Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) recently announced the opening of its next round of request for proposals to consider a combination of potential resources to meet the future electric needs of its customers.
NIPSCO is requesting proposals in three target areas:
- Wind: Targeting 300 megawatt (MW) of installed capacity (ICAP) of wind and wind paired with storage;
- Solar: Targeting 2,300 MW ICAP of solar and solar paired with storage;
- Thermal and other: Targeting economic opportunities for thermal and other capacity resources
The utility noted that it reserves the right to transact more or less than the referenced ICAP target.
The RFP will satisfy a 2023 capacity need following the release of NIPSCO’s 2018 Integrated Resource Plan where the company announced its plans to retire all of its remaining coal-fired generation by 2028, and replace it with lower-cost, cleaner options.
NIPSCO is considering all sources in the RFP process. Dispatchable and semi-dispatchable generation, renewables, demand response resources and contractual arrangements will be considered, as well as emerging technologies such as storage.
NIPSCO’s current energy mix includes generation from natural gas and coal, hydroelectric generation, purchased wind power, customer-owned renewable generation, demand response, energy efficiency and other purchased power.
The RFP will close Nov. 20, 2019 and more information can be found at http://www.nipsco-rfp.com.
NIPSCO serves approximately 820,000 natural gas and 460,000 electric customers across 32 counties. NIPSCO is part of investor-owned NiSource’s seven regulated utility companies.
