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Utility to give Muskegon power plant and $1M to developer

Posted at 3:38 PM, Sep 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-18 15:38:31-04

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — The state of Michigan is allowing a utility company to give away a shuttered coal power plant at a cost of $1 million.

The Muskegon Chronicle reports the Michigan Public Service Commission last week approved Consumers Energy’s request to divest the B.C. Cobb plant in Muskegon.

Consumers will pay North Carolina-based Forsite Development $1 million to take ownership of the property, which includes 115 acres (46.5 hectares) of land and a 650-foot-tall (198-meter-tall) smoke stack.

The plant is expected to be demolished within two years of the finalized transaction.

Forsite’s redevelopment plans include converting the site into a deep-water marine terminal on Muskegon Lake for cross-Lake Michigan shipping.

B.C. Cobb was decommissioned in April 2016 after nearly 70 years because of tightening emissions standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.