Consumers Energy offers rare insight into Campbell Power Plant

PORT SHELDON TOWNSHIP, Michigan – Months before the scheduled closure of the JH Campbell Power Plant, Consumers Energy offered public tours of the coal plant – the utility’s last operating facility.

On Saturday, two buses carrying groups of people wearing hard hats drove through the 2,000-acre site in Port Sheldon Township, past coal deposits, towering smokestacks and freight trains still hauling the sooty energy source from Wyoming.

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The one-hour tours ended with an elevator ride up to the turbine deck on the fourth floor, where steam generated by coal-heated water drives heavy turbines to generate electricity.

“We are embedded in the community,” said Norm Kapala, vice president of power generation at Consumers Energy. “Our community would like to come and say goodbye.”

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In 1962, the first of three units of the Campbell complex opened on the shores of Lake Michigan. The second and third units went online in 1967 and 1980, respectively. This enabled the power plant to generate 1,450 megawatts and supply around one million people with electricity.

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As part of its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, Consumers Energy has decided to retire the power plant. Originally, the plants were scheduled to shut down in 2031 and 2040, but in 2022, an agreement was reached with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to cease all operations in 2025 to offset the loss of power in the region.

Power purchase agreements and a recently acquired nearly 1,200-megawatt natural gas power plant in Covert Township will replace the coal plant's energy production, Kapala says.

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“There are cleaner technologies we can use and still provide a very cost-effective solution to our customers,” Kapala said. “We are closing the Campbell complex, but we are not abandoning the community of Port Sheldon Township or Ottawa County.”

Port Sheldon Township will receive a significant portion of property tax revenue from the plant. Kapala says consumers will continue to use the site during decommissioning, which will last “years.” The utility could also use the Campbell complex for energy storage.

“How can we transform this property into something that will bring beneficial benefits to the community?” Kapala asked about the future of the site.

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There are currently around 200 people working at the plant, and all of them have the “opportunity” to continue their employment at Consumers.

“Our people have served us well. These units have served us well,” Kapala said. “I think it's very positive that they can not only close this chapter but also move on to the next phase of their careers.”

The closure of the JH Campbell power plant is scheduled for May 31, 2025.

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