Michigan utility company to phase out coal by 2025
Michigan utility company Consumers Energy said June 23 it was considering buying four gas-fed power plants as part of an effort to stop using coal by 2025.
The company, the primary energy supplier in the state, said it was working to eliminate coal as a fuel source for electricity by 2025, 15 years earlier than existing plans. To do so, the company said it would accelerate the closure of three coal-powered units that together combine for more than 1,400 MW of power. The closure for one of those plants is 15 years earlier than its scheduled design life.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
"We are proud to lead Michigan's clean energy transformation and be one of the first utilities in the country to end coal use," CEO Garrick Rochow said. "We are committed to being a force of change and good stewards of our environment, producing reliable, affordable energy for our customers while caring for our communities during this transition."
While moving up the closure of two power plants that run on natural gas and fuel oil, the utility company said it proposed the purchase of four existing units that rely only on natural gas. The purchase is dependent on approval from state regulators.
Elsewhere, the company said its energy transition plan calls for the eventual addition of nearly 8,000 MW of solar power.
“Our plan creates price stability and, by using natural gas as a fuel source to generate baseload power, will save customers about $650 million through 2040 compared to our current plan,” the company stated.
Federal data show natural gas was the largest source of energy in Michigan for the first time ever in 2020. Its 44 natural gas storage fields, with a combined storage capacity of around 1 trillion ft3, represents about 12% of total US storage capacity and is the most of any state.