Coal

DTE Energy officially retires two coal plants

DTE began the retirement process for both plants over the summer.
DTE Energy officially retires two coal plants
(The now-retired St. Clair coal-fired power plant.)

DTE Energy announced the retirement of two coal-fired power plants in Southeast Michigan as part of a long-term plan to accelerate decarbonization goals.

With the retirement of the Trenton Channel and St. Clair plants, nearly one-third of the electricity generated by DTE Energy will come from carbon-free resources.

DTE began the retirement of both plants over the summer, placing the St. Clair Power facility on standby-only status to meet periods of high demand.

The 535 MW Trenton Channel plant was completed nearly 100 years ago, in 1924. At the time of its commissioning, it was the fourth major power plant Detroit Edison (now DTE Energy) put into operation and the largest project the company had undertaken. At one point, with the expansion of the coal-burning plant in 1950, the facility generated 1,060 MW of energy.

The St. Clair plant was commissioned at the end of WW2. At its peak, St. Clair provided nearly 2,000 MW of electricity.

DTE recently announced it would accelerate two other coal-fired plants as part of its 20-year proposal submitted to Michigan regulators. The Belle River and Monroe plants make up around 40% of the utility’s current generating fleet.

According to the proposed plan, DTE would move up the retirement of Belle River to 2026 from 2028. The plant would be repurposed to run on natural gas as a peaker plant to be used during periods of high demand. Unit 1 would be completed by December 2025, followed by Unit 2 in December 2026.

The nearly 1,300 MW Belle River Plant is located in St. Clair County within China Township and East China Township, Michigan. Coal-fired Unit 1 was completed in 1984, with Unit 2 following in 1985. Three peaker natural-gas fired turbines were added in 1999.

The utility would retire Monroe in 2028, nearly 12 years earlier than the original planned date of 2040.

To offset the coal retirements, DTE is proposing to add 15,400 MW of renewables and 1,810 MW of storage by 2042.