Government and Policy News

Duke gets go-ahead for upgrade of 65-MW Markland hydropower plant

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has approved a $152 million plan from Duke Energy Indiana to upgrade the 65-MW Markland hydroelectric plant.
Duke gets go-ahead for upgrade of 65-MW Markland hydropower plant

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has approved a $152 million plan from Duke Energy Indiana to upgrade the 65-MW Markland hydroelectric plant.

The announcement comes after Duke reached a settlement agreement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) earlier this month.

“We are pleased with the commission’s decision that allows us to keep the Markland Hydro Station operating for many more years,” Duke Energy Indiana state president Melody Birmingham-Byrd said, “The low-cost, carbon-free power generated at Markland is an important part of our diversified portfolio of generation sources.”

The plan will see Duke overhaul Markland‘s three turbines, generators and other equipment, increasing the project’s cumulative output capacity by about 10%. The utility said earlier this year the overhaul would take about four years to complete. Work is expected to begin next year.

“The generating units at Markland have served our customers well with clean, renewable energy since 1967,” Birmingham-Byrd said. “As we move toward increasingly cleaner energy, these modernized generation units will harness more of the renewable resources of the Ohio River for many years to come.”

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