MARQUETTE, MI-- The Presque Isle Power Plant shut down for the last time Sunday morning.
Plans to decommission the plant have been in the works for years. Plant owner WEC Energy Group would have had to spend millions to retrofit the coal-burning facility to make it comply with environmental standards.
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation—a subsidiary of WEC—built natural gas-burning power plants in Baraga County and Negaunee Township. They were brought online the same day the Presque Isle plant powered down. Those plants are expected to generate power more efficiently, more reliably, and at a lower cost.
“The new generating stations are good for our customers, good for business and good for electric reliability throughout the U.P.,” said Kevin Fletcher, president and chief executive officer of WEC Energy Group. “Closure of the Presque Isle Power Plant also helps achieve our goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent, well ahead of our 2030 target.”
Half of the $275 million price tag for the new facilities will be paid by Cliffs Natural Resources through a 20-year agreement with its mines. The rest will be recouped through electric rates.
It’s not yet known what will be done with the property at Presque Isle once the plant is completely shut down.
