We Can. And We Must.

We can and must have a better energy future that lowers rates and ensures the wellbeing of our planet.

Two days after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, CenterPoint held its first Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) session to update its plan for energy production over the next 20 years. With substantial tax incentives, up to 50% for renewable energy projects and energy storage projects (e.g. battery storage), the IRA fundamentally changes the economics of energy production.

For Centerpoint, this clearly calls into question the economics of the natural gas “peaker” plants that CenterPoint plans to construct to cover short-term peak load demand periods. The total projected cost of the plants, including the required pipeline, is nearly $1 billion. With the IRA subsidies, battery storage (of power generated by renewables) for peak load almost certainly will be less expensive than the proposed fossil fuel plants especially given the existing long-term trend of substantial cost decreases for batteries.

Nevertheless, CenterPoint, essentially a natural gas company, seems determined to proceed with the gas peaker plants. Please consider signing the petition (first link below) urging CenterPoint to change course. Also, read the article (second link) by Wendy Bredhold of the Sierra Beyond Coal campaign that explains in more detail the costly folly of building these plants.

Tom Bogenschutz
Tri-State Creation Care
704 1st Ave
Evansville, In 47710

Petition: https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/National?actionId=AR0368679

Opinion Article: https://www.indianaenvironmentalreporter.org/posts/opinion-centerpoint-should-consider-ira-benefits-during-resource-planning