DTE Energy is building the region’s largest battery energy storage center at the old Trenton coal plant

DTE Energy announced Monday that it will build battery energy storage at the recently retired Trenton Channel coal plant.

DTE Energy CEO and President Jerry Norcia said this is the largest coal-fired power plant conversion project to energy storage in the Great Lakes region.

“And that means it will be one of the largest battery packs in the Midwest,” Norcia said. “This is new for us, as at that time this factory was the first in its region.”

The facility is scheduled to be ready in 2026.

The center will be able to store up to 220 megawatts of electricity, enough to power up to 40,000 homes. It will store electricity during periods of excess generation and distribute power during periods of high demand.

DTE received $140 million in tax breaks under the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Norcia said the money will be returned to customers.

“If you look at our previous plan, before the Inflation Control Act, it was a billion dollars more expensive for four of our clients than it is now,” Norcia said. “The Inflation Reduction Act essentially provides tax incentives that we can pass on to our customers in the form of lower bills.”

Related: DTE Energy is demanding another increase, this time by $456 million

The project is part of DTE’s CleanVision integrated resource plan. It will also help meet Michigan’s energy storage goal of 60% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2040.

“Michigan is the first state in the Midwest to establish an energy storage standard, now the third-largest ambition in the country,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “The new DTE center in Trenton will help us achieve 10% of our statewide storage goal on our own.”

The Trenton Channel Power Plant, also known as Trenton Stacks, closed in 2022 after nearly 100 years of operation as part of DTE’s plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. In March, the coal-fired power plant’s iconic “Candy Canes” chimneys were demolished. The plant helped rebuild jobs and the economy in Michigan after both world wars.

“The Trenton plant has been a fixture in our community for a century,” said Trenton Mayor Steve Rzeppa. It is encouraging to see DTE’s commitment to the facility and community, leveraging new technologies in ways that benefit DTE’s more than 2 million electric customers, as well as the City of Trenton and its residents.”

Work is underway on additional places to store batteries. Once completed, all of DTE’s energy storage projects will enable the utility to efficiently deliver clean energy to 2.3 million customers in southeast Michigan.