For Maple Creek Energy, EBP performed an economic impact study on a proposed 625 MW combined-cycle gas turbine electricity-generating facility in Sullivan County, Indiana.
The facility, intended to replace retiring coal-fired generation, will make use of recycled water using mobile ion exchange technology, along with air cooling, to minimize water use and eliminate the need for off-site discharge. The EBP team explored the economic impacts and environmental benefits to the surrounding community and the State of Indiana through each phase of development, construction, and operation.
For the project, EBP calibrated IMPLAN economic models for Sullivan County and for the rest of Indiana to estimate direct (local construction and operations/maintenance), indirect (sales for suppliers of goods and services supporting the direct activity) and induced (consumer spending from additional local income) economic impacts using five metrics: business output, gross regional product / value added, labor income, jobs, and tax revenue. The team also estimated the project’s water savings and carbon emission reduction benefits.