Board approves IMPAs plan to expand Anderson peaking plant after neighbor concerns about noise and screening

The Anderson Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to approve a special exception and four variances on April 1 to allow the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) to expand its existing peaking power plant on roughly 200 acres west of Park Road.

IMPA plans to add a fourth dual-fuel combustion turbine rated at about 250 megawatts, support buildings including an administrative and water-treatment building, a switchyard, additional fuel storage, and site security. Staff estimated the expansion would cost about $350 million, with engineering and design under way, a groundbreaking expected in late 2027 or early 2028 and completion projected in the late 2029early 2030 timeframe. The expansion is expected to add three to four full-time jobs to the plants current staff of three.

IMPAs presentation and staff analysis stressed the project would replace retiring assets elsewhere in IMPAs system and serve as a wholesale, market-dispatched resource for IMPA members, including the City of Anderson.…