The company now has an option to build a new power station on the site of the existing 1,140MW Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Newport. Fermi 2 has been in service since 1988.
The new 1,500MW unit will run on GE Hitachi economic simplified boiling water reactor (ESBWR).
DTE Energy’s president and chief operating officer Steven Kurmas said: "With this license, DTE Energy now possesses the most diverse, comprehensive slate of options to plan for Michigan’s energy future.
"The potential of additional nuclear energy gives us the option of reliable, base-load, generation that does not emit greenhouse gases."
However, DTE will not utilize the option to build the plant immediately, but will retain it for future.
The approval follows completion of a six-year evaluation of the technical, safety and environmental aspects of the plant.
GEH president and CEO Caroline Reda said: "We congratulate DTE Energy on obtaining this license which gives the company the option to add more clean, baseload nuclear power to its diverse energy mix."
