AES Indiana to Convert Petersburg Coal Plant to Natural Gas

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The American utility company AES Indiana announced plans to convert its Petersburg coal plant to natural gas. It is part of AES’ previously stated goal to power its customers with 13% natural gas by 2042. However, the announcement has invited mixed reactions.

The utility hopes to provide training to some of the existing coal plant employees to work at the natural gas plant. However, it is quite unsure as to how many out of the existing 300 employees at the plant will be able to make that transition. The use of current and existing infrastructure at Petersburg plant will lead to significant cost savings, said Tanya Searcy, senior director of public relations, AES U.S. Utilities.

AES claimed that the transition would lead to 68% reduction in carbon emissions, upon comparison with 2018 levels. However various activist groups argued that the transition to renewable energy will be bad for the climate and will lead to deterioration of air quality in the entire Southern Indiana region.

Ashley Willis, Executive Director, Pike County Economic Development Corporation noted that there is still some uncertainty with regards to how the plant is going to unfold in the future, although everything looks positive as of now.

Incidentally, the plant is one of the largest polluters of air and water in the state.

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