On June 15, 2020, Vectren Energy, a subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy based in Indiana and parts of Ohio, announced it would retire 730 MW of coal by 2030 which would bring its resource mix to 12% coal-fired power by 2025.[1] As of 2020, the utility’s generation portfolio is 78% coal. Under Vectren’s preferred integrated resource plan (IRP), which is based on an all-resource request for proposals, the utility would add 700 MW to 1000 MW of solar+storage, 300 MW of wind, 30 MW of demand response resources and 460 MW of combustion turbine natural gas plants. In total, the mix would be 64% renewable energy plus demand response by 2025. According to Vectren, the proposed plan is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 75% below 2005 levels by 2035 and save customers up to $320 million over the next 20 years.

In recent years, the utility has been under pressure from state legislators to keep Indiana coal online. In 2019, Indiana lawmakers proposed legislation that would place a moratorium on new resources in the state in order to protect coal-fired power from getting replaced.[2] Though the bill failed in the 2019 legislative session, in early 2020 lawmakers passed House Bill 1414 which makes coal plants in the state more difficult to retire.[3] Vectren’s new plan, though, bucks these pressures.

[1] https://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/corporate/about-us/news/1348

[2] http://iga.in.gov/documents/b14c355b

[3] https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1414/2020