Wolverine Power secures option to purchase land for power plant
Officials of Wolverine Power Cooperative and Oglebay Norton Company were in Rogers City to announce plans for a project which could eventually bring as many as 100 permanent jobs to the area. Eric Baker, president and CEO of Wolverine, and Michael Lundin, president and CEO of Oglebay Norton met with city and county officials last week in Rogers City to share plans for the project, which has been in the works for at least 12 months. They told city officials that Wolverine has secured an option to purchase approximately 400 acres of previously mined land from O-N Minerals (Michigan) Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oglebay Norton Company. Wolverine secured the option to evaluate the site for clean energy projects which could include base load and renewable generation for its member-cooperatives.
Plans call for the co-op to investigate the feasibility of constructing a base load plant within the confines of the limestone quarry, with an access road off US-23 Business Route near Gilpin Field, and a 10-acre parcel south of the main docks for receiving and handling of waterborne solid fuels as was done in the past done in the past when coal-fired power was being generated at Calcite for the plant and the community.
THE MICHIGAN PUBLIC Service Commission (MPSC) called for the need for one or two new base load generating plants in a recent study. The MPSC said that demand for electricity grows each year, yet no new base load plants have been constructed in Michigan in 20 years. The state is a net importer of energy, dependent on other states. Wolverine will investigate the feasibility of using Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology, a clean coal technology, as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy. According to company officials, a base load power plant provides scale and efficiency while typically operating year-round. The initial, exploratory phase of the project is termed as the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture. ?Wolverine is exploring this site and other power supply options to ensure our member-cooperatives have a long-term, stable power supply at a competitive cost,? Baker said. ?Our goal is to investigate the potential development of the cleanest coal-fired generating plant in Michigan, in addition to studying the potential for generating electricity with renewable resources.? That could include a wind generation site, which could be located on O-N property near Adams Point.
BAKER SAID Wolverine is looking forward to working closely with Oglebay Norton, the Rogers City community and surrounding area throughout the investigatory phase of the projects. The co-op will complete a number of detailed engineering analyses as well as seek a number of local and state approvals prior to making any commitment to proceed. Baker said that realistically, the plant could open as soon as five years, but could take as long as 10 years, with the first two years spent in additional studies. A number of state and local approvals will be needed to proceed. Lundin said the idea of generating power from the Calcite site isn?t a new one, as this has been done in the past. ?We are going back to where it was. This is something that has been done already,? Lundin said. Lundin, a former plant manager at the Calcite Plant, who now works in the Cleveland office, said this is a great opportunity for the Rogers City area, and all of northeast Michigan.
?Based on the MPSC study, it is clear a power plant is required. We are all deeply committed to this,? he said. He said the site is attractive because of several factors, including the infrastructure available at the Calcite location, which includes a long-term supply of high quality limestone to support the CFB technology and the ability to receive and handle waterborne solid fuels. ?Overall, it is a good opportunity,? Lundin said. Lundin, a former president of the Rogers City Chamber of Commerce, said part of the process is to be respectful of the expectations of the community and to be responsive to its questions. Baker and Lundin stated both companies would make every effort to answer questions from the public as the project moves forward. THE TIMETABLE calls for up to 24 months for additional studies to supplement the initial site plan study. The studies include an endangered species study at the site, and studies to comply with state and local regulations. The initial construction phase calls for the completion of two generating units, with capacity of 500 megawatts. Baker said costs for the two units would be approximately $1 billion. The construction phase would employ several hundred workers. ?This is really an answer to our long-term economic prayers,? said Rogers City mayor Beach Hall. ?I absolutely can?t say enough good things about it. I am extremely excited.? The mayor said he is pleased about the jobs directly created by the proposed power plant, and all of the satellite jobs expected from the construction and operation of the plant. Monday, Ken Bradstreet, director of community and government affairs for Wolverine, shared information at the Rogers City Council meeting.
Ken Bradstreet, the director of community affairs for Wolverine, said Michigan is in great need for new power plants. ?Power is getting more and more difficult to buy on the market?.so there is a real need for us to look into the future?to provide economical power to rural areas,? Bradstreet said. He said Wolverine would like to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in Michigan and employ Michigan people, rather than look into other areas outside of the state. ?O-N MINERALS has things we need, and we have
?We want to have a local presence so we are available to you,? said Bradstreet. Mayor Hall welcomed the company with open arms. ?This is probably the most exciting news since maybe Calcite arrived in Rogers City. It?s going to be good for northeast Michigan. We are very glad for this news and we will work with you (Wolverine),? Hall said at Monday?s council meeting.