by Bruce Goodman

Mom knew the value of waste heat which she demonstrated when she bought the device that  channeled some of the hot air from the clothes dryer back into our laundry room.  With statistics showing that up to 2/3 of the BTUs in our fuels are wasted as heat going “up the stack” we need to do more about recycling this lost energy.  It is relatively simple to think of ways to use just the heat value; converting the waste heat to electricity would be even better.  Whether one calls it energy efficiency, energy optimization, cogeneration, or combined heat and power, when we generate electricity from “recycled energy” we have the equivalent of a “fifth fuel” to add to  coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables.  Generating electricity from waste heat is similar to renewables because it is a “use it or lose it” source of energy.

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by Bruce Goodman

A few weeks ago this blog highlighted a grant request.  Now the MPSC has awarded a $1.3 million grant to Grand Valley State University for its offshore meteorological tower and research platform in Lake Michigan. Partnering with U of M’s Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, an RFP will soon be issued seeking a private partner to leverage the $2.7 million in grants and take responsibility for siting, designing, and constructing the project. The RFP will be posted at www.gvsu.edu/marec.  Meanwhile, interest in off shore wind is picking up with a U.S. Senate bill introduced on the subject, and the Great Lakes Commission (Ann Arbor) submitting its “Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Offshore Wind” to the President and Congress.

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by Bruce Goodman

A little more than a year ago, The Right Place, Inc. and Varnum organized a group of West Michigan manufacturers who supply components to wind turbine OEMs.  West Michigan companies like Betz Industries, Burke E. Porter, Carter Products, Energetx Composites and others now comprise the West Michigan Wind Manufacturers Network.  The group meets monthly and seeks to increase the participation of other companies who manufacture wind turbine parts and pieces.  The Right Place and Varnum are now organizing similar groups around solar energy equipment and biomass energy equipment.  If you or your company is interested, contact Rick Chapla of The Right Place at ChaplaR@rightplace.org, for more information.  There is no cost to participate in any of the supply chain networks.

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 by Bruce Goodman

In 2007 a group of citizens requested that the MDEQ create rules to regulate CO2 emissions.  When the request was denied an appeal was taken to the courts. The trial court held that under applicable Michigan law there was no clear legal right to the creation of specific rules regarding CO2 emissions. Nor was the Michigan air permitting scheme, which has no CO2 emissions regulations, deficient under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. On February 9 these rulings were affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

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