A bill under consideration in the Indiana General Assembly could have a chilling effect on the wind power produced by the West Central School Corporation. Senate Bill 309 would change the way alternate energy production like wind and solar is redistributed.
Right now every kilowatt hour produced by West Central’s turbine is fed into NIPSCO’s power grid, and the corporation receives credits for the power it uses. Superintendent Don Street says the proposed legislation would raise the cost of that power.
He’s testified in front of legislative committees about the negative effects the proposal would have on West Central and the four other districts across Indiana with wind turbines. Several other corporations are considering the addition of solar power as a source of revenue. West Central built its turbine in 2012. Street says it has saved the corporation quite a bit of money.
The bill is currently before the House for consideration of Senate amendments. Street says it may be sent to study committee this summer, which could just postpone the change.
Street adds Rep. Doug Gutwein and Sen. Ed Charbonneau are both supportive of West Central’s position on the measure.
