Independence takes first step toward new $70M fossil fuel power generation facility
The Independence City Council voted Monday to begin the process of investing up to $70 million into new gas-fired electricity generating equipment.
The council approved a letter of intent with ProEnergy Services, LLC, a Sedalia-based company, to install two refurbished General Electric LM6000 aeroderitive gas turbines. The vote was characterized as a preliminary step to get negotiations underway. A final contract and financing details will come before the council for approval later, officials said.
The turbines under consideration would generate up to 84.2 megawatts of energy, according to city documents.
In operating a municipal utility, the city must maintain a certain level of generation capacity to meet its own customer demand and to help the wider grid under its membership agreement with the Southwest Power Pool, which manages the electric grid for the central United States.
For years, the city has pondered what to do about the future of its utility, an entity enshrined in the city charter.
Independence Power & Light shut down its Blue Valley power plant, which generated 90 megawatts, in 2020. IPL currently generates electricity through combustible turbines and a solar farm, owns a stake in a natural gas-fired power plant in Pleasant Hill and buys power from other utilities, such as Evergy and a utility company in Omaha, as well as two wind farms.
The city’s six combustion turbines are aging and inefficient. They are used only at times of peak demand, not for ongoing generation. The council and city have long talked about upgrading or replacing those units and some council members have looked to add an entirely new power plant to the grid.
Federal regulations make it nearly impossible to build a new coal plant. Utility companies also shy away from coal because of environmental concerns and prefer the lower cost of natural gas.
At Monday’s meeting, council member Mike Huff, a retired employee of Independence Power & Light, balked at spending so much on used equipment. City staff couldn’t say what age the turbines would be, but assured that they would be refurbished like new.
Huff said he wanted to hear from a panel of experts before making such a substantial decision.
“I worked in this industry for 34 years and I would not say that I’m an expert,” Huff said. “...This is big.”
City officials said they didn’t have the acreage to install new wind or solar generation, which they also said would cost more than the gas turbines.
Three residents spoke against the move during Monday’s meeting, including a member of the city’s Public Utilities Advisory Board, which voted last week to recommended moving forward with it.
During a virtual forum over the weekend, two experts told the local advocacy group Indy Energy that much of the industry was moving away from new gas generation as renewable technologies mature. They said natural gas may have lower up-front costs, but noted it has ongoing operational costs for fuel that can be unpredictable.
“If you look at all the resources, look at all the costs, look at all the options, stack them in terms of what makes the most sense, natural gas is probably the last option one would take in terms of a cost effective, reliable solution for meeting all of our liability, affordability and sustainability needs,” said Ashok Gupta, senior energy economist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
On Monday, the council voted 4-3 in support of beginning negotiations with ProEnergy Services. Huff, Mike Steinmeyer and Brice Stewart voted against the measure.
Council member Dan Hobart said he had more questions about the project, particularly the financial costs. But he voted in favor of the measure to help get more details on the project.
“I am going to vote yes on this portion of it,” he said.
Hobart said he wanted to set a public hearing on the matter before the council votes next.
“It’s been rare in our city, at least in my life, that the citizens have had a real chance to weigh in on these really big expenditures,” he said. “Unfortunately from time to time — or more often than not — they haven’t paid off.”
Independence Mayor Eileen Weir acknowledged the concerns and questions about the project, which would be one of the city’s most costly expenditures ever.
She said she wanted to see a wider public discussion, but said the council wasn’t the best venue for that. Weir said she hoped active community members would organize discussions in the coming weeks.
She too said support for the first measure didn’t necessarily mean she would support the final proposal.
“It certainly does not commit us to any signification expenditure or eliminate other options off the table,” the mayor said. “But it does allow us to ask those questions and have those discussions, which clearly we are all eager to have.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 9:03 PM.
