After meetings with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Marshall Energy Center will use a closed loop system in the construction of the 500-megawatt first phase of the plant’s natural gas generator.
Development Partners agreed to change a cooling system to a closed loop system, cutting the water need from 3.5 million gallons a day to 200,000 to 300,000 gallons, reported Battle Creek Enquirer.
The city asked to install new wells to supply enough water to the plant as well as discharge the water into the Kalamazoo River, according to Battle Creek Enquirer.
“That will no longer be an issue,” said City Manager Tom Tarkiewicz. “There will be no discharge.”
Existing ground water wells have a 3.86 million gallon a day baseline capacity and the city uses about 1 million gallons a day, reported Battle Creek Enquirer.
The Marshall Energy Center will sit on 70.5 acres inside the Brooks Industrial Park and will generate 500-megawatts of power per plant. There are plans to build two plants at the center, totaling 1,000 megawatts.
The original plans aimed for construction to start in 2019 but this will be delayed a year. Completion of the first phase is now set for 2023, reported Battle Creek Enquirer.
Marshall is considering taking 50 megawatts of power from the Marshall generator to meet its growing needs as marijuana grow operations planned for the city finish construction.
Michigan Pure Med is building a 1.2 million square foot facility and will need between 1 and 2 megawatts of power in the next few months, according to Battle Creek Enquirer. If all of the proposed marijuana related operations meet projections, Marshall will need to add between 60 and 70 megawatts of power.
