News release from Indiana Michigan Power:
I&M Breaks Ground on Solar Facility
Announces IM Solar Program
(October 26, 2015) – Indiana Michigan Power broke ground today on its second solar generation facility and also launched IM Solar, a program that enables Indiana customers to use local solar power without the expense of installing their own system.
The Twin Branch Solar Facility, northeast of Mishawaka in a commercial/industrial area, will have nearly 29,000 solar panels and a generation capacity of 2.6 megawatts of emission-free energy. The facility is expected to generate energy equivalent to powering more than 350 homes annually.
“I&M sees a bright future in solar power, and we are pleased to bring large-scale solar generation to Michiana,” said Paul Chodak III, President and Chief Operating Officer of Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an operating unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP). Large-scale solar generation is 30 percent to 50 percent less costly than rooftop solar.
“When the Twin Branch and three other I&M solar facilities go online, we will add about 15 megawatts of emission-free energy that already includes nuclear, wind and hydro,” Chodak said. “In fact, over 50 percent of I&M’s generation fleet is already emission-free.”
I&M contracted with First Solar Inc., a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions, to build the Twin Branch facility as well as planned facilities near New Carlisle and Watervliet, Mich. All three of those facilities are expected to be generating energy for I&M customers by the end of 2016.
Also today, I&M formally launched IM Solar, a program that allows I&M’s Indiana customers to participate in the growth of solar power by subscribing to 50-kilowatt-hour blocks for $2.21 per block monthly. Subscription proceeds will retire solar Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that I&M’s solar generation creates, going directly toward supporting the solar projects.
“IM Solar gives all of our Indiana customers the opportunity to effectively reduce their CO2/environmental footprint in a cost-effective manner,” Chodak said. “We will be happy to build more of these installations as needed to meet customer demand.”
For more information and to subscribe, customers can go to www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/Solar.
About Indiana Michigan Power
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,450 employees serve more than 589,000 customers. It operates 2,600 MW of coal-fired generation in Indiana, 2,160 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan and 22 MW of hydro generation in both states. The company also provides its customers 450 MW of purchased wind generation and, by the end of 2016, approximately 15 MW of large-scale solar generation.American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5.3 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 32,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. Indiana Michigan Power website.
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