This Utility Will Build a 1,100 MW Power Plant
David Wagman | April 30, 2018Utility regulators in Michigan approved DTE Electric Co.’s plans to build a 1,100 megawatt (MW) natural gas-powered electric generation facility to replace aging coal plants.
Regulators will allow DTE to recover up to $951.8 million for the combined cycle plant at DTE’s Belle River Power Plant site. DTE had sought approval for $989 million in cost recovery.
The plant will replace coal plants closing in the early 2020s. It is expected to employ around 35 people when it is completed.
Reducing Carbon Emissions
In 2017, DTE, one of the Midwest's largest coal-based electric power generators, announced plans to cut carbon emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050. The company said the reduction and 2050 timeframe align with the target scientists broadly have identified as necessary to help address climate change.
DTE's efforts to cut its carbon emissions will garner a 30 percent reduction by the early 2020s, 45 percent by 2030, 75 percent by 2040 and more than 80 percent by 2050.
The company said it will achieve these reductions by incorporating "substantially" more renewable energy, transitioning its power sources from coal to natural gas, continuing to operate its Fermi 2 nuclear power power plant and strengthening options for customers to save energy and reduce bills.
The plans define a long-term shift by DTE to produce over three-quarters of its power from renewable energy and highly efficient natural gas-fired power plants.
Even More Renewables?
Alternatives that were considered to the newly approved 1,100 MW power plant included electric transmission expansion with out-of-state power sources, purchase of an existing plant, a purchased power agreement with a third party and combinations of renewable energy, distributed resources and energy storage.
The regulatory commission said that increased renewable energy could potentially displace a second gas-fired power plant DTE proposed in its integrated resource plan (IRP) to meet its needs in 2029. The utility was directed to consider such a scenario in its April 2019 IRP filing.
The $951.8 million approved does not include costs for electrical transmission upgrades, which are handled by the local transmission company, ITC Transmission, under federal procedures.
The utility said it expects to begin construction in the spring of 2019 and have the plant operational in the spring of 2022. It will be DTE’s first major power plant since the Fermi nuclear plant went into service in 1988.
DTE says the energy produced would partially replace 2,100 MW of generation that will be lost when eight coal-fired units are retired between 2020 and 2023. DTE expects to close River Rouge Unit 3, St. Clair Units 1-3 and 6-7, and Trenton Channel Unit 9.
