Michigan Business Beat | Dick Peffley Lansing B.W.L. Details on Plans for 650MW of Clean Energy

Chris Holman welcomes back Dick Peffley, General Manager, Lansing Board of Water & Light, Lansing, MI, for their July 2023 discussion. Welcome back Dick, I understand Lansing BWL has just Announced Plans For 650MW Of Clean Energy. These projects are to reinforce BWL’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2040? So where exactly are these planned for, on the existing footprint of Delta Energy Park, or expanding to elsewhere? These are expected to be completed by 2025-2027, that pace should mean some jobs for mid-Michigan? Where does this bring LBWL's portfolio? That sort of capacity could help LEAP and others attract business to the tri-county area? Lansing BWL Announces Plans for 650MW of Clean Energy Projects reinforce BWL’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2040 The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) announced its plan to build over 650 megawatts (MW) of clean energy projects to support its clean energy goals and meet future regional load growth. These clean energy projects will be complemented by a new 110MW Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) gas plant on the site of Delta Energy Park for flexible capacity to be completed by 2026, and a possible additional gas plant at a location to be determined later dependent on future load requirements and regional energy regulations. All of these projects and costs are still under negotiations with the proposed developers and are subject to change pending contract agreements. The clean energy projects are expected to be complete between 2025-2027, and include: 160MW of battery storage 65MW of local solar 195MW of additional solar outside of the Lansing region 238MW of wind outside of the Lansing region Continued growth of energy waste reduction, as well as expansion into demand response programs for customers The portfolio will bring a capital investment of approximately $750 million and is expected to be finished in the next 10 years. The projects are the result of BWL’s All Source Request for Proposals (RFP), which received 96 offers totalin