9/16/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded grants totaling $2.9 million for three biofuel projects at Michigan State University. The research projects involve: categorizing the greenhouse gas emission benefits of woody biomass energy, studying the pests that affect grasses used for bioenergy, and identifying the ways to use biofuel production byproducts. The U.S. Department of Energy has separately awarded $4.3 million to the Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI) to support similar work involving the conversion of non-food renewable resources into energy. All the funded research will involve MBI, the Lansing-based non-profit entity that is part of the MSU Foundation aiming to help prepare bio-based technologies and innovations for commercial use.
3/1/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
The main events for the second annual Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Conference start tomorrow, March 1. I have checked into the Gaylord National Convention Center Hotel and perused the agenda. How exciting! Topics ranging from rare earths to advanced fuels to zero carbon power will be discussion topics. This is America ingenuity at its best. Efforts to attract talent, both foreign and domestic, to the energy challenge. Funding cutting edge research and development, knowing that some will fail miserably, but hoping a few ideas succeed spectacularly. It is Sputnik time again for the United States. Let’s hope we respond as successfully.
Tags:
advanced energy storage systems,
alternative energy,
ARRA,
biodiesel,
biofuels,
biomass,
carbon neutral,
carbon sequestering,
climate change,
coal fired power plant,
energy efficiency,
energy policy,
global warming,
green energy,
greenhouse gases,
lithium ion batteries,
offshore wind,
renewable energy,
wind energy
Watt's New? Michigan Energy News |
Bruce Goodman |
Comments (0)
8/23/2010
by Bruce Goodman
What does it take for a state (that is not California) to have an energy policy? The question is timely because elections are approaching and one would hope the candidates would address all the important issues. But will anyone take a public stand on unresolved energy issues: increasing the renewable portfolio standard percentage; new coal-fired generation; feed-in tariffs; standby rates; recommendations of the Great Lakes Wind Council or the Climate Action Council? I suspect not. Thus come January we are likely to continue with state energy policy “on the fly”, with a dash of gridlock and pinch of skepticism. Let the Feds make the hard decisions on GHG regulation and renewable energy standards. Term limits have done their job—left Michigan with a legislature with little institutional memory and little legislative expertise to address complicated issues such as energy. Hey, how about energy platforms and energy debates in all the state races so that we can get these issues on the table. Watt would be wrong with that?
Tags:
alternative energy,
carbon sequestering,
climate change,
energy policy,
energy security,
global warming,
Michigan alternative energy,
Michigan Public Service Commission,
MPSC RPS groundrules,
offshore wind,
renewable energy,
solar energy,
standby,
wind energy
Watt's New? Michigan Energy News |
Bruce Goodman |
Comments (0)
7/23/2010
by Bruce Goodman
The MPSC staff has made a determination that the 70 MW (net) coal-fired electric generating plant being proposed by the Holland Board of Public Works is not needed. The report found that the municipal utility has not explored sufficient alternatives to show that a new coal plant was the best way to meet its current and future load. It also found that the demand growth projections were overly optimistic. The report suggested that Holland consider making purchased power a larger portion of its supply portfolio. Now the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment will weigh the report in deciding whether to grant an air permit to the project.
6/22/2010
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.
6/10/2010
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.
Tags:
alternative energy,
baseload capacity,
energy policy,
energy security,
global warming,
Michigan alternative energy,
Michigan Public Service Commission,
MPSC Renewable Portfolio Standards groundrules,
MPSC RPS groundrules,
renewable energy,
wind energy
Watt's New? Michigan Energy News |
Bruce Goodman |
Comments (0)
4/29/2010
by Bruce Goodman
The Great Lakes Wind Council submitted two recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature early in March month. The first suggests the process to regulate offshore wind energy development on the bottomlands of Michigan’s portion of the Great Lakes. The second addresses transmission issues for offshore projects. Both were styled as draft concepts to help inform the ongoing public dialogue and to be refined in the legislative process.
4/18/2010
by Bruce Goodman
Research at U of M has led to a recent discovery in understanding how to chemically break down the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into a useful product–carbon monoxide. The studies have figured out a way to efficiently make this chemically occur using sunlight. Carbon monoxide is a desirable chemical that can be used in processes to produce electricity or hydrogen. Alternatively, it has significant fuel value and can be converted by catalysts into hydrocarbons or methanol for use as a liquid fuel. It also serves as a source of energy and biomass for microbes.
3/1/2010
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.
11/12/2009
by Bruce Goodman
The opinion page of the Wall Street Journal recently claimed that “unconventional natural gas” may well revolutionalize the challenges and opportunities for alternative energy. The natural gas previously locked in impermeable shale around the nation is now becoming available due to hydraulic fracturing techniques. Thus the domestic gas supplies are increasing, and at a much lower unit cost than previously thought possible. The author suggests that this makes gas fired electric generation more available to back up intermittent energy from solar or wind generation. That is the optimistic perspective. The more realistic outcome is that cheap natural gas will lead to natural gas generation being preferred ahead of alternative energy supplies, unless some sort of carbon tax makes that option less desirable. After all, the natural gas that was locked up contains the carbon that climate change is all about.
