NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WTHR) - Duke Energy plans to retire its Noblesville plant in 15 years as part of its new plan to increase its clean energy production.
The company's new 20-year plan is meant to be a road map showing how the company will fulfill their obligation to meet customers' energy demands using all of the power generation resources at their disposal. That includes looking beyond traditional coal to newer, cleaner sources like natural gas, hydroelectric, solar and wind energy.
Last year, nearly 90 percent of the power Duke produced in Indiana was created by coal, according to the company. One of the goals of the new plan is to lower that amount. That includes retiring coal-fired plants across the state earlier than originally planned.
“We expect to add by year 2037 1,240 megawatts of cleaner burning natural gas, 700 megawatts of wind energy, and 1,650 megawatts of solar power,” Duke Energy Officials said in a summary of their full plan.
The Noblesville plant isn't coal-fired; it's a natural gas-fired combined cycle plant. A spokesperson for Duke told WTHR.com that it's not as efficient as newer combined cycle plants and parts of the plant are very old. It is a combination of both of these factors that drive the plant's planned retirement 15 years from now in 2034. That's four years earlier than previously planned.
Officials emphasized these plans could change.
