DTE’s new power plant takes shape

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DTE Energy says work is on schedule for an early 2022 opening of a new gas-fired power plant in St. Clair County’s East China Township. Officials from the utility walked the site yesterday with members of the media, where hundreds of steel pilings were being driven to support the new power plant’s jet-engines and steam turbines that will be used to generate electricity. Michael Banks will be the plant manager of the new Blue Water Energy Center and says once the below-ground work is done, crews will turn their attention to the plants super-structure. Banks says a few hundred workers currently call the job-site home, and once completed, he will be directly in charge of the up to 40 full time workers at the new plant. The Blue Water Energy Center is expected to replace much of the generating capacity of several DTE coal plants, including the neighboring St. Clair Power Plant, once it is operational. The utility also says there will be no job losses once the St. Clair Plant closes, with many workers expected to retire and others to be transferred to other plants. Work on the approximately 1200 megawatt plant is being performed by the Kiewit Corporation.