Duke Plant Nearly Done

EDWARDSPORT, IND. (WTHI) - The largest private construction project in Indiana history is closing in on completion.

A Duke Energy spokesman told the Knox County Redevelopment Commission that its power plant near Edwardsport is 98 percent complete.

As the construction winds down the company is now gearing up to begin operations.

Duke Energy's new coal gasification power plant near Edwardsport is taking shape.

Most of the thousands of construction workers are wrapping up their work and the activity is soon going to change.

Duke spokesman Kurt Phegley told the county redevelopment commission the company has hired 130 people to work there and they are getting ready for operations.

"We're going through testing of our systems internally with the plant," said Phegley. "We're doing training activities at the plant itself with an on-site simulation unit that we have at the plant."

It wasn't that long ago that the site was a farm field.

Now a $3-billion power plant is sitting there and the impact it has had on the area has already been massive.

"The shot to the economy has been large across the entire spectrum," said Redevelopment Commission member Bob Lechner. "It has been a win-win-win situation."

Duke is now pointing toward bringing the plant on line later this year completing both a major transformation to both the landscape and the local economy.

"To see the changes, the enormity of the site and everything, all the engineering that's gone into it, it is really just amazing," said Lechner.

The expectation in the Edwardsport area is that the impact from the plant's operation will continue to be large for decades to come.

The company says a rail spur that will connect the power plant to the Indiana Rail Road line at Sandborn is about 90 percent complete.