The first phase of the Harding Street Generating Station was originally constructed by the Indiana Power and Light Company between August 1929 and November 1931.[1] With two generating units, it supplied the city with 75,000 kilowatts, distributed through a series of substations around the city.[2] The plant was in service for only a few months before a fire ripped through the building from an oil fire.[3]
A fourth unit was added in 1947.[4]
The Harding Street Station was renamed the Elmer W. Stout Generating Station on 10 September 1958 when a fiftth power generating unit was completed.[5] Stout had served on the Indiana Power and Light Company board since 1930 and had been chairman of the executive committee since 1940.[6]
In an SEC filing in 2016, IPL reported that it had completed its retrofit of Units 5 and 6 by December 2015 and of Unit 7 in the second quarter of 2016. This conversion "from coal to natural gas (approximately 610 total MW net capacity) at a total cost of approximately $105 million."[7]
Environmental Impact
editThe impact of the Harding Street Generating Station on the environment was rarely noted in the first decades of its existence. A newspaper report from 1949 noted that the plant used water from the White River for condensing and that when water was released it was significantly warmer.[8]
Ash Ponds
editOn the south side of the former plant are a sequence of unlined coal ash ponds. As of 2019, there were 27 groundwater monitoring wells. between 2016 and 2019, 24 of these were polluted above federal advisory levels of molybdenum, boron, lithium, sulfate, arsenic, antimony, selenium, and cobalt.[9]
Environmental Regulation
editIn October 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed the " Standards for the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals in Landfills and Surface Impoundments" regulation (more commonly known as the CCR rule). Because the EPA did not have authority to enforce the rule, owners of power plans were expected to "self-implement" the guidance. In 2016, Congress gave the EPA authority to enforce the CCR rule through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act).[10]
- ^ "The Indianapolis Star 21 Nov 1931, page Page 22". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "The Indianapolis Star 21 Nov 1931, page Page 22". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "The Indianapolis Star 16 Mar 1932, page Page 4". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "The Culver Citizen 15 Nov 1950, page Page 10". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "The Indianapolis Star 07 Aug 1958, page Page 11". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "The Indianapolis News 10 Sep 1958, page 24". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ SEC. "Ipalco Enterprises, Inc. 2020 Annual Report 10-K". SEC.report. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "The Reporter-Times 10 Jan 1949, page 1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ Ashtracker. "Harding Street Generating Station". Ashtracker. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ United States Congress (December 16, 2016). "Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act" (PDF) (PDF). Retrieved April 4, 2023.
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