The first major power plant built by DTE Energy in over 34 years will be located right here in St. Clair County. The Detroit-based utility held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday morning for the new Blue Water Energy Center, a natural gas fueled power plant in East China Township that will provide energy to 850,000 customers. Trevor Lauer is CEO of DTE Electric says the location was chose due to both pipeline infrastructure and proximity to the electrical transmission grid. The new power plant will be located just east of the existing Belle River Power Plant on 100 acres of land. Work for the Blue Water Energy Center is slated to begin early next year and wrap up by 2022, by which time three coal fired power plants, including the St. Clair Power Plant, will be taken off line. Praising DTE on it’s phasing out of coal fired power plants is local Congressman Paul Mitchell, who commended the utility’s plan to reduce carbon emissions. The Dryden Township republican also tells WPHM he is looking forward to the jobs the plant will create, including the construction, full time employees, and the economy as a whole who will benefit from reliable power. The price tag for the Blue Water Energy center expected to be around $1 billion dollars.
