Two natural gas plants to be built in Michigan

Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. (UMERC) has been given the green light to construct two power generation plants. The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved a “certificate of necessity” concerning the Upper Peninsula Generation Project, which is expected to provide 183 megawatts (MW) of combined natural gas power from the townships of Negaunee and Baraga. The facilities are expected to produce for the next 30 years. UMERC said it plans to begin construction of both generation facilities in the spring of 2018, and commercial operation should begin at both sites by mid-2019. Once construction is complete, UMERC said the Presque Isle Power Plant will close, ending the possibility of any new system support resource payments to keep the plant running. MPSC has also approved requests by SEMCO Energy Co. to build two gas pipelines to serve the UMERC plants.