Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant

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The Ludington Pumped Storage Plant is a hydroelectric plant and reservoir in Ludington, Michigan. It was built between 1969 and 1973 at a cost of over $200 million and is owned jointly by Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison and operated by Consumers Energy.

It consists of a reservoir 110 ft (34 m) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) long, and one mile (1.6 km) wide which holds 27 billion US gallons (100 million m³) of water. The 1.3 mi² reservoir is located on the banks of Lake Michigan. With impervious bedrock more than 800 feet below, an asphalt and clay liner was built for the reservoir.

The power plant consists of six reversible turbines that can each generate 312 megawatts of electricity for a total output of 1872 megawatts. Water is delivered from the upper reservoir to the turbnes by six penstocks each 1100 feet long that taper from 28 to 24 feet in diamter.

At night, during low demand for electricity, the turbines run in reverse to pump water 363 ft (110 m) uphill from Lake Michigan into the reservoir. The plant takes advantage of the natural steep sand dune landform of eastern Lake Michigan. During periods of peak demand water is released to generate power. Electrical generation can begin within 2 minutes.

This process helps level the load of coal-fired power plants on the grid. It also replaces the need to build natural gas peak power plants used only during high demand.

This project was given the 1973 award for "Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement" by the American Society of Civil Engineers. [1]