Babcock & Wilcox Obtains Approval for Fuel-Conversion Project at Indiana Power Station

Babcock & Wilcox’s (B&W) thermal segment received approval to proceed with a coal-to-natural gas conversion project, valued at approximately $246 million, at AES Indiana’s 1,160 MW Petersburg Generating Station. The project is slated for completion in Q1 2027. AES Indiana will transition away from coal and minimize CO₂ emissions by converting two coal-fired boilers to burn natural gas as fuel.

“This large, complex project will be coordinated across several B&W business segments, including our B&W Thermal, BWCC and FPS businesses,” said Chris Riker, Senior Vice President, B&W Thermal. “Our depth of knowledge and expertise allows us to efficiently execute large, complex fuel-switching projects such as this.”

Petersburg Generating Station; image credit: AES Indiana

B&W’s Role

B&W Thermal will design and install a new natural gas system, air systems, and additional equipment.

B&W Construction will conduct the project’s construction portion.

B&W FPS will deliver burners, ignitors, controls, and other technologies for the Petersburg Generating Station.

“We began engineering and design work earlier this year and are pleased to be moving forward with this important project for AES Indiana,” said Chris Riker, Senior Vice President, B&W Thermal. “We continue to see interest from utilities in the United States and elsewhere that want to switch from coal to cleaner fuels, such as natural gas, to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the overall environmental impact of their generating assets.”

Previously, B&W obtained a limited notice to proceed with the project, with the full notice granted in Q4 2024.

Additional B&W News

This week, Mälarenergi AB awarded B&W a contract to perform a full-scale feasibility assessment of its SolveBright CO₂-capture technology to be installed at a waste-to-energy plant in Västerås, Sweden. The study will examine SolveBright integration with the plant and district heating system, as well as:

• Identification and management of usable heat
• Rebalancing and optimization of the waste-to-energy facility
• Selecting the optimal technical configuration for high operational efficiency

The SolveBright scrubbing system is a post-combustion solution that absorbs CO₂ from the plant’s flue gas using a regenerable solvent.

With this plant, the company’s goal is to capture 400,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year and permanently sequester the pollutant to reach carbon neutrality by 2035. Mälarenergi’s waste-to-energy plant delivers 50% of the region’s district heating demand, reducing electricity consumption and maintaining energy supply for additional requirements. Integrating carbon-reduction technologies to capture emissions will help ensure Sweden’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions.

And in June, NorthStar Clean Energy granted B&W a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) on the conversion of a former coal-fired power plant in Filer City, MI to a BECCS facility using the company’s biomass SolveBright post-combustion CO₂ capture technology. B&W conducted a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the project and the partners are now working to finalize the full contract. The LNTP enables B&W to perform design and procurement work, and full notice is slated for Q4 2024.

Upon completion of the conversion project, the power plant will operate with biomass as fuel to produce power with net-negative greenhouse gas emissions. With B&W’s SolveBright process, it will also be capable of capturing up to 550,000 tons of CO₂ per year to be stored underground.