The Department of Environmental Quality will host public hearings this week on a plans to build a new 930 megawatt coal-fired power plant at the Consumers Power Karn-Weadock facility at the mouth of the Saginaw River.

Consumers Power, the largest electricity provider in Michigan, announced an 11 percent rate increase in March and some worry that construction of a new plant would result in much steeper increases for ratepayers. The utility company’s own projections forecast declining demand for electricity in Michigan.
 
According to the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, the proposed coal plant will emit 8.1 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year along with 64lbs of mercury, 1,820 tons of nitrogen oxides, 2,154 tons of sulfur oxides and 911 tons of particulate matter.

The hearings this week will be among the first to allow discussion on whether a proposed coal plant is needed and whether coal power is the best way to meet the state’s energy needs.

An executive order by Governor Jennifer Granholm two months ago directed the DEQ to take these questions into consideration when evaluating coal plant permit requests.