DTE Energy breaks ground on Blue Water Energy Center
DTE Energy broke ground Tuesday on its Blue Water Energy Center, a $1 billion natural gas-fueled plant that DTE says will be the most efficient power plant in the state when it begins operations in 2022.
When completed, the plant will generate enough electricity for approximately 850,000 homes.
Blue Water Energy Center will use combined-cycle technology that captures waste heat to produce additional electricity. The facility will be 40 percent more efficient and 70 percent cleaner than the three coal-fired plants DTE plans to retire by 2023, the company said.
“Since 2009 we have driven investments of more than $2.5 billion in renewable energy with more investments coming,” DTE Energy Chair and CEO Gerry Anderson said. “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. When it begins operations in 2022, it will represent our single largest step in reducing carbon emissions to date.”
Kiewit Engineering (MI) Co. will build the plant and will spend a minimum of $200 million on Michigan-based labor and materials. The company has begun the pre-qualification process for local subcontractors. GE Power will provide the major generation equipment.
Construction of the project is expected to create approximately 500 skilled labor jobs beginning in spring 2019. The facility will create 35 full-time positions when it enters operation in 2022.
“The Blue Water Energy Center not only represents our commitment to a cleaner energy future but our commitment to the St. Clair community,” Anderson said. ‘DTE has been part of this community for 65 years, and we intend to continue to be a force for growth and prosperity here for a long time to come.”
