DTE to raze more of ‘Trenton Stacks’ coal plant next week

Demolition is set to continue for DTE Energy’s former downriver coal plant, as the site transitions to a battery energy storage center.

DTE plans to complete the second phase of the Trenton Channel Power Plant demolition at the end of next week, according to DTE’s website. DTE will notify residents by automated phone message and email the day before demolition to inform them of the schedule, with a final time decision to be made on Thursday.

Demolition day will see road closures for vehicles and pedestrians starting at 5:40 a.m. on Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge, Grosse Ile Parkway, West Jefferson Avenue and West River Road for up to two hours. DTE advises residents to close windows, store cars in garages and cover boats ahead of the demolition, amid expected dust.

The power plant’s 600-foot stacks were demolished in March, with big booms, shock waves and dust clouds as onlookers watched.

The former coal-fired facility in Trenton — which was built in 1924, idled in 2022 and is colloquially known as the “Trenton Stacks” — is being transformed into a utility-scale battery energy storage facility, where enough electricity can be stored to power 40,000 homes, a city about the size of Dearborn. Groundbreaking on the new facility began Monday, with officials marking the start of construction on the future Trenton Channel Energy Center.