to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. 

AES plans very little new solar energy in its near-term plan, despite incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act for renewable energy and for energy communities like Petersburg, Indiana. Other utilities in Indiana are planning larger amounts of solar significantly faster than AES. CenterPoint Energy is planning 765 MW and NIPSCO is planning over 2,300 MW in the next few years.

In response to AES Indiana’s plan, Wendy Bredhold, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Indiana, released the following statement:

“AES Indiana has dragged its feet on the clean energy transition, and has been slow to build renewable energy, even while Petersburg and their new Eagle Valley gas plant have failed to operate, costing customers millions. Now, they are continuing their dependence on fossil fuels, with all of its costs and threats to our environment and public health. We said it when AES filed their last plan and we’ll say it again: Sierra Club and our allies will continue to push for the clean energy that Indianapolis residents demand and deserve, which must include a plan to fully retire Petersburg by 2028, replace it with renewable energy, and clean up its widespread toxic pollution. Anything less is a failure for our climate and our communities.”