Following last week’s announcement that the Baldwin Power Plant would be closed by year end of 2025, Brad Watson, Vistra’s director of community affairs, held a briefing the next day with several local officials about the retirement plan for the plant.
He started off by noting some of the background and reasons behind the closure of the coal fired plants in Illinois and Ohio, and pointed out that Vistra will be investing in more sustainable energies. Watson also noted that the announcement was made much earlier than it normally would of, partially due to regulatory rules.
As for the future of the Baldwin plant, Watson stated that while it will operate no later than the end of 2025, their goal is to keep it going as long as they are financially able to. But, it could be retired earlier due to economic factors.
This summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized several changes to the regulations for coal combustion residuals (CCR). This included requirements for compliance and a deadline of Nov. 30 to submit a compliance plan.
Watson noted that in its 50 years of operation, the Baldwin plant has burned a lot of coal, generating a lot of coal ash over that time. The coal ash at Baldwin is disposed of/stored on site.
For more from this briefing, please see this week’s print edition.