NIPSCO adds solar capacity through a 280 MW PPA
The Indiana utility plans to be coal-free by 2028 by adding a combination of cleaner energy sources to its existing mix of natural gas and hydroelectric generation.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) and a unit of Capital Dynamics signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 280 MW of the power generated by a greenfield solar project called Gibson Solar.
The project is being developed by Capital’s Clean Energy Investment unit in Gibson County, Indiana. Arevon Energy Management and Tenaska are co-developing the project.
The Gibson Solar project is one of 19 projects that Capital Dynamics acquired from Tenaska in November 2018 and April 2019. It is on around 2,400 acres in southern Indiana. The project is currently in the development stage with construction expected to start in 2022, and commercial operation in 2023.
Eight renewable energy projects have previously been announced by NIPSCO, including a combination of similar purchase power agreements and joint ventures. The company plans to be coal-free by 2028, adding a combination of cleaner energy sources to its existing portfolio of natural gas and hydroelectric generation.
NIPSCO said it will ask its regulators to approve adding these new projects to its supply portfolio. The company said it expects to announce more renewable projects in the coming months.
In October, NIPSCO said that it would bring an additional 900 MW to Indiana with the Dunns Bridge I, Dunns Bridge II and Cavalry Solar Energy Centers. At the time, the utility said it had finalized three build transfer agreements with subsidiaries of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. The solar projects are expected to begin construction in 2022 and enter service in 2022 and 2023. NextEra Energy Resources would construct the projects and NIPSCO will enter into joint ventures to own, and operate and maintain some facets of these assets once construction is complete.
Capital Dynamics, developer of the Gibson solar project, is an independent global asset management firm focusing on private assets including private equity, private credit and clean energy infrastructure. Its CEI platform manages 7.9 GW of contracted gross power generation across more than 150 projects in the United States and Europe.
Arevon Energy Management is an independent company with an exclusive partnership with the Capital Dynamics’ Clean Energy Infrastructure platform.
NIPSCO ranks as Indiana’s largest natural gas distribution company and second-largest electric distribution company, serving around 820,000 natural gas and 470,000 electric customers across 32 counties. NIPSCO is one of NiSource’s six regulated utility companies.
From: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/12/17/nipsco-adds-solar-through-a-280-mw-ppa/
