DTE Energy Aligns BESS, Solar Projects to Michigan's Goals

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--DTE Energy Company (NYSE:DTE) (Detroit, Michigan) is moving aggressively to more than double its companywide energy-storage capacity to 2.95 gigawatts (GW) by 2042, much of which will come from battery energy-storage system (BESS) units. DTE's goals line up with those of its home state of Michigan, which is aiming for 2.5 GW of energy storage by 2030. Industrial Info is tracking more than $2.2 billion worth of active and planned projects from DTE, more than 25% of which is attributed to closure or decommissioning projects at coal-fired power plants.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing DTE's active and planned projects, by fuel type.

Founded in 1996, DTE's operations were fueled by coal-fired power plants for much of its history. But over the past decade, the company has reduced its dependence on the fossil fuel by switching many of its power-generation facilities to burn another, natural gas, and investing in renewable-energy development. DTE took another step in that direction earlier this week, when executives announced the company would convert part of its coal-fired Trenton Channel Power Station in Trenton, Michigan, which was retired in 2022, into a 220-megawatt (MW) BESS plant.

After closing the 520-MW Trenton plant's doors, DTE began a dismantlement and demolition of the facility in mid-2023. Earlier this year, it asked Michigan regulators for up to 15 years to close the Sibley Quarry Landfill next to Lake Erie, where the plant's toxic coal ash residue is disposed. The landfill closure is designed to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rules on coal combustion residuals.

The new, standalone BESS plant, which is to be called the Trenton Channel Energy Center, will use lithium iron phosphate for the cathode material. DTE says it will be the largest standalone BESS plant in the Great Lakes region when it finishes construction, currently expected in 2026. The total cost of the site's transformation, which likely will exceed $475 million, will be offset by $140 million in tax incentives through the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, according to executives.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project and Plant databases can learn more from detailed reports on the BESS project, dismantlement and demolition, and landfill closure, as well as a detailed plant profile.

Industrial Info is tracking $645 million worth of active and proposed DTE projects related to the closure, dismantling and demolishing of coal-fired plants, as well as ash-pond closures. Subscribers can click here for a list of detailed project reports and click here for a list of plant profiles.

In May, DTE announced it would issue a request for proposals for 120 MW of new, standalone energy storage in Michigan to support the state's clean-energy goals. Although DTE does not currently plan to convert any other shuttered coal-fired plants in Michigan into BESS facilities, it has multiple renewable-energy projects in development across the state, including:

• the proposed, 153-MW Mission Road Solar Plant in Mount Pleasant; see project report
• the proposed, 150-MW Little Trout Solar Plant in Onaway; see project report
• the 265-MW Fish Creek Solar Plant in Sheridan, which kicked off site preparations in May; see project report

DTE also has proposed the conversion of two units at its coal-fired Belle River Power Station in China Township, Michigan, to burn natural gas, although the projects are in their early planning phases. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the possible conversions of Unit 1 and Unit 2 at the facility, and a detailed plant profile.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned projects from DTE.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).