TRENTON, Mich. – DTE Energy is building a battery energy storage center at the former Trenton Channel coal plant.
Demolition on the Trenton power plant began in March when DTE Energy took down two smoke stacks. The second and final phase of DTE Energy’s demolition of the Trenton power plant happened early on Friday, June 21 with the implosion of the boiler house.
---> Watch: DTE implodes Trenton power plant boiler house
The facility will serve as a 220-megawatt battery energy storage center, which DTE Energy said is enough electricity to power nearly 40,000 homes. It will store excess electricity and distribute the power to customers as needed.
DTE said that construction to convert the plant in to a battery storage facility is currently underway with civil engineering set to begin next month. According to DTE, all hazardous materials from the demolition were properly disposed of according to state and federal regulations. They expect the site will be cleared by the end of the year.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2026.
On Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell sent a letter to DTE Energy asking for an update on the status of the demolition. In the letter, Dingell requested answers to various questions.
In a statement to Local 4, DTE Energy said they plan on following up with Dingell to address her questions:
“We look forward to working with Congresswoman Dingell and the downriver community as we usher in a new era of renewable energy deployment at the former Trenton Channel Coal Plant site. Our team will be following up with Congresswoman Dingell to address her questions and will keep both the congresswoman and the community updated on our progress.”
DTE Energy
DTE Energy shared previous updates to a project website. More information about the battery energy storage center can be found online here. Community members with questions can contact DTE at trenton@dteenergy.com.
Read Dingell’s letter to DTE Energy below
---> Demolition begins on Michigan power plant that made history
History of the Trenton Channel Power Plant
This information comes from DTE Energy and the images are from the Detroit Historical Society:
The Trenton Channel Power Plant started operating in 1924. At the time it had six turbine generators and 13 coal-fired boilers. By 1929, the sixth and final turbine generator arrived.
The plant was the first to use pulverized coal as fuel instead of stoker-fired beds of coal. DTE Energy said that the use of pulverized fuel led the way for improvements to combustion efficiency and new coal preparation technologies.
The plant was the first electric power plant in the world to use electrostatic precipitators to limit the amount of ash particulate emissions that got into the air, according to DTE Energy. Ever since, no power plants have been built without using emission control technology.
In 1950, a second plant began operating at Trenton Channel, it was adjoined to the first plant. This one had two turbine generators which were fed by four boilers. The boilers ran at higher steam conditions than the first plant. DTE Energy said that’s why the first plant became known as the “low side” and the newer plant was known as the “high side.” Two short smokestacks released gases from the boilers.
Eighteen years later, in 1968, a turbine generator fed by a single boiler and adjoined to the “high side” plant was placed into service. This was known as Unit 9. A 563-foot-tall smoke stack was built for that unit. Not long after, a second identical stack was put up to replace two short stacks on the “high side” plant.
By the mid-1970s, the “low side” plant was put out of service and the boiler house was eventually demolished. The “high side” of the plant was the last major plant facility that was completely designed and built by Detroit Edison.
DTE Energy retired the Trenton power plant in 2022. As part of a settlement, DTE Energy agreed to end its use of coal to generate electricity in 2032. They plan on shifting to cleaner sources to create power such as wind, natural gas, and solar.