Trenton Channel Power Plant

Trenton Channel Power Plant

Company type	Power plant
Industry	Energy
Founded	1924
Founder	Detroit Edison (a division of DTE Energy)
Defunct	2022
Fate	Decommissioned and demolished; site repurposed for battery storage facility
Headquarters	Trenton, Michigan , United States
Products	Electricity generation (coal-fired, later battery storage)
Owner	Detroit Edison (a division of DTE Energy)

The Trenton Channel Power Plant, often referred to as the Trenton Stacks, was a coal-fired power facility located in Trenton, Michigan. Established in 1924, it was under the ownership of Detroit Edison, a division of DTE Energy.

Location

Occupying land along West Jefferson Avenue in the southern region of Wayne County, Michigan, the plant's main structures and coal storage were positioned on the southern segment of Slocum's Island within the Detroit River. This island also hosts Elizabeth Park, which is separated from the plant by Grosse Ile Parkway. Together with the nearby Sibley Quarry, the Trenton Channel Power Plant covered an extensive area along the Detroit River, including significant portions of undeveloped land featuring fields, forests, ponds, and sound berms.

Environment

The facility was notable for its uniquely patterned smokestacks designed with a “smokestack within a smokestack” construction aimed at reducing emissions. This design necessitated lining the inner stacks with asbestos material, which was subsequently removed through an expensive remediation process.

In 2001, the plant earned ISO 14001 certification, and it also provided financial support for constructing a wildlife observation platform at Humbug Marsh.

History

Operations at the Trenton Channel Power Plant commenced in 1924 with six turbine generators powered by thirteen coal-fired boilers, each producing 50 megawatts. It stood out as one of Detroit Edison's earliest facilities to utilize pulverized coal and was the first power plant in the United States to implement electrostatic precipitators for capturing fly ash. By 1929, all six turbines were fully functional.

An expansion in 1950 introduced a second plant on the same site featuring two turbines (#7 and #8) rated at 120 megawatts each. These turbines were supported by four boilers operating under higher steam conditions, earning this section the designation "high side," contrasting with the original "low side." Situated south of the original plant, the high side utilized two shorter smokestacks.

In 1968, Unit #9 was added at the southern end of the high side—a single boiler powering a turbine generator rated at 550 megawatts. This unit operated under elevated temperature and pressure conditions and was equipped with a tall smokestack measuring 563 feet. Shortly thereafter, this tall stack replaced the two smaller stacks on the high side; as of 2012, both stacks remained operational.

Decommissioning and repurposing

The low side facility was taken out of service by the mid-1970s, with its boiler house subsequently torn down. During the 2010s, all generating units except for Unit #9 were retired. In 2016, DTE revealed intentions to phase out the Trenton Channel and St. Clair coal-fired plants by 2022, aligning with a broader strategy emphasizing natural gas and renewable energy sources. The shutdown process commenced in summer 2022 and was finalized by December of the same year.

On March 15, 2024, DTE executed a controlled demolition of the two remaining smokestacks, completing the operation in less than a minute.

By June 2024, DTE had initiated the development of a battery storage facility rated at 220 MW / 880 MWh on the site, marking a shift from coal-based power generation to cutting-edge energy storage technologies. The boiler house was also dismantled later that month.

See also

• List of power stations in Michigan

External links

• EPA Facility Detail Report for the Trenton Channel Power Plant