by Bruce Goodman

The Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth is producing a monthly 30-minute TV show designed to provide information about the latest initiatives and activities in state government related to renewable energy, green jobs, energy efficiency, and advanced energy technologies. Michigan’s Energy Future Today is hosted by DELEG Deputy Director Liesl Eichler Clark and can be seen on more than 80 cable stations around the state. The July 2009 episode featuring advances in solar energy was selected for an award from the 31st Annual Telly Awards, a national program recognizing outstanding achievement in the TV, commercial, and video industry. See http://michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154-51651-233579–,00.html

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

Michigan’s best wind resources are in the Great Lakes; a natural resource that can be “used” but not depleted.  Wind is a fuel that cannot be spilled, does not create waste, and has no emissions. Offshore wind provides an opportunity for Michigan to establish a new manufacturing, technical, and industrial support system for which it is well suited and well prepared.  However, this manufacturing opportunity requires that Michigan be both “first-in-the-lake” and offer strong economic incentives for offshore OEMs to locate in the Great Lakes State.  Michigan has a history of being able to leverage its natural resources to stimulate manufacturing.  Now is the time to do it again.  But it must be done quickly, fairly, and unequivocally.  It needs to be easy, not hard, to develop our lake wind resources.  The ripples from rapid lake development could become a manufacturing tsunami.  We should be so lucky.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

In March the Great Lakes Wind Council provided written input proposing new legislation to clarify the existing law on use of Michigan’s lakes for offshore wind energy generation. Now, Senator Patricia Birkholz is leading a workgroup of legislators developing a bill to supplement the current law governing use of the bottomlands in the Great Lakes. The workgroup is expected to address specific environmental concerns, location, and decommissioning issues. Birkholz hopes a draft will be ready for legislative consideration sometime this fall, probably after the November elections.  This bill is being considered because many believe Part 325 of the existing Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act is not specific enough in its provisions to adequately address offshore wind issues.  Others believe the existing law is sufficient an only needs modifications, if anything.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

The MDNRE has denied Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative’s air permit application for a new 600-megawatt power plant in Rogers City to be fueled by petroleum coke and coal. The decision was based on MPSC findings that the plant was not needed to meet future supply needs and would increase electricity rates by more than 59% to over 20 cents per kwh.  The MPSC analysis suggested that Wolverine had alternatives to supply electricity to its customers at a fraction of the cost of a new power plant.  Separately, Consumers Energy announced deferral of its  development of a 830-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Bay City that it planned to have in operation in 2017. The reasons given included reduced customer demand for electricity due to the recession, forecasted lower natural gas prices due to recent developments in shale gas recovery technology, and projected surplus generating capacity in the Midwest market.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

Energetx Composites LLC has been awarded a $3.5 million grant to establish a new Center of Energy Excellence (COEE) in Holland. It will collaborate with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Dow Chemical to develop advanced materials, including carbon fiber, to make wind turbine blades. The COEE will also include workforce training provided by U of M and Kettering University. A second new COEE was established with $6 million in funding. It involves Astraeus Wind Energy, Inc., a joint venture between Sterling Heights-based MAG Industrial Automation Systems Inc. and Eaton Rapids-based Dowding Machining Inc. This venture’s first project will be to build an automated machining center for wind turbine hubs.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

Patriot Solar Group of Albion is partnering with Grape Solar Inc. to provide solar trackers and mounts for the Western Hemisphere.  The partners expect to sell more than 10 MW of 175 watt to 280 watt horizontal pole mounted photovoltaic panels in the next twelve months.  A solar panel paired with a tracking system produces as much as 30 percent more energy than a static-mounted system.  Shipments to Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil and Argentina began in May.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

Danotek Motion Technologies has raised $13.2 million and is moving forward with its new Canton, Michigan wind turbine manufacturing center. The company’s direct drive, light-weight, variable-speed, permanent-magnet generator design is expected to dramatically cut operation and maintenance costs as they do not have the moving parts that are generally associated with gear-box problems. The generators will offer high performance at low wind speeds. New investors include GE Energy Financial Services, CMEA Capital, Khosia Ventures and Energy Capital Management.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

Comprehensive energy supply policy needs to simultaneously address concerns about climate, energy security, and economic viability.  Anyone who advocates a program on a single issue needs to be viewed skeptically.  The wind does not blow nor the sun shine all the time.  There is no single answer – technical nor policywise – to all the problems and issues.  There needs to be a consensus that the free market does not appear to be ready to provide answers.  The government needs to kick start the problem-solving process with clear goals and simple programs.  Everyone needs to accept that the perfect energy supply policy will not spring automatically out of this process.  Energy prices will inevitably increase – there is no free lunch.  Even a long journey begins with but a single step.  That step must now be taken, both at the state and federal levels.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

In December 2008, Detroit Edison issued an RFP for renewable energy credit (REC) contracts from Michigan sources. It received 43 proposals from 11 suppliers. In April, the MPSC approved the third REC contract submitted by Detroit Edison, this one with Boyce Hydro Power, LLC. The average price for the seven-year sale covering four hydro facilities on the Tittabawassee River is $7.75 per REC, well below the $12.46 average price of the first two contracts. The Boyce contract calls for 210,000 RECs per year, with an additional purchase of 112,000 RECs depending on generation. Detroit Edison has previously projected REC prices for twenty-year contracts at $15.66 per REC.

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman

In April Vice President Biden announced a $30 million Recovery Act grant to ramp up energy efficiency retrofits in Michigan homes, businesses, and public buildings. The Michigan Retrofit Ramp-up Initiative (MRRI) will target homes and commercial buildings across the state with energy efficiency incentives, along with affordable loans through Michigan SAVES and other innovative financing options. The MRRI proposal was developed by a coalition of key stakeholders, including state and local governments, the state’s electric utilities, educational institutions, and a number of public and private sector partners. Michigan’s award was the second largest award among the 25 retrofit ramp-up grants awarded to states and communities. See http://tinyurl.com/RecoveryActGrant

Tweet This Post