Vistra on Dec. 17 announced that it is amending the retirement schedule of its 1,185-megawatt (MW) Baldwin Power Plant in Baldwin, Illinois. The company now intends to run the coal-fired plant through 2027 instead of retiring in 2025, as previously announced, while still meeting federal Environmental Protection Agency retirement and pond closure obligations.
"Vistra is committed to the responsible transition of our fleet in Illinois, and in this case, the most reasonable path forward is to continue to operate the plant as a reliable bridge to 2027, as we, and others, bring new generation assets online in the state," said Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra. "As many organizations have recently raised concerns over reliability and resource adequacy in central and southern Illinois, we are taking action and delivering solutions that balance the needs of reliability, affordability, and sustainability."
With the addition of a new 68-MW utility-scale solar system and 2-MW/8-MWh energy storage system, which began generating power in December, Baldwin is a power generation hub, the company said.
The $135 million investment involved the placement of over 200,000 solar panels across 420 acres of property the plant has owned and maintained for decades. The solar generation facility will produce approximately 140,000 MWh of zero-carbon electricity annually over the next 20 years.
“The use of multiple technologies at Baldwin, including thermal, solar, and energy storage, demonstrates the company's commitment to evaluating how to best leverage the footprint, infrastructure, and transmission connections already at the plant sites to meet the evolving electricity needs of customers.
The investment at the Baldwin plant site is part of the State of Illinois' Coal to Solar and Energy Storage Initiative, which encouraged the development of renewable energy assets at existing power plant sites.
Along with Baldwin, Vistra continues to make progress on other Coal to Solar sites, including:
- The 44-MW solar and 2-MW/8-MWh energy storage facility at the Coffeen Power Plant site is generating power.
- Construction of the 52-MW solar and 2-MW/8-MWh energy storage facility at the Newton Power Plant will begin in 2025.
Separately, as previously announced, construction has begun on a 405-MW utility-scale solar facility that will interconnect at the company's retired EEI-Joppa Power Plant through a to-be-constructed approximate 8-mile transmission line.
Since its merger with Dynegy in 2018, Vistra has taken steps “to responsibly operate, retire, and transform its coal plant fleet in Illinois,” it said.
The company has committed to retiring these plants no later than the end of 2027 to comply with existing federal EPA regulations.
