LANSING – The Michigan Public Service Commission has once again found no need for a proposed coal-fired electric plant, this time in Holland.
The Holland Board of Public Works had proposed the 70 megawatt plant as part of its plan to meet expected demand growth.
But the PSC staff found in its report that Holland had not explored sufficient alternatives to show the new plant was the best way to meet that demand.
“HBPW failed to adequately demonstrate the need for the proposed facility as the sole source to meet its projected capacity requirements,” the report said. “Given Michigan’s recent economic recession and uncertainty concerning the time frame for economic recovery, HBPW’s forecasted annual demand growth rate of approximately 2.1 percent appears overly optimistic.”
The PSC said the utility should also have considered purchased power as a larger portion of its load, rather than limiting that option to 10 percent.
The report was issued based on Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s requirement that all air pollution permits for new coal-fired power plants include an assessment of the need for the plant.
So far, the PSC has not found need for any of the plants that have been proposed and most have been put on hold or plans to build them dropped.
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