CMS Energy Corporation's Dearborn Industrial Generation Plant Comes Online

CMS Energy Corporation's independent power production unit, CMS Generation Co., has successfully brought the first 160-megawatt phase of the Dearborn Industrial Generation plant online. The plant, located on the site of the Rouge Steel Company and Ford Motor Company complex in Dearborn, Michigan, will provide electricity and steam for the complex's operations, as well as contract or merchant power to meet Michigan's electric needs. This achievement is particularly notable given the accelerated construction timeline, with the plant coming online just eight months after the project's announcement.

Key Takeaways:

• The Dearborn Industrial Generation plant has successfully completed the first 160-megawatt phase, meeting commercial operation standards.
• The plant's second phase is scheduled to begin operation in the spring of 2000, with full operation of the entire 710-megawatt facility expected in June 2001.
• When fully operational, the plant will provide electricity and steam for Rouge Steel and Ford at the Rouge complex, as well as contract or merchant power to meet Michigan's electric needs.
• CMS Generation Co. owns 100 percent of the approximately $300 million project.
• CMS Generation is the independent power production unit of CMS Energy Corporation, one of America's top independent power producers with interests in 9,300 megawatts of generating capacity from 38 power plants in operation or under construction worldwide.
• CMS Energy Corporation has annual sales of about $6 billion and assets of about $14 billion throughout the U.S. and in 22 countries around the world.

Statistics:

• 160 megawatts: The capacity of the first phase of the Dearborn Industrial Generation plant.
• 710 megawatts: The total capacity of the entire Dearborn Industrial Generation plant when fully operational.
• $300 million: The approximate value of the Dearborn Industrial Generation plant project.
• 8 months: The time frame from project announcement to commercial operation of the first 160-megawatt phase.
• 5 months: The time frame from the disastrous explosion at the old powerhouse to the commercial operation of the first 160-megawatt phase.
• 199 megawatts: The total capacity of the two other gas combustion turbine power plants completed by CMS Generation in Michigan in mid-June.

Sources:

• CMS Energy Corporation press release, dated July 10.
• CMS Energy Corporation homepage (no date).