Michigan’s main electrical utility stated it plans to construct one of many nation’s largest standalone battery vitality storage tasks on the web site of a retired coal-fired energy plant.
Detroit-based DTE Vitality on June 10 stated it might convert a part of the closed Trenton Channel energy plant right into a 220-MW vitality storage facility. DTE retired Trenton Channel in 2022; the plant had operated within the Downriver area of the Detroit space since 1924, sending electrical energy throughout southeast Michigan.
DTE officers on Monday stated they count on the 880-MWh vitality storage system shall be operational by the tip of 2026. The brand new plant is a part of DTE’s CleanVision Built-in Useful resource Plan, which requires the elimination of about 4,100 MW of coal-fired technology by 2035, and an accompanying transition to renewable vitality. The utility already has introduced plans to put in greater than 1,800 MW of battery vitality storage by 2042.
“Immediately, roughly one-third of all electrical energy generated by DTE comes from carbon-free assets,” stated Jerry Norcia, chairman and CEO of DTE Vitality. “Our world-class photo voltaic, wind, and nuclear technology amenities are delivering dependable and clear electrical energy to our clients, and the Trenton Channel Vitality Middle is a big milestone in accelerating our clear vitality journey.”
Elevated Renewable Vitality Technology
Officers stated the brand new facility will retailer electrical energy throughout occasions of extra technology, then distribute the ability to clients during times of peak demand, serving to scale back pressure on the grid. The utility stated the brand new energy station additionally helps DTE’s rising quantity of renewable technology by storing vitality from wind and solar energy.
“DTE’s new Trenton Channel Vitality Middle will assist us strengthen our grid and produce extra clear energy when it’s more cost effective and retailer it for later once we want it,” stated Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “DTE received this completed with assist from the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Discount Act [IRA], additional shoring up their place as Michigan’s high producer of renewable vitality. Due to tasks like at the moment’s, sturdy federal management, and the Michigan Legislature’s clear vitality and jobs package deal I signed into legislation final 12 months, our future is vibrant. We are going to make extra American vitality utilizing American employees, decrease family vitality prices, create tens of hundreds of good-paying jobs, and defend our air, land, and lakes. Let’s get it completed.”
Funding for the Trenton Channel web site’s repurposing consists of $140 million in tax incentives by means of the 2022 IRA and its infrastructure funding provisions. Whitmer, whose administration created a MI Wholesome Local weather initiative for Michigan, stated the undertaking will convey the state nearer to its targets for clear vitality.
Carbon-Free by 2040
Michigan’s clear vitality plan requires utilities to offer 100% carbon-free electrical energy by 2040. The plan additionally features a purpose of constructing 2,500 MW of vitality storage by 2030.
Trenton Mayor Steven Rzeppa in a press release stated, “The Metropolis is thrilled to see DTE make the most of its current web site right here in Trenton to create a necessary new factor of its infrastructure. The Trenton plant was a fixture in our neighborhood for a century, and it’s encouraging to see DTE’s dedication to the positioning and the neighborhood, using new expertise right here in a manner that advantages DTE’s greater than two million electrical clients in addition to the Metropolis of Trenton and its residents.”
“At this web site alone, we’re delivering almost 10% of the state’s saved vitality goal and we’ve many extra storage tasks that we’re seeking to full and develop throughout the DTE service territory,” Norcia stated throughout Monday’s announcement.
The Michigan Public Service Fee authorised the brand new undertaking in March, simply hours after the smokestacks of the retired coal-fired plant had been introduced down. Norcia stated the price of the 20-acre battery vitality storage undertaking is about $500 million.
The Trenton Channel coal plant had six 50-MW items in the course of the early years of its operation. Two further items of 120 MW every had been added in 1950. A single 550-MW turbine generator entered service in 1968. Solely the 550-MW was working previous to the plant’s retirement in December 2022.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
