Mich regulators OK power plant permit

DETROIT (AP) - An energy supplier in northern Michigan can go ahead with plans to build a coal-burning power plant.

A permit to install the 600-megawatt, coal-fired steam electric power plant near Rogers City was approved for Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc ., the state Department of Environmental Quality announced Wednesday.

The state had denied the permit in May 2010 due to factors including the failure to demonstrate a need for the proposed facility.

Wolverine Power took the state to court and won a judge's ruling in January that said — separate from air quality concerns — that a failure to demonstrate need was not a legal basis to deny the permit application.

Cadillac-based Wolverine Power did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday from The Associated Press.

The plant is proposed for the Carmeuse quarry property in Presque Isle County, about 210 miles north of Detroit.

Michigan's Public Service Commission had determined in 2009 that the plant wasn't needed and would raise the average residential customer's rate by nearly 60 percent — or $76.95 per month.

The state had argued that the plant would hinder efforts to bring new development investments into Michigan and increase pollution through the use of coal and petroleum coke at the facility.

Following the judge's decision, state officials reevaluated the permit and considered new federal air quality standards requiring Wolverine Power to evaluate pollution reduction technologies for greenhouse gases.

The company's proposal satisfies all state and federal clean air laws, the state DEQ said Wednesday.

Wolverine Power provides electricity to more than 220,000 customers in northern Michigan.

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Associated Press writer John Flesher in Traverse City contributed to this report.