IPL will convert Indianapolis plant to natural gas

Indianapolis Power & Light said Friday that its coal-fired Harding Street power plant will be converted to natural gas, reducing carbon emissions at the city's biggest industrial polluter by half.

Environmentalists say the switch also will reduce the chance of heart and asthma attacks for area residents.

Jodi Perras, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club, said more than 55 local groups passed resolutions urging IPL to retire the coal-burning plant.

"Today those calls have been answered, and we will see an end of (the plant's) toxic air pollution in Marion County by 2016," Perras said.

Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, called it a "remarkable day."

IPL officials said the move would reduce its overall dependence on coal from 79 percent in 2007 to 44 percent by 2017. The company said the move was to comply with Environmental Protection Agency regulations but would increase the cost of electricity for customers — by about $12 a year.

"IPL has a commitment to provide affordable electricity, and converting ... to natural gas is the best plan for our customers because it is the reasonable, least cost option," Kelly Huntington, IPL president and CEO, said in a statement. "Compliance with current and future EPA standards will continue to increase the cost of electricity for our customers."

Mayor Greg Ballard said in a statement that IPL has faced some difficult choices regarding how to balance the upcoming EPA regulations and the effect these mandates have on IPL customers.

The Rev. Dennis Shock, a Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light board member, called the move a "step in the right direction."

"It is a benefit for the health of our people and it is doing the right thing for God's creation," he said. "It can make us a first-class city."

Perras said the Sierra Club and other groups will now focus on ensuring coal ash around the plant is cleaned up.

Of 17 coal-fired power plants in Indiana that dispose of ash in ponds, a recent Hoosier Environmental Council report singled out the Harding Street plant as a especially troublesome.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter: @john_tuohy.