The Bailly Generating Station was a 604 megawatt (MW) coal power plant located in Burns Harbor, Indiana, on the shore of Lake Michigan adjacent to the Port of Indiana. The plant, which began operation in 1962[1] and tripled its capacity in 1968, is owned and operated by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), an electric-utility operating division of the energy holding company NiSource.[1] The plant ceased coal-fired electrical generation on May 31, 2018.
| Bailly Generating Station | |
|---|---|
 Bailly Generating Station in 2013 | |
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Burns Harbor, Indiana |
| Coordinates | 41°38′36″N 87°07′22″W / 41.64333°N 87.12278°W |
| Status | Decommissioned |
| Commission date | Unit 1: 1962 Unit 2: 1968 |
| Decommission date | Units 1–2: May 31, 2018 |
| Owner | Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) |
| Operator | Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Coal |
| Cooling source | Lake Michigan |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 604 MW |
| External links | |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
History
editThe Bailly Station is named in honor of Joseph Bailly, a fur trader and pioneer settler of northwest Indiana. It is located in an industrial park sited within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The plant's 300-acre site[1] reflects a belief, held by the state of Indiana and the United States Congress in the early 1960s, that the Dunes-Lake Michigan shoreline should be shared between environmental preservation and heavy industry.
Since January 2011, Bailly has operated under the terms of a legal settlement between NIPSCO and the United States Environmental Protection Agency in compliance with the Clean Air Act.[1] Under the terms of the settlement, NiSource would have been required to invest approximately $200 million in new capital infrastructure to be retrofitted onto Bailly to capture sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx).
Closure of coal units
editCiting growing environmental and regulatory burdens, NIPSCO announced plans in August 2016 to shut down the Bailly Generating Plant.[2] The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) approved of the shut down in December 2016 after it was determined the plant's future closure would not affect the grid's reliability.[3] The plant shut down electrical generation from coal on May 31, 2018. Nevertheless, the site will continue to operate a natural gas peaker plant.[4]
See also
edit
- Bailly Nuclear Power Plant (cancelled in 1981 prior to construction)
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Northern Indiana Public Service Company Bailly Generating Station". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ Benman, Keith (August 25, 2016). "NIPSCO looks at closing one coal-fired power plant, part of another". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
- ^ Benman, Keith (December 18, 2016). "NIPSCO will close Bailly power plant May 31, 2018". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Steele, Andrew (May 31, 2018). "Bailly Generating Station's coal-fired units to be retired". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
External links
edit