EAST CHINA TWP. - Tuesday was a gray drizzly day, but to judge by the smiles at the Belle River Power Plant, the sun was shining brightly on St. Clair County.
Officials from DTE Energy gathered at the 35-year-old power plant to celebrate a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Blue Water Energy Center.
The gas-fired power plant will replace three coal-fired power plants and represents a $1 billion investment in the county.
"What this means for St. Clair County is for many years we are going to continue to be a leader in the nation for power generation," said Dan Casey, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County.
He said the county, East China Township, the East China School District and other taxing entities won't be the only ones to see the benefit.
"This is a great win for St. Clair County," Casey said. "For about a two-year period, they were looking to site this plant somewhere in metro Detroit.
"We had to compete to win it."
He said the county has access to natural gas pipelines and overhead transmission lines not found in other areas. It currently is home to the Belle River Power Plant, the St. Clair Power Plant and the Greenwood Energy Center near Avoca.
"The last time they had to organize something like this was 35 years ago for the Belle River Power Plant," Casey said.
The new plant will be in County Commissioner Jeff Bohm's district. He also is the chairman of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners.
"I don't think people understand the magnitude of how big this is," Bohm said.
DTE Energy, he said, accounts for 11.5 percent of the tax base in St. Clair County with a state equalized value of $828 million. That dwarfs Consumers Energy, in second place with an SEV of $108 million, and ITC Michigan with an SEV of $106 million.
"The top seven biggest taxpayers we have are utilities," Bohm said.
Commissioner Bill Gratopp said having the plant in St. Clair County "is absolutely awesome.
"You're going to hear people talking about how much tax base we have in this county with energy companies," he said. "We support the energy sector tremendously."
"It's a win-win for St. Clair County," said Linda Schweihofer, China Township supervisor. "They've chosen our area."
The new facility, which goes online in 2022, is in Larry Simon's bailiwick. He's the supervisor of East China Township.
"It means a lot to the township," he said. "It's a pretty important event."
He noted that it will replace the current coal-fired St. Clair Power Plant and coal-fired plants in Monroe and Trenton.
"I think it's important for the environment, getting rid of the coal-burning plants," he said.
In his remarks, DTE Chairman Gerry Anderson specifically touched on the advantages of replacing coal-burning plants with a plant that burns natural gas.
“Just over a year ago, DTE first announced a broad sustainability initiative to reduce carbon emissions by more than 80 percent and do it in a way that maintains affordability and reliability for our customers,” Anderson said. “In fact, we’re already doing it. Since 2009 we have driven investments of more than $2.5 billion in renewable energy with more investments coming.
"But as we continue to retire coal-fired power plants – all of them by 2040 – we need to complement wind farms and solar arrays with high-reliability assets. As we Michiganders know well, the wind doesn't always blow, and the sun doesn't always shine in our beautiful state.
"And that’s why we need natural gas-fueled plants like the Blue Water Energy Center," he said. "When it begins operations in 2022, it will represent our single largest step in reducing carbon emissions to date.”
According to a DTE news release, the plant will be built by Kiewit Engineering Co. The company will spend at least $200 million on Michigan-based labor and materials, according to the release, and has begun the pre-qualification process for local sub-contractors.
GE Power will provide the major generation equipment, according to the news release. More than 500 Michigan skilled labor jobs will be created during construction beginning in spring 2019 and an additional 35 full-time positions will be filled when the plant becomes operational in 2022, according to the release.
While the groundbreaking ceremony was held, a coalition of organizations announced in a news release it is filing briefs appealing the regulatory decision to allow DTE to increase electricity rates for customers.
The coalition alleges the Michigan Public Service Commission failed to require DTE to demonstrate its plant was the “most prudent” way to generate electricity, as required by state law.
“It’s actually no surprise to see DTE celebrating while the appeal is pending,” Rebecca Stanfield, senior director with Vote Solar, one of the organizations that has appealed the MPSC decision, said in the statement. “This level of arrogance is consistent with DTE’s attitude toward the legal process throughout the past year. The company was so confident that it would get its approval that it did not bother to conduct the kind of analysis we believe the law requires.”
The organizations appealing the state decision include the Ecology Center, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Solar Energy Industry Association, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Vote Solar.
“DTE did not prove that its plan was the least risky and most cost-effective choice for its customers. In fact, DTE failed to do the analysis necessary to fairly compare this plan to a portfolio of other resources that included renewable sources, demand response and energy efficiency," Margrethe Kearney, senior staff attorney for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, said. “Under Michigan law, DTE should have been sent back to the drawing board to re-do its analysis. We believe the Commission erred in approving the plant given the inadequate analysis presented by DTE.”
Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.
Blue Water Energy Center
According to information from DTE Energy, the Blue Water Energy Center is an advanced combine-cycle power plant that will produce 1,150 MW (megawatts).
Total generating capacity will be enough to power 850,000 homes, or 15 percent of households in DTE's service terriitory
The plant will ramp up at a rate of 100 megawatts per minute, nearly 50 times faster than a coal-fired plant.
Significantly reduced emissions compared to a coal-fired plant:
70 percent less carbon emissions
99 percent less nitrous and sulfur emissions
99 percent less water usage
1 megawatt can power roughly:
700 hair dryers
4,000 computers
300 central air conditioning units
