Ludington Pumped Storage Relicensing

The Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant is a hydroelectric facility located along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. FERC issued a 50-year license for the project in July 1969 and construction was completed in 1973. It consists of an upper reservoir constructed for the project and Lake Michigan as a lower reservoir. Water is pumped from Lake Michigan to the upper reservoir during periods of low electricity prices where it is stored and later released through the turbines to generate electricity during periods of higher electricity prices. Because fishery impacts were a concern for the Owners, agencies and stakeholders, a settlement agreement was reached in 1995.

With the license set to expire in 2019, Consumers Energy and DTE Electric needed support to ensure the facility could remain in operation. TRC led the five-year relicensing effort, providing strategic guidance and support via FERC’s Integrated Licensing Process (ILP). The ILP supports open consultation and FERC’s early involvement in the licensing process, while also requiring all parties to adhere to a schedule which provides Owners with certainty about the licensing process timeframe.

Our experts educated Consumers and DTE about the ILP and prepared all required FERC documents for filing, including the Preliminary Application Document and Notice of Intent. We prepared study plans and assisted with study plan Requests for Proposal development. We also conducted the recreational use study for the facility and oversaw all remaining studies.

TRC filed the draft and final license applications with no objection, by agencies or other intervenors. The FERC license was issued in June 2019