Out among the forest and fields in rural St. Clair County stands a smokestack – that of DTE Energy’s Greenwood Energy Center. The power plant near Avoca has been producing electricity for the Thumb of Michigan since 1979 and although it’s not as big or as well known as some of the utility’s other power plants, plant manager Nick Kammer says it had an important role to play during the hottest days this year.
“We pick up the load in times when other plants might not be available,” said Kammer. “We are also a big part of the renewable energy portfolio… providing valuable power for when they’re not online.”
He says he’s preparing for a planned outage next month in which the plant will be taken off line for a turbine replacement project. That, says Kammer, is to increase the reliability and efficiency of the plant, and also extend it’s lifespan.
“That will essentially add another 25 years of life for this plant,” said Kammer. “It’s part of a whole overhaul we are doing on the (power) train over the next three years.”
DTE’s Meg Guillaumin, Director of Gas Plants for the utility, adds that the plant is an important part of the utility’s Integrated Resource Plan and is expected to continue to produce power for the foreseeable future. Over 45 employees work at the Greenwood Energy Center, which was initially planned to also house two nuclear reactors which were never built out.
Replacement turbine being prepared for installation at Greenwood Energy Center:
Current turbine and generator at Greenwood Energy Center:
Control room at Greenwood Energy Center:
Gas fired boiler at Greenwood Energy Center:
