Retiring Illinois Coal Plants Plan Shift to Energy Storage Facilities
In order to qualify for grant money, the plants must have burned coal, have a generating capacity of at least 150 MW and commit to hiring a diverse workforce.
Edited by Margo Ellis
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Five Illinois coal plants that are currently closed or in the process of ending their coal operations are expected to begin operating energy storage facilities in 2025, according to Power Engineering.
To boost this effort, the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced $280.5 million in funding over ten years for the five plant sites. The dollars come from Illinois’ “Coal-to-Solar Energy Storage Grant Program,” which in part incentivizes companies to install energy storage at the sites of former coal plants.
NRG Energy will receive a combined $158.4 million to build energy storage projects, each 72 MW in size, at the Waukegan and Will County coal-fired plant sites.
NRG is expected to retire both Waukegan Units 7 and 8, totaling more than 600 MWs, and the 599 MW Will County Unit 4 in 2022. The units are the last of the coal-fired capacity at those respective plants, as other units were retired years ago.
The other three coal plants are owned by Vistra subsidiaries. They’ll receive a combined $122.1 million to build energy storage projects, each 37 MW in size, at the Joppa, Havana and Edwards coal plant sites.
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