by Bruce Goodman

The Lansing Board of Water & Light has proposed a natural gas-fired combined-cycle cogeneration plant for the city’s Reo Town business district. The project will produce electricity, as well as steam for the city’s 225 steam-loop customers. Replacing the coal-fired Moores Park Steam plant will reduce GHG emissions by 50 percent. The cogeneration electrical output will be 100 MW, and will be augmented by a solar panel array and wind turbines at the site.

Tweet This Post

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?

Tweet This Post

by Bruce Goodman 

The prospective buyers of the former Ford Wixom plant are awaiting loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in hopes of closing on the purchase of the site by the end of the year.  Meanwhile, a new law, PA 114 of 2010, provides tax credits for a single facility that will produce large scale batteries and manufacture integrated power management, smart control, and storage systems from 500 kW to 100 MW in size.  The credits would be equal to 25 percent of the capital investment for any tax year, but limited to $25 million per year, for up to four years.

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

A total of 636 solar panels now cover the roof of the Padnos Iron & Metal Company’s plastic and paper recycling station in Wyoming, Michigan.  The 150 KW project was installed by Cascade Renewable Energy of Grand Rapids.   Electricity generated by the project is being purchased at 45¢ per kilowatt hour for the next twelve years by Consumers Energy under its Experimental Advanced Renewable Program.

Tweet This Post