Full Title: Reuse and Economics Impacts: NIPSCO Power Generation Facility Michigan City, IN
Author(s): KirK Engineering & Natural Resources, Inc.
Publisher(s): KirK Engineering & Natural Resources, Inc.
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The energy market in the United States is changing with growing community and economic pressures, and coal-fired power plants across the country are shutting down (Delta Institute 2018). Cleanup, demolition, and reclamation of coal-fired power plants will accelerate over the next decade as renewable energy development grows, and carbon dioxide emissions are reduced to counter the impacts of climate change. This supplemental report is part of the economic impact analysis of “Clean Closure” at the Michigan City NIPSCO facility described in KirK Engineering.
NIPSCO’s Michigan City Generating Station is located within the Michigan City municipal boundary and governed under local zoning ordinances for planning purposes. The facility is located on the shores of Lake Michigan next to Indiana Dunes National Park and Michigan City’s Washington City Beach Park. Reuse opportunities on the shores of Lake Michigan are rare, which means the opportunity garners local interest and out-of-area developers. Redevelopment at the site offers an excellent opportunity for a community-led redevelopment plan.A community-led redevelopment plan considers redevelopment alternatives that, for example, mitigate legacy economic and health impacts residents endured living next to a coal-fired power plant for over 100 years, ensure environmental justice is linked to redevelopment, generate revenue for the city and local businesses, and enhance quality of life for city residents. Environmental justice in this case means residual contaminants are adequately remediated so that any future reuse of the site is possible, and the redevelopment plan is not limited because of environmental restrictions.