Two Northern Indiana Public Service Co. solar farms in White and Jasper counties are the first to go online and produce energy for the Merrillville-based utility.
Dunns Bridge I Solar is a 265-megawatt facility in Jasper County, which is the first in a two-part project. Indiana Crossroads Solar is a 200-megawatt facility in White County.
“The addition of our first solar parks to our electric generating portfolio represent meaningful investments in the state of Indiana and a direct benefit to our customers,” said Mike Hooper, NIPSCO president, in a press release. “These completed projects are a crucial step in advancing our long-term energy transition plan, providing sustainable, reliable and cost-effective energy now and into the future.”
Dunns Bridge I is near NIPSCO's R.M. Schahfer generating station, which the company expects to retire in 2025. Dunns Bridge II in Jasper and Starke counties is under construction. Company officials expect the second Dunns Bridge facility to generate 435 mega watts of energy, along with 75 mega watts for battery storage.
Both Dunns Bridge projects are expected to produce $59 million in tax revenue for the two counties total.
Some of the funding for NIPSCO's solar projects come as the result of tax benefits outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act.
NIPSCO, which is a subsidiary of NiSource, plans to stop using coal by 2028, which will help it reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2030 in comparison to 2005.
NIPSCO also has several wind farms online that have saved customers almost $60 million since 2021. The company is developing more wind, solar and battery storage projects to meet its goal of transitioning to more sustainable ways of generating energy.
NIPSCO, which is more than 100 years old, serves about 850,000 natural gas and 483,000 electric customers in 32 counties.
Caption: Dunns Bridge I Solar is a 265 mega-watt facility in Jasper County near NIPSCO’s R.M. Schahfer generating station, which the company expects to retire in 2025. (Photo courtesy of NextEra Energy Resources)
