DTE plan calls for doubling renewable power by 2022
DTE Energy says it will rely heavily on wind power double its renewable energy production by 2022.
The state’s largest utility submitted its latest plans to comply with Michigan’s renewable energy portfolio standards to the Michigan Public Service Commission Friday. Those standards require utilities to get 15% of their energy from renewable sources by 2021.
DTE will double renewable energy production from 1,000 two 2,000 megawatts annually, the company said in its filing. The utility currently has just over 11,000 megawatts in grid capacity to service more than 2.2 million customers in southeast Michigan.
The basis for that increase will be wind power. DTE plans to bring two wind energy projects that are already in the works online by 2019, and build two more that will go online by 2022. The company also plans to invest in another 300 megawatts of wind energy capacity to serve businesses that want to participate in a voluntary green energy program.
DTE Renewable Energy director David Harwood says the company’s plans reflect the fact that wind is still the most cost-effective renewable power source in Michigan, though the cost of solar energy technologies is dropping faster.
“We do see a day when potentially solar will become cheaper than wind, but we’re not there yet,” Harwood said.
