Gibson Generating Station

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Gibson Generating Station
Gibson Generating Station as it appeared from Indiana 64 in 2016. The power plant is often still referred to by locals as PSI, in reference to its original owner, Public Service Indiana, even when it was owned by Cinergy. The plant's two new 620 ft (190 m) smokestacks are seen in the back, behind its three original 550 ft (170 m) stacks. All six stacks are shown. As of January 2018, the two stacks on the left foreground are no longer visible from any vantage point.
Country	United States
Location	Montgomery Township, Gibson County, near Owensville, Indiana and Mount Carmel, Illinois
Coordinates	38°22′19″N 87°46′02″W / 38.37194°N 87.76722°W / 38.37194; -87.76722
Status	Operational
Commission date	1976–82 under Public Service Indiana
Decommission date	2037-2041 (planned) [1]
Owner(s)	Duke Energy Indiana (2006–present) Cinergy (1995–2006) Public Service Indiana (1971–1995)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Pulverized coal
Turbine technology	Steam Turbine
Cooling source	Gibson Lake
Power generation
Units operational	5 General Electric 705 MWg turbines
Nameplate capacity	3,132 MW
[edit on Wikidata]

The Gibson Generating Station is a coal-burning power plant located at the northernmost end of Montgomery Township, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. It is close to the Wabash River, 1.5 miles (2.5 km) southeast of Mount Carmel, Illinois, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the mouth of the Patoka River, and 4 miles (6.5 km) south of the mouth of the White River. The closest Indiana communities are Owensville 7.5 miles (12 km) to the southeast of the plant, and Princeton, 10.5 miles (17 km) to the east. With a 2013 aggregate output capacity among its five units of 3,345 megawatts, it is the largest power plant run by Duke Energy,^[2] and the tenth-largest electrical plant in the United States.^[3] Given the closure of the Nanticoke Generating Station in Ontario, in 2013, the Gibson Generating Station became the largest coal power plant in North America by generated power.

Also on the grounds of the facility is a 3,000-acre (12 km²) large man-made lake called Gibson Lake which is used as a cooling pond for the plant. Neighboring the plant is a Duke-owned, publicly accessible access point to the Wabash River near a small island that acts as a wildlife preserve. This is the nearest boat-ramp to Mount Carmel on the Indiana side of the river. Located immediately south of Gibson Lake, the plant's cooling pond, is the Cane Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, the newest unit of the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area. Opened in August 2006, this 26-acre (11 ha) area serves as a nesting ground for the least tern. Cane Ridge NWR is reportedly the easternmost nesting ground for the bird in the U.S.

The Gibson Generating Station is connected to the power grid via five 345 kV and one 138 kV transmission lines to 79 Indiana counties including the Indianapolis area and a sixth 345 kV line running from GGS to Evansville and Henderson, owned by Vectren and Kenergy.^[4]