2010 Michigan Wind Energy Conference will be held in Detroit at Cobo Hall on April 20-21. Workshop tracks will include Building a Wind Farm, Small Wind, Siting, Finance, Manufacturing, Community Wind, and Policy. If you’re interested in any aspect of wind energy, don’t miss it. www.glrea.org
ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) federal funding opportunities can be found at http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Recovery/Opportunities/Default.aspx and www.michigan.gov/energyoffice.
MI Earth Day Fest will be held April 23rd-25th in downtown Rochester. With an anticipated audience of 100,000, it will easily be Michigan’s largest earth day celebration, and one of the largest in the country. The festival will highlight what’s working in our communities and showcase leadership in green business, government and non-profit programs. The event will offer 200+ green and wellness exhibits, top-notch presentations, lively music & entertainment, organic food and drink, kids’ crafts & activities, a portable farm, free massage and wellness activities, door prizes and samples, networking, and more. Special activities include a parade (Sat 10am), a 5K trail run (Sun 10am) and an evening-hours Party for the Planet (Fri & Sat 7-11pm). A Preview Party will be held on Earth Day (7-9pm), where comedian Dave Coulier will act as emcee, and several dignitaries, including DELEG Deputy Director Andy Levin, will speak. And, MI Earth Day Award recipients, including Green Lodging Michigan certified Royal Park Hotel, will be honored. Dr. Kevin Danaher, founder of Global Exchange and the Green Festivals, will be on-hand to offer both public presentations and a community leader roundtable. Admission is free and open to the public. www.miearthday.com
2010 Michigan Energy Conference will be held at Ferris State University on
April 7-8. The conference will consist of one day of focused workshops and one day of technical breakout sessions. Sessions will cover energy policy, building efficiencies, renewable energy, transportation and energy distribution. www.ferris.edu/energy
West Michigan Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (WMAEE) will hold its next meeting at the Big Rapids Holiday Inn on April 7, 5 to 6:30 pm. Presentation will be on MI PA 295 – State of Michigan Energy Optimization Energy Incentive Program. http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=199971
The Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council, a 29-member advisory body appointed by Governor Granholm to recommend policies for offshore wind energy development, is hosting 3 public meetings to get input. The first meeting was held in Bay City on March 25. Future meetings will be in Escanaba on April 14 and Muskegon on May 4. The Council issued a report in September 2009 with criteria for identifying the least and most favorable areas for offshore development. For example, the most favorable areas must be at least six miles offshore and avoid shipping lanes, sensitive fish and wildlife habitats, etc. The five largest most favorable areas are located in southern Lake Michigan near Berrien County, northern Lake Michigan near Delta and Mackinac Counties, outer Saginaw Bay, and Lake Huron near Sanilac County. In addition, the council has provided input on a proposed legislative framework for the siting and regulation of offshore wind energy systems. www.michiganglowcouncil.org.
13th Sustainable Business Conference of Michigan: Creating Connections: Revitalizing Michigan will be held April 28-30th at the Grand Traverse Resort. The hosts this year are Northwest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum & Grand Traverse Resort with assistance from West, Southwest, & Southeast Michigan sustainable business forums. The focus of this conference is to highlight and learn from Michigan sustainable businesses – manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. www.nwmsbf.org
Detroit Edison is looking for several businesses and educational institutions with large rooftops or ground area to host solar energy installations. The utility is starting another aspect of its pilot SolarCurrents program that calls for photovoltaic systems installed on customer rooftops or property to generate 15 MW of electricity. Detroit Edison plans to invest more than $100 million in the program, which requires customers to participate for 20 years. The solar energy systems will be owned, installed, operated and maintained by the utility. In return, customers will get an annual credit on their energy bill based on the system size, as well as a one-time, upfront construction payment to cover any inconvenience during installation. The utility is accepting applications until April 29. Interested participants should own a facility with 15,000 square feet of unobstructed roof in good condition or a similarly sized area on the ground. www.dteenergy.com/solar
Padnos Iron & Metal Co in Holland. is now operating one of the largest solar energy installations in Michigan, 636 panels and 150 kW. As part of Consumers Energy’s Experimental Advanced Renewable Program, the power company will buy back the generated power for 12 years at a preferred rate. After that, power will be fed directly into the building’s use. The Padnos company’s $1.27 million investment should be paid back in eight or nine years.
ASHRAE has published ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Published January 22, the standard is intended to be adopted into local codes. It covers site sustainability, water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources. The energy efficiency goal of Standard 189.1 is to provide significant energy reduction over that in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007.
http://bcap-ocean.org/category/topics/ashrae-standard-1891
Worldwide Tour of Renewable Energy Applications on Islands will be supported by an anonymous benefactor. Planned tour sites will include Lime Island (MI), Fox Island (Maine), Samso (Denmark), El Hierro (Spain), Fiji, and Maui & Hawaii. First twenty persons who contact me at sarverj@michigan.gov will receive a free trip.
Ford Motor Co. will save $1.2 million and cut its carbon output by 16,000 to 25,000 metric tons annually by powering down laptops and desktop computers when not in use. Under a new program called PC Power Management, the power settings on Windows laptops and desktop computers are centrally controlled to reduce energy waste and optimize software updates. A managed shutdown of computer systems not in use, especially overnight and on weekends, further reduces energy use.
$24,950 Bioenergy Feasibility Study grant has been awarded to Michigan State University Extension by Bureau of Energy Systems. This grant will explore the feasibility of growing, harvesting and utilizing bioenergy crops on nontraditional croplands, including Michigan roadways, vacant urban lots and State owned tracts of land. For more information, contact Charles Gould gouldm@msu.edu
31st Annual Telly Awards, a national program recognizing outstanding achievement in the TV, commercial and video industry, has a bronze award for the July 2009 episode of “Michigan’s Energy Future Today” hosted by DELEG Deputy Director Liesl Clark. This episode featured advances in solar energy.
Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA) has announced that the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi will be the site for the 5th annual Michigan Energy Fair, taking place June 25th – 27th. www.glrea.org
Source: Michigan Dept. of Energy, Labor, & Economic Growth (DELEG)