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DTE Energy plans to build two natural-gas plants in Michigan and has proposed capturing and storing their carbon dioxide emissions. The utility estimates the plants will cost $6.4 billion, but the cost and feasibility of carbon capture, along with the required pipelines and storage, remain uncertain.
DTE Energy is proposing to pair two new Michigan natural-gas plants with carbon capture and storage, a plan whose costs and practical requirements remain uncertain as regulators review the utility’s long-range planning. DTE estimates the plants alone will cost $6.4 billion; that figure does not establish the eventual cost of capturing, transporting and storing their emissions.
The proposal would make carbon capture part of the emissions strategy for new gas-fired generation. The technology is designed to separate carbon dioxide from power-plant exhaust and move it to a location where it can be stored. The source report does not specify how much CO2 DTE expects to capture, where the utility would send it, or when the capture system would be operating.
The $6.4 billion estimate covers the two plants, according to the report, while the additional cost of carbon capture is difficult to predict. Building capture equipment is only one expense: a system also needs energy to run and infrastructure to transport CO2 to a storage site. The report gives no completed cost estimate for those components.
DTE’s long-range plan is being considered through a regulatory process in Michigan. Advocates say the review should compare the gas-plant proposal with options such as renewable power, battery storage, demand response and transmission. Those are their preferred alternatives, not a finding that those resources can meet every need identified in DTE’s plan.
Costs Could Reach Beyond Plant Construction
The decision matters to electricity customers because uncertain project costs can affect utility spending and, ultimately, ratepayers. If carbon capture requires costly equipment, energy and a network of pipelines and storage facilities, the total bill could be higher than the plant estimate alone. The report does not establish who would pay those additional costs or how they would be allocated.
The plants would also shape Michigan’s power mix for years. Critics argue that building new gas generation risks extending reliance on fossil fuels, particularly if carbon capture is delayed, too costly or does not capture the amount of emissions anticipated. Carbon capture could reduce emissions if it is built and performs as planned, but the source material does not provide a DTE capture target or an enforceable schedule for meeting one.
Data-center demand adds pressure to the debate. Michigan regulators have separately considered how large new electricity users should contribute to generation costs. On Oct. 30, the state attorney general asked the Public Service Commission to reexamine DTE’s contract with Google for a planned data center, citing concerns that other customers could be charged unfairly. That request concerns a separate proceeding; it does not decide the gas-plant plan.
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Carbon Capture Has Limited Power-Plant Use
S&P Global describes carbon capture and sequestration as a technology that is mature and scalable for some hard-to-abate sectors, while also saying deployment remains at an early stage despite more than 50 years of operation. Its report points to cost, financial risk, uncertain markets and the complexity of building and monitoring infrastructure as barriers. Many existing facilities are connected to enhanced oil recovery, where CO2 can help extract oil and provide a revenue source.
The source report identifies Petra Nova in Texas as the only commercial U.S. power plant using carbon capture. That project had a three-year shutdown and missed targets, according to the report. Its history is relevant to questions about performance, but it does not by itself determine whether a different system at DTE’s proposed plants would succeed.
The report also cites an EPA assessment that said extensive CCS infrastructure was “extremely unlikely” to be deployed by the 2032 compliance date under the Biden administration’s power-plant rule. The assessment concerned that rule’s timeline; it is not a direct determination of DTE’s project schedule.
““It’s incredibly expensive.””
— Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer of the Michigan Environmental Council
Capture Costs and Delivery Remain Open
The source material does not provide a full project budget that includes capture equipment, the electricity needed to run it, CO2 pipelines or storage. It also does not identify a storage location, say how much emissions DTE expects to capture, or establish when the system would be ready. The $6.4 billion figure is an estimate for the two gas plants, not a confirmed total for the plants plus carbon capture.
It is also unclear what binding requirements would compel DTE to install and operate the capture system. Jameson raised concern that Michigan’s clean-energy law allows extensions to deadlines for reasons including reliability and feasibility. She argued that broadly written exceptions could make emissions and renewable-energy targets harder to enforce if rising data-center demand creates additional challenges. Those are her concerns about how the law may apply, not a regulator’s ruling on DTE’s proposal.
The record described in the report does not resolve whether regulators will approve the plan as proposed, require changes, or find that other resources can meet the projected demand. Nor does it settle how plant and infrastructure costs would be shared among DTE customers and large electricity users.
Regulators Must Weigh the Alternatives
The next step is the ongoing review of DTE’s long-range plan, where regulators can examine the utility’s proposed generation, its cost assumptions and the role of carbon capture. The available source material does not give a decision date or state that the commission has approved the plants or their capture systems.
Key questions for that review include whether DTE has a credible plan for transporting and storing CO2, what the full project cost would be, and what enforceable emissions requirements would apply. Regulators and intervenors may also assess whether renewable power, storage, demand response or transmission can meet some of the demand DTE expects, including demand associated with data centers.
Separately, the Public Service Commission must consider the attorney general’s Oct. 30 request to reexamine DTE’s Google data-center contract. That proceeding could affect how costs tied to new electricity demand are assigned, but it is distinct from the long-range-plan review. Until those processes produce decisions and more detailed cost information, the scale and affordability of DTE’s carbon-capture proposal remain unresolved.
Key Questions
What is DTE proposing?
DTE Energy plans two new natural-gas plants in Michigan and has proposed capturing and storing their carbon dioxide emissions. The source report does not give a capture volume or a storage location.
How much are the plants expected to cost?
DTE estimates that building the two plants will cost $6.4 billion. The source does not provide a final estimate covering carbon-capture equipment, CO2 transport and storage.
Why are critics concerned about carbon capture?
Critics point to uncertain costs, the need for additional energy and infrastructure, and the limited deployment of carbon capture at power plants. They also question whether emissions targets would be enforceable if capture is delayed or does not perform as planned.
Have regulators approved the plan?
The source describes DTE’s long-range plan as under regulatory review. It does not report a final decision approving the proposed plants or carbon-capture system.
What happens next?
Michigan regulators will continue reviewing DTE’s long-range plan, including its costs and generation choices. A separate commission proceeding concerns the attorney general’s request to reexamine DTE’s contract with Google for a planned data center.
Source: canarymedia.com
