Shuttered Detroit-area power plant demolished by explosives, sending dust and flames into the air

Part of a shuttered power plant near Detroit has been demolished by explosives that turned the hulking structure into piles of rubble and kicked up a wall of dust and flames. A line of controlled explosives detonated across the base of the former Trenton Channel Power Plant’s boiler house Friday morning just before the nine-story, 180-foot-tall structure began collapsing along the Detroit River south of Detroit. The coal-burning power plant was retired in 2022. It was demolished as part of DTE Energy’s shift toward clean energy by building the region’s largest battery storage facility. The utility says the battery complex will store enough electricity to power 40,000 homes.