Michigan News
Annual Michigan Energy Fair, sponsored by GLREA, attracted more than 2,500 attendees June 24-26 at the Mason County Fairgrounds in Ludington. The event featured information and demonstrations on renewable energy for homes, small businesses and communities.
Check out the photos. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/06/24/michigan-energy-fair-opens-in-ludington/
Detroit Airports have turned over 3 acres of land to Michigan State University to grow canola and oriental mustard seed, two feedstocks for biofuel. The $476,000 state-funded project will see if 1,700 acres of infields, overruns and other open space at Wayne County Airport and Willow Run Airport can be used for biofuels. If the trial is successful, the feedstock from airport lands will be processed and used on site.
Business Review West Michigan has named 5 individuals from the region as its 2011 Thought Leaders in Energy: Perry Hausman, mechanical engineer,TowerPinkster; Dean Rosendall, VP Construction, First Companies Inc.; Arn Boezaart, Director, Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center; Reg Adams, President, Windtronics; and John Patten, Director, Manufacturing Research Center, WMU. They were honored at the Grand Rapids Art Museum on June 16.
Clean Energy Coalition will receive a $5 million energy efficiency grant from the MPSC to continue its currently operating program that designs and facilitates the installation and operation of energy efficiency upgrades and small scale, on-site renewable energy systems for communities designated as Cities of Promise. The grant will also allow the program to expand to include financially stressed communities that have been or will be appointed an Emergency Financial Manager during the term of the grant. http://cec-mi.org/
Michigan Biotechnology Institute has been awarded $4.3 million by DOE to support its work in turning organic materials into energy. The MBI project will improve a pretreatment process that breaks down tough biomass. MBI has the exclusive license for the Ammonia Fiber Expansion technology which works on a variety of non-food items like corn leaves and fiber, switchgrass, wheat straw and bagasse. The process was developed by MSU Professor Bruce Dale. http://www.freep.com/article/20110610/NEWS06/110610049/1002/business
WARM Training Center’s 30th Anniversary was celebrated on June 8 with a breakfast award ceremony that recognized 2011 Community Energy Champions: Larry Kaufman, DTE Energy; Margaret and Leonard Weber, Rosedale Recyles: Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr., Detroit City Council Member, and 71 Garfield LLC. www.warmtraining.org
Michigan Community Action Agency Association (MCAAA) has been awarded a $5 million grant from the MPSC for completion of Phase II of its Low-Income Energy Affordability Demonstration Project (LIEADP). The LIEADP team consists of MCAAA, The Heat and Warmth Fund, CLEAResult and DTE. In June 2010, the MPSC awarded MCAAA a grant in the amount of $1.9 million to conduct a pilot demonstration project.
Gerber Ag Waste will become electricity. State and federal officials broke ground on the 3 MW power plant near Fremont that will convert about 100,000 tons of agricultural waste a year into electricity, fertilizer and compost for West Michigan farms. Consumers Power Co. will buy energy from the $22 million plant, which is scheduled to begin commercial operation next summer. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/06/26/ag-waste-to-become-electricity-at-fremont-plant/
Detroit Youth Energy Squad (D-YES) is coordinating the Brightmoor BikeWay, an interactive art and civic engagement project to celebrate two-wheeled transit — and they’re looking for welders, sculptors and metal-workers to design their own work. Accepted artists will work directly with local youth to design, build and install the bike-themed sculptures out of recycled materials. http://www.modeldmedia.com/inthenews/bikeway060711.aspx
Efficiency United, a partnership of 11 Michigan electric and natural gas providers offering energy efficiency programs, has announced that its programs have led to more than 66 million kWh’s and 3.8 million ccf of natural gas being saved last year. EU is offering rebates on compact fluorescents, appliance recycling, home energy audits, weatherization measures, online audit program, and more. http://www.efficiencyunited.com/
Macomb Community College will be part of a new manufacturing job training partnership with DOE, Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies. The partnership will explore opportunities to provide students with highly interactive and engaging materials in a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math areas, as well as virtual technician training. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=564
Offshore Wind Energy Issue Brief from Grand Valley State University reviews the latest research on issues such as visual impact, tourism, and public acceptance. http://tiny.cc/offshore_wind
Beyond Michigan
Global Wind Day celebration on June 15 featured the U.S. launching of WindMade, a company-certification program to promote wind power. http://windmade.org/
Italy has declared ambitious targets for solar heating and cooling in its National Renewable Energy Action Plan. The first step is Law Number 28, approved on March 3. Article 8 simplifies the approval of solar thermal systems allowing home owners to start with installation after sending a simple “advance notification” to the municipality. Article 11 specifies that new or refurbished residential buildings are to include a renewable heating installation that meets at least 50 % of the hot water demand as well as 20 % of the heating demand. Article 28 provides for a feed-in tariff incentive for small renewable heating systems.
Deep Energy Retrofit on the Castle Square apartments in Boston began in May. A Deep Energy Retrofit is a renovation producing 50% to over 70% in energy savings. Air sealant combined with insulation on the outside of the building is expected to save 36%. The use of super insulation and air sealant will allow the use of smaller and more efficient heating/cooling units increasing savings to 55%. Renovating the existing ventilation system with air trickle vents brings savings to 57%. Solar panels for hot water and savings go to 69%. High efficiency appliances and lighting bring total expected savings to 73%. http://greenbuildingelements.com/2011/06/04/deep-energy-retrofits/
Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm has changed Atlantic City’s skyline and is attracting tourists. The Atlantic County Utilities Authority wastewater treatment facility that houses the turbines will have twice-a-week tours in June, July, and August. The 7.5 MW wind farm, combined with a 500 kW solar array on the site, supplies more than 60% of the electricity required to operate the plant. http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-12/news/29650149_1_turbines-first-commercial-wind-project-wind-energy
Google is making its largest investment yet in clean energy, a $280 million deal with installer SolarCity of San Mateo, Calif. SolarCity will use the funds to pay for a solar system that it can offer to residents for no money down. Customers pay a set price for the power produced by the panels. Google’s investment generates returns three ways. Google gets a 30% tax credit from the federal government, in this case $84 million. It also can write off the total value of the systems in the year they are built, an accounting benefit called accelerated depreciation. The value of state and local tax credits also flow to Google. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110614/ap_on_hi_te/us_google_solar
ISO 50001, a new global energy efficiency and energy management standard, will help organizations worldwide save money in their buildings and industrial facilities. This voluntary standard, developed by a project committee of 45 partnering countries, provides organizations with a framework for continuous energy performance. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=555
Events
Freshwater Wind 2011 will be held on July 18-20 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Detroit. Conference participants will discuss the latest information and strategies to handle a series of unique freshwater challenges. http://www.infocastinc.com/index.php/conference/529
2011 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, a global forum for power and energy professionals, will be held at the Detroit Marriott, Ren Cen on July 24-29. www.pes-gm.org/2011
Great Lakes Transportation Summit: Multimodal solutions for the wind energy industry will be held on July 27, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Grand Valley State University Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids. The summit brings together the industry leaders in transportation and logistics management. http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=982702
2011 Annual Sustainability Conference will be held by Michigan Interfaith Power & Light and Center for Sustainability at Aquinas College at the Grand Rapids campus on October 5. Save the date. www.miipl.org
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Source/Prepared by: John Sarver for Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA)