by Bruce Goodman

With a $1.4 million DOE grant in hand and a request for a $2.0 million MPSC grant pending, Grand Valley State University is preparing to issue a Request for Proposal for a Lake Michigan offshore meteorological tower and research platform.  The RFP will be seeking a partner ready to contribute the additional resources needed and take responsibility for siting, designing, and constructing the project.  It is expected that the site selected for the project will be favorably suited for a future utility scale wind energy project.

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by Bruce Goodman

New forms of distributed energy are one of the promises of renewable energy. There can be many smaller, even very small, electric generating stations dispersed throughout Michigan producing energy from local resources. It is the energy equivalent of buying local, and does not require transmission grid upgrades. But utility-imposed standby rates stand as an impediment. Ostensibly designed to compensate a utility for providing backup power to self generation, standby charges are too often structured to discourage distributed generation. These charges take away the economic incentive to build small energy centers. It is time to take the gloves off and either have reasonable standby rates or institute net metering for sources up to 5 MW. The MPSC can do the former; the Legislature must do the latter. Michigan’s energy future depends on it.

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by Bruce Goodman

After waiting more than two years, Consumers Power has received MDEQ approval of a Michigan air use permit for it proposed new coal fired facility in the Bay City area.  Whether it turns out to be the last project standing is still to be seen.  The LS Power coal project proposed for Midland suspended its efforts to get permitted earlier this year.  The Wolverine Power coal project in Rogers City, once thought to be the leading contender to get the first permit, is waiting.  And the oft-delayed coal project for Holland Board of Public Works still has not surfaced. 

What impact this decision may have on alternative and renewable energy projects in Michigan is unclear.  What is clear is that now Consumers Energy will not have all its political energies focused on the permitting problems it was having with the MDEQ.  However, the “problem” venue will only be shifting, as there is little doubt that ultimately the decision to permit the project will be challenged in the courts.  Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what steps Consumers Power takes to begin mothballing coal capacity, as it is required to do under the stipulation of  obtaining the new air permit.  Stay tuned.

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by Bruce Goodman

Economic historians tell us that slow economic times have yielded big successes for those willing to risk start up in hard times. Each of the following proves that point: Burger King, MTV, CNN, FedEx, Intel and Microsoft. Conventional wisdom is that startups–small, innovative businesses–are what ultimately grow the economy. They create a “new economy” with new products creating new markets and/or addressing new problems. Their efforts are boosted by technology—often overlooked by others or developed by themselves. We need to make certain that the current financial, economic and societal opportunities “reach out” to energy-related garage start-ups and micro-to-small ventures. These new enterprises may well prove to be the ultimate drivers for energy solutions and success. Sometimes large ships are just too hard to turn; we need to find and foster the jet skis of innovation.

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by Bruce Goodman

The new Michigan Renewable Energy Certification System (MIRECS) for documenting, verifying, and tracking electric generation produced by renewable resources within the state of Michigan will be operated by APX, Inc.

Under the year-old Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act, Michigan has a somewhat complicated systems of rewable energy credits.  The MIREC program will add clarity to this program.

The APX contract provides that all operating costs for MIRECS be recovered through fees charged to users. Fees and other procedures can be found at www.mirecs.org. MIRECS will track Michigan Renewable Energy Credits, Michigan Advanced Cleaner Energy Credits, Michigan Incentive Renewable Energy Credits, and Michigan Energy Optimization Credits, each as defined under the Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act. [Note that until March 31, 2010 credits for generation back to January 2009 can be issued with appropriate documentation.]

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by Bruce Goodman

Biomass power technologies include direct firing, cofiring, gasification, anaerobic digestion and other technologies. Although many current biomass power plants are small, industrial cogeneration or heating applications, utility-scale plants with capacities in excess of 80 megawatts have been commissioned. In the United States, biomass power plants currently represent 11,000 megawatts of capacity, the second largest amount of renewable energy in the nation.  Michigan has a number of wood fired electric generating facilties, some operating for more than 20 years.  In addition it has two major waste to energy projects fired with municipal solid waste. 

Interest in biomass power is on the rise. Although the primary driver to consider biomass power has been its potential to lower heating and power production costs, the anticipation of global carbon markets and renewable power mandates is spurring a new wave of investment in this sector. Perhaps most critical to this new interest is that these facilities can generate electricity at any time (24/7), unlike some of the current most popular renewable sources of energy.

In addition biofuels plants are becoming true biorefineries, incorporating the production of fuels, chemicals and power at a single location.

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by Bruce Goodman

Yesterday’s AWEA conference in Detroit was very interesting.  It was primarily focused on small wind turbines, and there certainly are a great number of them in production.  There are a multitude of designs, from all over the world.  I was particularly intrigued by the solar/wind power/battery backup/LED streetlight for $5000 per pole. 

The economics of many of the small wind systems do not yet justify their windspread use in Michigan.  However, when I heard Mariah Power talking about how 75% of their production was going to export that made sense.  There was an MSU economics professor that I spoke with who suggested that in his studies he has found that a 20 kw wind turbine might clear the economic ROI hurtles, even in Michigan.  He said that as strange as it seemed, both the smaller units and the larger units (i.e. 2.5 kw and 100 kw) had price points that made them uneconomic at this time.  I heard from a developer of a 2.5 kw unit that his product was already competitive with coal fired generation at $3000 kw.  It was neither the time nor the place to talk about availability or backup.  

Governor Granholm’s opening remarks in the morning were very much a cheerleading effort for Michigan’s  unemployed engineers and manufacturing labor force.  She made many good points about what the state brings to the alternative energy table.

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by Bruce Goodman

Early in October Tom Friedman from the New York Times spoke in Grand Rapids. He addressed a crowd of 700 on many of the messages contained in his most recent book Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution. His was an optimist message — no matter the problem(s), if we start solving them now they can be solved in time. He left somewhat to the imagination what constituted “in time”, having earlier stated that Al Gore got it all wrong on global warming. It fact it was happening faster and more severely than the former vice president predicted.

Not surprisingly his call for a carbon tax as a price signal that makes dirty fuels more expensive and clean fuels relatively cheaper did not get a lot of applause, even though it makes sense. He called on the crowd and the nation to be diligent and innovative in searching for sources of abundant, cheap, clean reliable electricity generation. He ended his presentation with his motto: “Change your leaders, not your light bulbs, because leaders write the rules. Rules shape the markets and markets give you scale. It starts there.”

Many more interesting and thought provoking comments. He could start a revolution.

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by Bruce Goodman

Michigan Tech University has determined that camelina, a weed from the mustard family, can be used to make a jet biofuel that produces 80 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum jet fuel. Camelina has naturally high oil content, is drought tolerant, can be grown on marginal land, and requires less fertilizers and herbicides than food crops. It has been tested in a jet fuel blend comprised primarily of camelina by Japan Airlines. A 40,000 gallon order was recently placed on behalf of the U.S. Navy to be used in its testing program of alternative fuels to meet the goals of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Now the U.S. Air Force has contracted for 100,000 gallons of HRJ-8 for 2009-2010, most of which will be produced in Montana.  If a sucessful fuel crop, and if grown on marginal land, this would be a good example of a biofuel that avoids the food or fuel question.

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by Bruce Goodman

The City of Grand Rapids will soon be partnering with local agencies to set up its own carbon emissions trading market.  A local company already active in the carbon trading arena will be assisting in developing this carbon credit system.   The city is a renewable-electricity leader, achieving the goal of 20% municipal renewable-electricity by December 31, 2008. (Increases in municipal energy efficiency helped to offset the increased direct cost of purchasing renewable-electricity.) Grand Rapids is the largest single participant in Consumers Energy’s Green Generation program, whose energy supply comes from renewable sources, including wind, biomass, waste-to-energy, landfill gas and hydroelectric facilities.  Details of the program are still be worked out.

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