DTE Electric Company

DTE Electric Company is an investor-owned electric utility founded in 1886 in Detroit, Michigan. As the largest electric utility in Michigan, it serves approximately 2.3 million customers in the southeastern portion of the state.
As of 2022, 68.58% of DTE's electricity generation came from coal, gas, and oil sources, exceeding the regional average of 65.82%. The utility's emissions of major pollutants, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, also surpass regional averages, though its high-level nuclear waste output is comparatively lower.
DTE Electric provides service to most of Southeast Michigan, parts of the Michigan thumb region and portions of Western Michigan
The company maintains one of the largest electric distribution networks in the Midwest, with over 44,000 miles of power lines.

History

Detroit Edison was part of a large holding company called North American Edison Company. North American's stock had once been one of the twelve component stocks of the May 1896 original Dow Jones Industrial Average. North American Company was broken up by the Securities and Exchange Commission, following the United States Supreme Court decision of April 1, 1946.
After that, Detroit Edison operated independently, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DTE through the mid-1990s. In early 1996, it became an operating subsidiary of the new holding company, DTE Energy Company, which replaced Detroit Edison Company on the stock exchange, and took over the trading ticker symbol.

Power generation

Fossil Fuel Plants

Current operating DTE Energy's coal and natural gas power plants:

Plant name	Type	County	Year built	Capacity	Planned Retirement
Monroe	Coal	Monroe	1971–1974	3300 MW	Units 3 & 4: 2028 Units 1 & 2: 2032
Belle River	Coal	St. Clair	1984–1985	1664 MW	Unit 1: 2025 ' Unit 2: 2026 '
Blue Water Energy Center	Natural Gas	St. Clair	2018-2022	1150 MW
Greenwood Energy Center	Oil & Natural Gas	St. Clair	1979	815 MW

In 2016, DTE Energy announced the retirement of three coal-fired generating units among its plants by 2023. The plants are located in River Rouge, St. Clair in East China Township and Trenton. In sum, the plants power around 900,000 homes. The Detroit Free Press wrote that employees at the closing plants will be able to transfer to other facilities and will not lose their jobs.
River Rouge Power Plant's retirement was expedited to 2021 with its last megawatt produced on May 31, 2021, and formally retired on June 4, 2021.
Trenton Channel Power Plant and St. Clair Power Plant retired in 2022, replaced by renewable energy projects.
It was announced on December 8, 2022, that Monroe Power Plant will retire units 3 and 4 in 2028 and units 1 and 2 in 2032. Belle River Power Plant will be repurposed to become a natural gas plant in 2026. The Belle River gas conversion project is expected to extend the life of the plant by at least 13 more years.
The Greenwood Energy Center near Avoca, Michigan serves as a peaking power plant for the utility, generating over 815mW when at full capacity. A turbine replacement project in 2024 is expected to add another 25 years of useful life to the plant, with no current plans to retire the facility.
In 2018, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved Blue Water Energy Center, a natural gas combined-cycle plan. This will replace three retiring coal plants, reducing carbon emissions by 70 percent, and provide power to 850,000 homes.
Blue Water Energy Center began commercial operation on June 6, 2022.

Nuclear

DTE currently operates one nuclear plant, Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, generating 21% of DTE Electric's power.
Two nuclear reactors were planned for the Greenwood Energy Center site near Avoca, but were never completed.

Renewable

Since 2009, DTE has driven investment of $2.8 billion in renewable energy assets, increasing to $4.8 billion by 2024.
Since April 2021, DTE Electric operates 18 wind and 31 solar parks, totaling 1,760 megawatts of clean energy, powering 670,000 homes.

Wind

DTE currently has 18 operational wind parks in their portfolio. As the state's largest investor in and producer of wind energy, DTE produces enough energy from renewable sources to power more than 500,000 homes.

Solar

DTE currently operates 31 solar parks in Michigan. In May 2016, the company broke ground on a solar array project in Lapeer, Michigan touted as the largest utility-owned solar array east of the Mississippi River. Lapeer Solar Park generates enough electricity to power 9,000 homes. DTE Energy also operates a 10-acre solar installation in Detroit on the site of the abandoned O'Shea Park.

Hydro

DTE and Consumers Energy co-own the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant on Lake Michigan in Mason County, Michigan.

Landfill-based gas-to-energy operations

In May 2017, DTE Energy announced it had acquired "two landfill-based gas-to-energy operations" in Texas. The company wants to expand its operations to alternative vehicle fuel. The operations it acquired were the Fort Bend Power Producers, LLC facility outside of Rosenberg, Texas and the Seabreaze landfill gas development in Angleton, Texas, which has yet to be developed.
After these projects are operational, the company will have five "landfill conversion facilities which capture and convert dangerous landfill gases to pipeline-quality renewable natural gas". The gases will go to fueling transit buses.

Energy Storage

In 2024, DTE Energy announced that it was transforming the land formerly occupied by the Trenton Channel Power Plant into a 220 MW battery energy storage center.

Electric cars

In July 2018, DTE Energy filed a proposal to invest $13 million into an electric car charging program. The program would upgrade transformers and also include service drops, materials, hardware, new meters and other costs. The program is called Charging Forward program and would also provide consumers rebates.

Energy transmission

As a condition of electric utility deregulation in Michigan, DTE Energy was forced to sell off Detroit Edison's sister subsidiary involved in high-voltage energy transmission: International Transmission Co..

Energy distribution

Detroit Edison's near 11-gigawatt generating capacity is offered to its service area, which encompasses 13 counties in the southeastern portion of the lower peninsula. Energy is distributed via one million utility poles and of power lines in these Michigan counties: Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Saint Clair, Lapeer, Livingston, Ingham, Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, Lenawee, and Monroe.
Detroit Edison's distribution line voltages are three-phase 4,800 volts 4,800/8,320 volts and 7,620/13,200 volts . All new distribution circuits constructed after 1959 are 13,200 volts. The 8,320 volt distribution lines are located in Pontiac, Michigan in an area that was served by Consumers Power Company until the mid-1980s when the area was acquired by Detroit Edison. Edison's subtransmission line voltages are 24,000 volts and 41,600 volts.

EES Coke Battery Facility

EES Coke, a subsidiary of DTE Energy, operates a coke battery facility in River Rouge, Michigan. The facility, which produces metallurgical coke for steelmaking, has been a source of significant environmental and public health concerns in the downriver Detroit area.

History and Operations

The facility was originally built in 1967 by McLouth Steel and was acquired by DTE Energy in 2008. It processes coal into coke, which is used in blast furnaces for steel production. The facility has a production capacity of approximately 1.1 million tons of coke annually.

Environmental Impact

The EES Coke facility has been a major source of air pollution in Wayne County. Environmental monitoring has shown that the facility regularly emits:

The EES Coke facility's operations have significantly affected nearby communities in River Rouge, Ecorse, and Southwest Detroit. These predominantly low-income and minority neighborhoods have experienced disproportionate environmental burden from industrial operations.

Childhood asthma rates in the area are 3.5 times higher than the state average
Emergency room visits for respiratory issues increased 56% between 2015-2022
Local health surveys have documented elevated rates of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and cardiovascular disease
Regulatory Issues and Violations

The facility has faced multiple regulatory actions and violations. In 2018, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy issued violations for exceeding permitted emission limits. A 2020 EPA investigation found multiple Clean Air Act violations. In 2022, the facility was fined $1.8 million for air quality violations and required to install additional pollution controls

Public Health Studies

Several health studies have examined the facility's impact. A 2021 University of Michigan study found elevated levels of respiratory problems in neighborhoods near the facility. Cancer risk assessments by the EPA have identified elevated risks in the surrounding area. Local health departments have reported higher rates of asthma and other respiratory conditions in nearby communities

Future Plans and Mitigation Efforts

In response to regulatory pressure and community concerns, DTE Energy announced in 2023 a $150 million environmental upgrade project for the facility. However, environmental groups and community advocates continue to call for the facility's closure, arguing that the planned improvements are insufficient to protect public health.