Why This Site

A battery energy storage project needs what any new energy asset needs: land, a connection to the grid, and transmission to move the power. Assembling them from scratch takes years. The EEI/Joppa plant site already has the land and the transmission, and an established point of interconnection to build from.
The EEI/Joppa Power Plant, owned by Electric Energy Inc., occupied this property in Massac County for decades. The site carries established transmission equipment connecting it to the regional grid.
The plant retired in 2022. Vistra announced the accelerated closure in April 2021 under a settlement that moved the retirement date forward.
EEI/Joppa is already playing a role in a renewed and strengthened grid. Pulaski Solar, a 405-megawatt facility completed in neighboring Pulaski County, reaches the grid through an eight-mile line that connects at this plant site. The interconnection built for coal generation is now delivering zero-carbon electricity to Illinois.
The EEI/Joppa plant site, Massac County, Illinois.

What Is Under Consideration

TechnologyStorageUtility-scale battery energy storage.
Capacity under evaluation37MWStorage capacity being evaluated for the site.
CountyMassacMassac County, Illinois.
Project scope changes as development work proceeds, and no decision to construct has been made. Any project at the EEI/Joppa site would depend on market conditions, permitting, interconnection and other approvals.

What a Project Here Would Mean

Building a project at the EEI/Joppa site would deliver a one-time economic stimulus to Massac County — capital investment at the site, wages for local trades, and spending through the local supply chain.
The figures below are what that was modeled to produce.
Capital investment$73MModeled investment at the plant site.
During construction101Jobs supported in Massac County over the construction period.
Local earnings$5.9MEarnings for local workers during construction.
Local economic output$10.2MAdded economic activity in the county during construction.
Economic impact figures were modeled for Vistra by Dr. David G. Loomis, Strategic Economic Research, LLC.

This Has Been Done Four Times in Illinois So Far

EEI/Joppa is a proposal. The approach and the company behind it are not.
Baldwin68 MW of solar with energy storage in Randolph County, operating.
Newton52 MW of solar with energy storage in Jasper County, operating.
Coffeen44 MW of solar with energy storage in Montgomery County, operating.
Pulaski405 MW of solar in Pulaski County, connected through this site.
Vistra’s recent investments of more than $1 billion have added 570 MW of generation and 6 MW / 24 MWh of battery storage across Illinois.

EEI/Joppa Site at a Glance

Location2100 Portland Road, Metropolis, IL 62960
CountyMassac County, Illinois
Plant statusRetired 2022 under a settlement that accelerated the closure
Identified opportunityUtility-scale battery energy storage
Capacity under evaluation37 MW
InterconnectionExisting plant interconnection and transmission; point of interconnection for Pulaski Solar

Questions About the EEI/Joppa Site

No. A utility-scale battery energy storage project has been under development for the site, but no decision to construct has been made. Energy projects of this size take years of diligence, engineering, permitting and interconnection work before anyone breaks ground.

No, but it connects here. Pulaski Solar is a 405-megawatt facility built on leased farmland in neighboring Pulaski County. An eight-mile transmission line carries its output to the retired EEI/Joppa plant site, where it reaches the regional grid through the interconnection the coal plant used.

Because a retired plant site does not start from zero. New energy assets need land, a connection to the grid and transmission to carry the power away, and assembling those three from scratch can take the better part of a decade. The EEI/Joppa plant site has the land and the transmission, and a project there would reuse some of the transmission and interconnection assets already in place. New substation work and, in almost all cases, a new point of interconnection are still required.

Yes, four times. Baldwin, Newton and Coffeen pair utility-scale solar with energy storage on existing plant property and are operating today. Pulaski Solar, a 405 MW facility, reached commercial operation ahead of schedule.

Modeling for a redevelopment project at the EEI/Joppa site estimated 101 jobs supported in Massac County during construction, $5.9 million in earnings for local workers and $10.2 million in added local economic output.

The EEI/Joppa plant closure page carries the community briefings, resident letters and community updates published during the retirement, including the April 2022 community update.

Plant Closure and Community Updates

Materials published for the community during the plant’s retirement remain available, including resident letters, community briefings and the April 2022 and June 2022 community updates.
Information related to the EEI/Joppa plant closure and community updates