Baldwin’s power plant was built in the late 1960s and went online in 1970. Over the years, the plant has been a large part of the local community, providing not only energy, but jobs and revenues for the area. The companies that owned the plant over the years has also been known to be big supporters of the local area, providing numerous donations to schools and organizations.
In recent years however, the power plant, like many others, began to struggle in the new energy market. And on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 29, it was announced that the plant would be closing.
Vistra Director of Media Relations Meranda Cohn told the North County Newsthat day that Vistra had announced the expected closure time line for their entire Midwest coal fleet, which includes the Baldwin plant.
A press release she shared noted that Vistra “announced a comprehensive plan to accelerate its transition to clean power generation sources and advance efforts to significantly reduce its carbon footprint.”
In addition to launching Vistra Zero, a portfolio of zero-carbon power generation facilities, “the company committed to more ambitious long-term emissions reduction targets, released its first climate report, and announced its intention to retire all of its generation subsidiaries’ coal plants in Illinois and Ohio.”
For more on the closure of the Baldwin Power Plant, please see this week’s print edition.