Largest Battery in the Great Lakes is on Lake Michigan

One of the largest batteries in the world is tucked into the shore of Lake Michigan near Ludington, Michigan. It has an almost 50 year history and has found new life supporting the renewable energy phase.

The facility is the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant and it isn't intended to "create" electricity but to store energy for use when the grid doesn't produce enough power.

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🎥 Welcome to the Official Restless Viking Youtube Channel where we peek behind Life's Curtain.

I'm Chuck "the Viking" and Martha "Poppins".
Chuck - I am the former director of the Fortune Bay Expedition Team.
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[loreeschneider]

I grew up about a mile from this and we called it the "Project". Each day we watched earth movers and other large equipment remove clay from behind our house to haul to the work site. As a child growing up in the 70's, it was a fascinating marvel to witness and it has become a memory we still talk about and a destination to take family and friends who come to visit.

[timvandenbrink]

Back in the 90’s I was a commercial diver working full time on the reservoir and the barrier net that protects game fish from the turbines in the plant. Loved it!

[theresemalmberg]

In 1991 I decided to travel US 41 all the way to its ending in Florida. One of the places I stopped at was the Raccoon Mountain pumped storage plant on the Tennessee River west of Chattanooga, which at the time offered free tours (don't think they do now). During the tour the guide mentioned the Ludington Plant and if I recall correctly he said Raccoon Mountain and Ludington were the only pumped storage plants in the US. He said that Raccoon Mountain had the distinction of actually using slightly MORE electricity than it produced. They would pump water out of the Tennessee River at night when demand was low and release it during the day. I'll never forget the elevator ride down to the "control center". There was a sign that said that if you had a heart condition don't go on it because in the case of emergency the escape route was something like 1440 feet. Foolish me I thought that they meant a horizontal tunnel. Wrong! That elevator went down so fast it felt like I was floating. The guide said that we were now deeper than the Sears Tower was high. Since I am afraid of heights and mildly claustrophobic and generally don't like elevators, this was not something I needed to hear at the bottom because now that is all I would be thinking about, having to go all that way back up! We could hear the Tennessee River (which we were now below) gurgling through the pipes. Anyway, interesting video.

[nancykisser]

I grew up not far from here. I watched them build this. We called it “The Project” back then… because it most definitely was! What a marvel. Thanks for covering this ❤

[FjHenderson]

I'm late but came across your video and wanted to comment. This is awesome, my father helped build the turbines. He was a millwright and he worked there over 2 years and as a child the family moved to Walhalla and we went to Scottville schools. The area there where you crossed the road in the beginning had a modular building that they gave informative tours and shows of how the power plant was supposed to be when finished. I remember the original designs there was supposed to be camp grounds and picnic tables all around the top of the storage lake. You see they dont have them. And the tubes I remember going several times and they had train engines inside of the tubes to pull up the connecting tube to put in place. Thanks again for the wonderful video. 😊

[Coopersmith]

I was waiting for you to get to this one. So simple, so reliable and so very interesting. Gets one to think on my own energy needs.

[kloss]

Interesting as always you guys rock! Thanks.

[danielmarmer]

You should visit the old Big Rock Point NPP site. I think it is open now, with only the fuel storage facility closed off.

[dlrosbury]

I've been enjoying your videos for probably a few months now. I love Michigan, the land, people, towns, history, and gems like this place. Never knew it was there and that surprises me because I often find places that I want to check out by studying maps. Thus should have stood out. Anyway, now I have another reason to venture over to Ludington, or at least something to go on my hit list for when I do go that way. (I live between Mount Clemens and Lake Saint Clair.)

BTW, you do a fine job and I understand that Poppins probably can't accompany all the time. It just feels a little lonely when she's not there.

Rock on Chuck! The Restless Vicking explores!

Thanks for bringing us fine content.

[csnide]

Correction At 335 - the 363 feet is the amount of VERTICAL DROP ... the length the water goes is over 1000 feet (approx 1165 feet) . It drops through up to 6 large tubes (penstocks) that are 28 feet each in diameter (narrowing to 22 feet & acting like a tapering gun barrel to increase the pressure on the runner or chase - the large grey thing at 049 mark- there are 6 of those). It can generate 2400 MEGAwatts.!!! In comparison the wind turbines at 540 mark each generate 1 Megawatt.

[heather.gmz.]

It’s also a great place to go sledding in the winter!

[RT-qdyl]

I encourage anyone who lives in Michigan to come see this place someday; it's amazing.

But only if you already live here, please. We have enough out of staters here already 😔

[sundancer]

Our first trip to that area was many years ago on jet skis. As we crossed just inside the break wall the lake was bubbling and we thought WTF is that, had no idea what was up there until many years later when we visited aging and toured the upper area. That place is huge.

[Blaisesongs]

Always love to visit this on trips to Ludington. Thanks for posting.

[beverlyroot]

Wow...I had no idea there was anything like this in Michigan.

[burtzorn]

Another great video.
Wish I had seen more of
this before I became disabled.

[jimsteele]

I remember my Dad taking us to the Big Rock Point plant when I was a kid. They had a visitor center with a cool scale model, movies and handouts.. The plant was never a major power producer, it was more a proof-of-concept project. At only 67MW, it was pretty small by current standards.

[johnburgett]

My home town is just 12 miles east of there. It's called Scottville. Or as everyone we competed against in high school called it Cow Valley.

[philsonnenberg]

Wife and I ran cross this last October during our fall color trip. We had no idea what it was. Thought it was a dump at first till we ran into the turbine. Very interesting find.

[PeliKhan]

This was really interesting! Great job!