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Another major utility is accelerating its transition to renewables
Michigan’s DTE Energy has announced a plan to spend $11 billion on clean energy construction and close its remaining coal plants sooner.
A shot of the exterior of a large office building with a sign that says DTE Energy
DTE Energy's headquarters in Detroit, Michigan (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Julian Spector July 17 2023
Full article: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/utilities/another-major-utility-is-accelerating-its-transition-to-renewables
DTE Energy, one of Michigan’s largest utilities, pledged to build far more renewable energy as part of a long-term plan finalized Wednesday.
The 20-year plan would spend $11 billion on clean energy construction in Michigan and hasten the closure of DTE’s remaining coal plants. Notably, the utility proposal won support from a cohort of 21 different community groups spanning the environmental, labor, energy and business domains. The resulting “settlement agreement” still needs to be approved by state utility regulators, but that broad public buy-in bodes well for its chances.
The Michigan utility, which serves electricity to 2.3 million customers, is the latest example of how investor-owned utilities are embracing more rapid clean-energy adoption thanks to falling costs and the likelihood of stricter emissions-reduction policies. The federal Inflation Reduction Act makes this shift even more financially attractive for utilities by providing a decade of predictable tax credits for clean energy deployment.
-snip-
The utility’s new strategy will shutter the 3,400-megawatt Monroe coal plant in 2032, three years ahead of schedule. That move will bring an end to DTE’s use of coal power, which supplied 77 percent of its electricity as of 2005. DTE will also develop 15 gigawatts of in-state renewable power by 2042, balanced by an expansion of energy storage to 780 megawatts by 2030 and 1,800 megawatts by 2042.
Earthjustice attorney Shannon Fisk called the Monroe plant the “third-largest climate polluter in the country”; in its next long-term resource plan, DTE will examine closing it even earlier, in 2030.
Since renewables have become so economical relative to fossil fuels, the utility’s accelerated embrace of clean energy will save a considerable amount of money, in addition to reducing emissions.
“We are also proud this plan puts our customers first by reducing the future costs of our clean energy transformation by $2.5 billion, while reliably generating cleaner, affordable energy now, and for generations to come,” CEO Jerry Norcia said in a statement.
-snip-
(Bold type is mine)
The 20-year plan would spend $11 billion on clean energy construction in Michigan and hasten the closure of DTE’s remaining coal plants. Notably, the utility proposal won support from a cohort of 21 different community groups spanning the environmental, labor, energy and business domains. The resulting “settlement agreement” still needs to be approved by state utility regulators, but that broad public buy-in bodes well for its chances.
The Michigan utility, which serves electricity to 2.3 million customers, is the latest example of how investor-owned utilities are embracing more rapid clean-energy adoption thanks to falling costs and the likelihood of stricter emissions-reduction policies. The federal Inflation Reduction Act makes this shift even more financially attractive for utilities by providing a decade of predictable tax credits for clean energy deployment.
-snip-
The utility’s new strategy will shutter the 3,400-megawatt Monroe coal plant in 2032, three years ahead of schedule. That move will bring an end to DTE’s use of coal power, which supplied 77 percent of its electricity as of 2005. DTE will also develop 15 gigawatts of in-state renewable power by 2042, balanced by an expansion of energy storage to 780 megawatts by 2030 and 1,800 megawatts by 2042.
Earthjustice attorney Shannon Fisk called the Monroe plant the “third-largest climate polluter in the country”; in its next long-term resource plan, DTE will examine closing it even earlier, in 2030.
Since renewables have become so economical relative to fossil fuels, the utility’s accelerated embrace of clean energy will save a considerable amount of money, in addition to reducing emissions.
“We are also proud this plan puts our customers first by reducing the future costs of our clean energy transformation by $2.5 billion, while reliably generating cleaner, affordable energy now, and for generations to come,” CEO Jerry Norcia said in a statement.
-snip-
(Bold type is mine)
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