Hallador Targets Year-End Decision on 460 MW Turtle Creek Gas Plant

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Hallador Energy took title to Siemens turbines under a $350 million purchase from Energy World Corporation and closed a $600 million construction financing facility for its 460 MW Turtle Creek gas project at the Merom coal site in Sullivan County. Commercial operation is targeted for the second half of 2028. The generator interconnection agreement, final construction contracts, and air permits are still outstanding.

The financing is a private credit bridge from Kennedy Lewis Investment Management carrying a 1.35 times minimum return and a cash sweep after completion. Hallador's equity holders see no free cash flow until the plant is running, has signed offtake, and gets refinanced. The turbines themselves were never operated and came off a stalled Philippines LNG project, a sign of how scarce new turbines have become as data center demand pulls independent power producers onto the secondary market. A competing 641.8 MW gas project from Maple Creek Energy is seeking interconnection in the same Sullivan County queue.

Impact

The $600 million facility isn't a traditional bank construction loan: it's a private credit bridge from Kennedy Lewis Investment Management carrying a 1.35x minimum return and a post-completion cash sweep, meaning Hallador's equity holders see no free cash flow until the plant is operating, has signed offtake, and gets refinanced, a sequencing trap layered on top of the fact that Maple Creek Energy's 641.8 MW gas project is seeking interconnection in the same Sullivan County queue. The equipment itself, never-operated Siemens turbines pulled from a stalled Philippines LNG project, reflects a global turbine scarcity driven by data center demand that's forcing independent power producers onto the secondary market.

Watch

The targeted year-end 2026 FID, plus the December 2026 'Conformity Assessment' on the $265 million still held in escrow for the turbine purchase.

For the huddle

If Siemens' inspection turns up spec gaps that delay the escrow release in December, does that collide with Hallador's FID timeline and push back the 2028 in-service date we may be counting on for new Indiana gas capacity?

Hallador's turbine inspection and escrow release are due in December, and any spec gap there could push the 2028 in-service date right when new Indiana gas capacity is needed, so track both timelines rather than assuming either holds.

Sources

Hallador Targets Year-End Investment Decision for 460 MW Indiana Gas Project · constructionreviewonline.com

Earlier coverage

From the brief, November 11, 2026

AES Indiana's Rate Fight Could Reset Indiana Manufacturing Power Costs Statewide
Hallador Targets Year-End Decision on 460 MW Turtle Creek Gas Plant
Astemo Invests $11 Million in Muncie HEV Manifold Line
NIPSCO Settlements Cut Gas Efficiency Programs for 800,000 Customers
Evonik Produces First GMP Lipid Batch at $220 Million Lafayette Plant

The whole day’s brief →

This story

Sullivan County Power Inputs

From the Energy Answers library · most read

Field guide

Decoding Demand Charges

Demand charges can be the biggest, most volatile line on a C&I bill. This guide shows you what they are, why they hit so hard, and how to ask better questions before you sign anything.

Decision 1· Demand Charges

Read the guide

Work email

Manufacturers Energy Grant Program

Free for Sullivan County manufacturers

Sullivan County manufacturers receive free, ongoing energy auditing and cost control that reduces their energy bills and keeps them low, month after month. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.

Claim your Grant Check out the program

EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →