Belle River

Coal power plant in Michigan, United States of America. Approximate location 42.7756, -82.495.

CoalMichiganUnited States of America

Belle River is a 1,664 MW coal power station in Michigan, United States of America. It is operated by DTE Electric Company. Based on reported annual generation of 5,802 GWh, it can supply roughly 1,657,628 homes. It ranks #131 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

1,664MW installed capacity
5,802GWh reported / yr
1,657,628homes powered
1986commissioned (~40 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006034.

~5,801,700 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1,352,378passenger cars driven for a year
756,612homes' yearly energy use
96,695,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2013: 7,879 GWh20132014: 7,792 GWh20142015: 7,539 GWh20152016: 6,867 GWh20162017: 7,192 GWh20172018: 7,901 GWh20182019: 5,802 GWh20198k GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by DTE Electric Company. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.6°Cannual mean temp
3,636heating degree-days (base 18°C)
231cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
185 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -5 °CJF: -5 °CFM: 1 °CMA: 7 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 17 °CSO: 11 °CON: 5 °CND: -2 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 48% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 79/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #50 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 42.7756, -82.495 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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