Hallador targets year-end go-ahead for 460 MW Turtle Creek gas plant at Merom, Indiana

Hallador Energy said on 9 November 2026, in third-quarter results it filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that it aims to take a final investment decision by year-end on Turtle Creek Gas, a planned natural gas-fired plant of about 460 megawatts at its Merom site in Indiana. The company says it is targeting commercial operation in the latter half of 2028.

Hallador says it took title in October to the turbine and generator equipment, bought from Energy World Corporation under a $350 million purchase agreement. The turbines are unused, the company says. They were located in the Philippines, have left that country and are being shipped to the US, where Hallador says Siemens will inspect them and bring them up to current specification before installation. Hallador says it has placed the other $265 million of the price in escrow, to be released as the agreement's milestones are met.

On grid connection, Hallador says grid operator MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) has told it that its interconnection study, which was handled under MISO's Expedited Resource Addition Study programme, is complete. The interconnection agreement has not yet been signed; Hallador says it is finalizing that agreement, along with an engineering and construction contract and orders for the rest of the equipment.

For funding, Hallador says it arranged a senior secured $600 million bridge loan for construction during the third quarter, the largest single part of the capital plan for the project. Of that amount, $550 million was funded when the loan closed, and a further $50 million is a committed delayed-draw tranche that was undrawn at the end of September. The company says it is also finalizing a revolving credit line of $75 million and is weighing other financing sources.

Hallador's release says Turtle Creek has no signed offtake agreement. The company says it is seeking long-term contracts with investment-grade buyers in early 2027, and that its financing plan does not depend on having them in place. The release says the investment decision still needs board approval, final agreements and financing.