by Bruce Goodman

Just as pork has been advertised as “the other white meat,” wood-fueled electric energy projects might do well to label themselves “the other renewable energy.” People forget about biomass and focus on wind and solar when thinking about renewable energy. Yet firing wood biomass provides perhaps the best chance of getting the most immediate bang for the renewable energy buck. Biomass and wood waste energy projects are receiving significant funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Here is a carbon neutral strategy that utilizes fuels that need not be imported from other states or countries. Michigan’s sustainable forestry management research and planning should put the state at the forefront of this effort.

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by Bruce Goodman

Yesterday I was invited by Southwest Michigan First to make a presentation on Legal/Permitting Processes relating to the electric power industry.   It was interesting to have Consumers Energy and American Electric Power on the same panel discussing alternative energy options.  I know that for every independent power supplier contract they sign they are reducing their own chance to “build that capacity.”  And only when a utility is building is there a return on investment for the shareholders.  Nonetheless, they appear to be genuinely ready to buy third-party capacity.

There was a lively discussion on reliability and speculation on the future of electric rates.  I tried to focus the discussion on reserve margin and backup capacity issues, but that was a little too advanced for this stage of the discussion.  A few people wanted to talk about these issues, and the pros and cons of natural gas backing up wind energy (a la T. Boone Pickens), but the time constraints of the program prevented that.

Very interesting presentation on the Kalamazoo Valley Community College wind turbine technician program.

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by Bruce Goodman

In a series of orders, the Michigan Public Service Commission has approved the ground rules by which public utilities in the state will be implementing the RPS mandated by statute in 2008. Except for the competitive bid process for Detroit Edison, renewable energy plans, energy optimization plans, and surcharges were approved in late May. This utility has now submitted a more detailed description of the RFP and bid evaluation process for an expedited hearing. Under the various orders, the MPSC Staff will provide oversight and consultation to ensure competitive and fair RFP processes.

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