5/21/2010
by Bruce Goodman
Following up on an earlier licensing agreement, Energetx Composites of Holland and Aeroblade of Spain have agreed to a manufacturing arrangement to produce wind turbine blades for wind industry OEMs. The Michigan company has committed to manufacturing 37 to 65 meter wind turbine blades for Aeroblade customers in the U.S. and Canadian markets. This partnership combines Aeroblade’s design skills, backed by a long history in the aerospace field, with Energetx’s core competency in composites.
5/20/2010
by Bruce Goodman
Michigan’s 2008 legislation requiring utilities to purchase energy from and/or to construct renewable energy projects was a drawn out battle with many compromises and a mixed outcome. The MPSC has now proposed implementing rules, and the alternative energy industry needs to pay attention. Rules can never be perfect “right out of the box.” [I am disappointed that neither Part 2 nor Part 3 addresses standby rates, which need to be restructured to better accommodate and encourage self generation.] Do the proposed rules provide the certainty needed for alternative energy projects to get financed and built? Those with experience need to weigh in and make the rules “more perfect.” Read the rules, identify the flaws, attend the hearing, propose alternative language, submit meaningful comments. Now. The devil IS in the details.
5/12/2010
by Bruce Goodman
Groundbreaking occurred on March 30 at an industrial landfill at the Port of Monroe for a new wind tower manufacturing facility. Ventower Industries is spending $19 million to build the 115,000 square foot plant. The company expects manufacturing to begin in March 2011, with a capacity of 250 towers per year. Shipments to customers are expected to be primarily by barge. Incentives helped Michigan win the project over a competing site in Toledo: $2.5 million under ARRA; $3.7 million in MEDC employment credit; $5.8 million brownfield redevelopment credit; and 50 percent tax abatements from the city of Monroe together with infrastructure upgrades to the port.
5/6/2010
by Bruce Goodman
Ann Arbor-based Vortex Hydro Energy is scheduled to place a prototype hydrokinetic power generator in the St. Clair River this summer. The technology does not use turbines or propellers, but instead harnesses the motion of the river currents across horizontal cylinders. Energy can be extracted from currents as slow as two knots. The generator is expected to produce one kilowatt of energy when it is operating, and will remain in the water for two to three months.
5/1/2010
by Bruce Goodman
Pro Renewables of Portage, Michigan plans to make it possible for industry to use wasted energy to produce its own electricity. As the Midwest distributor of the 50 kW Green Machine produced by ElectraTherm Inc., the company will be selling and installing the equipment which can capture heat normally wasted in manufacturing and use that heat to create electricity. The ROI on the $150,000 to $200,000 equipment is anticipated to be five years or less (without applying any incentives).
