LOCAL

More energy investment headed to St. Clair County

Bob Gross
Times Herald
Chris Ventura of Consumers Energy Alliance speaks during a forum on energy infrastructure.

MARYSVILLE - Dan Lauwers says St. Clair County is the energy capital of Michigan.

"Most counties and most towns don't have power plants and underground gas storage and ethanol plants like we do," said Lauwers, a Republican from Brockway Township representing the 81st State House District.

"When DTE Energy made the decision to establish a new natural gas power plant where a coal plant was located, that was a real sigh of relief," he said.

Lauwers was one of the speakers Friday at an energy industry forum at Alexander's in Marysville. Titled "Fueling Michigan's Future," the forum was presented by the Consumer Energy Alliance.

Two energy projects, replacing a section of Enbridge's Line 5 carrying petroleum under the St. Clair River and construction of DTE Energy's natural gas-powered Blue Water Energy Center in East China Township, are expected to bring more than 530 construction jobs and at least $1 billion in direct investment to St. Clair County.

"We do (forums) specifically to highlight energy infrastructure investments, and St. Clair County has more coming than any place else in the state in the next two years," said Chris Hennessy of the Michigan Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, a group that trains people to work in the skilled trades.

He said one of the purposes of the forum was to get the community ready for the influx of workers.

"You have workers coming from all over to build these projects," he said.

The forum also was focused on preparing the local workforce for the kind of skilled jobs needed to build the plant and the pipeline, he said.

Dan Casey, chief executive officer of the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County, said the economic impact to the county of the two projects will be in excess of $1 billion.

"That doesn't factor in all of the local impacts, which are going to be significant," he said.

Members of a panel discussing energy infrastructure are, from left, Justin Morren of DTE Energy; Lynn Coleman of the Laborers International Union of North America; and Peter Holran of Enbridge.

The projects, he said, will "put people to work and fuel our local economy for a long time. ... We have the ability to make sure local people work on the projects."

He said at least 50 percent of the 30-some construction jobs on the pipeline crossing must go to local workers.

"Energy generation and distribution is really a significant part of our economy," Casey said. "We will continue to be the energy hub for the Midwest due to the projects coming into our area."

He said about half of the energy used in the metropolitan Detroit area is generated in the county and it has the most capacity for underground natural gas storage in the Midwest.

Lauwers said eight of the 10 largest taxpayers in the county are related to the energy business.

"When I start talking to people about St. Clair County, what a power hub we are, they have no idea," he said.

Chris Ventura, executive director of the sponsoring CEA Midwest, said the alliance's interest is in making energy available to everyone.

"We want to make sure energy is not just affordable, but reliable for our families and businesses," he said.

Justin Morren, DTE director of North Area Plants, gave a brief overview of the Blue Water Energy Center, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion to build and create more than 500 construction jobs. The company, he said, hopes to break ground in 2019 with the plant operational in 2022.

The 1,100-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant will produce enough electricity to power 850,000 homes, he said. It will replace the coal-fired St. Clair Power Plant; the River Rouge Power Plant; and the Trenton Channel Power Plant.

Peter Holran, state government relations for Enbridge, said the St. Clair River crossing will employ about 30 workers and cost about $8 million to $10 million. The project could begin in fall 2019 or winter 2020 depending on the length of the siting and permit process, he said.

LIne 5 originates in Superior, Wisconsin, and runs through much of Michigan's two peninsulas. The segment where it crosses under the Straits of Mackinac — in two pipelines that entered into service in 1953 — has been under intense scrutiny because of the potential consequences a rupture would have for the Great Lakes.

The state and Enbridge in November entered into a seven-part agreement. Replacing the portion of the line under the St. Clair River between Marysville and Sarnia is one part of that agreement.

Morren said a lot goes into producing energy, much of which is not visible to the people who use it.

"At the end of the day, the customers just want their lights to come on," he said. "It is our responsibility as a utility that our customers don't have to worry about that.

"The science behind it is fascinating, but our customers just want the lights to come on, and that is our job."

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

Power Plant Hearing

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will have a public hearing at 6 p.m. June 18 in the East China School District Administrative Offices, 1585 Meisner Road, to hear public comment about DTE's proposed natural gas-fired Blue Water Energy Center in East China Township.

The meeting will start with a brief presentation about the project and proposed permit. At 6:15 p.m., people can ask questions of MDEQ staff.

People will be able to comment after the question and answer period.

Written comments can be sent to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Division, Permit Section, P.O. Box 30260, Lansing, Michigan 48909.