GLREA News
The Boardof Directors is excited to announce John Sarver as our new interim ExecutiveDirector. John officially started March1. He was retired as a program director for the Michigan Energy Office after 35years promoting energy efficiency, solar and wind energy throughout Michigan.
Samantha Keeney will be in the office Tuesdays& Thursdays and the Board wishes Jennifer Alvarado, who served as ExecutiveDirector for seven years, all the best as she explores new career paths.
OnThursday, March 22, all members and supporters are invited to a reception andmembers meeting following the Energy Policy Forum hosted by MAREC & GLREAat MAREC. The Made in MichiganRenewable Energy and Sustainable Technology Show will be held at MAREC that dayfrom 12:00 n – 7:00 p.m. See Events below. A five dollardonation is requested to cover the beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks. You canmeet most of the GLREA Board of Directors at the reception. They will be behindthe bar to serve you!
Michigan News
Second Annual Act 295 Renewable Energy Standard (RES) Reporthas been issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission. The report estimates that the % of renewableenergy will go from 3.8% in 2011 to 5% in 2012 and 8.4% in 2013. By the end of 2012, the RES will haveresulted in the development of 1,041MW of new renewable energy. Wind powerrepresents 94% of new renewable capacity. Compared to building a new,conventional coal facility estimated to cost $133/MWh, renewable energycontracts are significantly lower in price. The two most recent contractsapproved by the MPSC for new wind capacity have levelized costs of $61 to $64/MWh.The weighted average prices of renewable energy contracts is $91.19 MWh. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mpsc/implementation_PA295_renewable_energy2-15-2012_376924_7.pdf
Heritage Sustainable Energy’s 28 MW Garden Wind Farm is nowbeing built on the Garden Peninsula. Theproject will have Gamesa’s G97 2.0-MW Class IIIA model, which is designed forcomparatively low wind resource sites. The wind farm is scheduled to becompleted and online by September. Detroit Edison and Consumers Energy willpurchase the facility’s power.
WhirlyDoodles, an invention of Ann Arbor attorney TimothyJones, seem to be growing out of lamp posts in Ann Arbor. WhirlyDoodles are tiny wind turbines thatgenerate enough power for their own LED lights. The lights change color based on the speed and duration of thewind. The WhirlyDoodles can be found onWashington St., some building tops, and the Hands-On Museum. They were donated by Jones and Dave Konklehelped with installation. Jones has avision to install thousands on a hillside as a lighting display and touristattraction. http://whirlydoodle.com. Video and article at http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Ann-Arbor-man-invents-the-WhirlyDoodle/-/1719418/8628624/-/i1pk3a/-/index.html
CleanEnergy Coalition recently launched a website featuring a comprehensive range ofenergy efficient products available for purchase -www.cleanenergyoutlet.org Visitorscan search by item, brand or energy-related topic to find products. Now through March 31, visitors to the sitecan take 10% off the purchase price of any item by entering the coupon code“Winter10” at checkout.
Energy Conversion Devices and its solar panel subsidiaryUnited Solar Ovonic have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company cited its “current capitalstructure and legacy costs” for making the filing necessary. Company officialssaid ECD intends to sell United Solar. ECD has about 450 employees in Michigan,split about equally between its operations in Oakland County and the UnitedSolar Ovonic plant in Greenville. ECD has sold its subsidiary, Ovonic Batteryto BASF Corp. for the gross purchase price of $58 million. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/02/14/ecd-united-solar-file-chapter-11/
Cityof Ann Arbor has launched a comprehensive online information hub to promoteenergy efficiency and renewable energy to city residents and businesses.Developed jointly by the City’s Energy Office and local nonprofit Clean EnergyCoalition, www.a2energy.org will serve asthe primary source of energy-related information for local homeowners,landlords and renters, as well as commercial property owners.
Beyond Michigan
SunShot Incubator program was announced by DOE on February8. More than $12 million will beavailable to businesses to speed solar energy innovation from the lab to themarketplace. The funding will support advances in hardware, reductions in softcosts, and the development of pilot manufacturing and production projects. Eachawardee will make significant cost share commitments. Applications are dueApril 9. https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/#467b6123-63b9-48b0-b738-46f0fa961356
Green Plains Renewable Energy,based in Omaha, says it will begin building a five-acre production facility togrow algae fed by carbon dioxide emitted by its ethanol plant in Shenandoah,Iowa. The project, which uses technologydeveloped by BioProcess Algae, is the next step toward commercial production ofalgae for animal feed, fuel, Omega-3 oils and other uses. If the process iscommercially successful, the company has said it intends to launchalgae-growing farms at other plants. http://www.startribune.com/business/138568459.html
Greener Car List for 2012, the 14th annualrankings from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, saw a bigchange this year with the Mitsubishi i-MIEV battery electric vehicle claimingthe top spot from the Honda Civic Natural Gas. The i-MIEV earned a score of 58,the highest score awarded since the rankings began in 1998, and had a combinedcity and highway fuel economy of 112 mpg equivalent. The Honda Civic NaturalGas is in second place, tied with the Nissan Leaf. Rounding out the top six arethe Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, and the Smart For Two.www.greenercars.org
PV ValueTM, an electronic form tostandardize appraisals, has been developed by Sandia National Laboratories andSolar Power Electric™ . The tool will provide appraisers, real estate agentsand mortgage underwriters more accurate values for PV systems. The tool will calculate the present value ofenergy that a PV system produces, similar to the appraisal industry’s incomeapproach. The spreadsheet, user manual and webinar are available for downloadat http://pv.sandia.gov/pvvalue. http://www.alliancees.org/2012/02/02/determining-value-of-solar-just-got-easier/
Events
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Funding & Finance two-hourworkshop will include presentations on innovative approaches to help entitiescover the cost of equipment, installation, and even the vehicles. It will be held on March 7, 10:00am to 12:00nat Dearborn’s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Studio A, 15801 MichiganAve. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGliYTRyZXhRc2V3Qmt0S01Wa29tQ0E6MA#gid=0
Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum on Climate and Energy will beheld on March 8, 7:00-8:30 pm at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 SouthFifth. www.a2gov.org/sustainability
DEQ is announcing the kick-off for MEECS Second Edition! TheMichigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support trainings are being hostedat the annual Michigan Science Teachers Association conference on March9-10. Trainings will be held on each ofthe MEECS units: Air Quality, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Land Use, EnergyResources, and Water Quality. New units and supplements on Climate Change, LandUse for Elementary, and Outdoor Education have been added. To register for theconference, go to www.msta-mich.org/conference.Then register for MEECS training atwww.michigan.gov/deqworkshops.
Wind Power: Diversifying Our Energy and Economic Futurepanel discussion will be held on March 13, 6:30-8:00 pm at the Herrick DistrictLibrary, 300 S. River Ave., Holland. Speakers will include John Sarver, GLREA, Arn Boezart, GVSU MichiganAlternative Renewable Energy Center, Sue Browne, Blue Green Alliance, and KellySlikkers, Energetx Composites.
Methods and Tools for the Assessment of the Life Cycle ofOffshore & Coastal Infrastructures lecture by Prof. Inigo J. Losaga will beheld on March 16 at noon at GVSU/MAREC, 200 Viridian Dr., Muskegon. RSVP’s are requested and can be directed to: marecinfo@gvsu.edu or by phone to:616.331.6900.
Pierce Cedar Creek Institute’s Sustainability Conferencewill be held on Saturday, March 17, 8:30 am – 4 pm. Pierce Cedar Creek’s annual conference ischanging to help individuals face environmental and social challenges and find sustainablesolutions for their communities. The keynote speaker is Peter Bane, apermaculture consultant and editor of Permaculture Activist. There will be avariety of energy related breakout sessions and exhibits.http://www.cedarcreekinstitute.org/sustainability-conference
PV Systems Integrators Course will be held by GLREA on March19-21 at Washtenaw Community College. The course will cover advanced topics of systems design and performancestandards, including PV array/inverter matching, inverter interconnections withsingle and three-phase power systems, busbar loading, mechanical supports andother design and application practices. https://php.glrea.org/seminars/siCourse.php?id=21
Made in Michigan Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology Show will beheld at MAREC on March 22, 12:00 n – 7:00 p.m. and March 23, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00p.m. This event is targeted for installers, dealers, distributors, contractorsand other businesses as well as the general public. Contact Kim Walton, MAREC program coordinator, at 616-331-6907 or waltonk@gvsu.edu.
Photovoltaic Course will be held by GLREA on April 23-27 atWashtenaw Community College. The apprentice workshop is a 5-day programcombining classroom sessions with field experience to introduce the participantto distributed generation technologies and interconnection issues.https://php.glrea.org/seminars/pvCourse.php?id=25
MIAT (Michigan Institute of Aviation and Technology) will behosting the 7th Annual Career Expo on Tuesday, May 8 at the MIAT Canton campus. The event draws employers from Michigan andacross the U.S. in the aviation, energy, and transportation industries. Morethan 5000 Veterans are invited to this event and the event is open to all jobseekers. For more information or an exhibitor packet, contact akienast@miat.edu or 734.423.2100.
Good Jobs, Green Jobs Midwest Conference will be held on May10-11 at the Detroit Marriott, Renaissance Center. The conference will have two days ofworkshops and plenaries focused on building a green economy and creating goodjobs. http://www.greenjobsconference.org/node/902
Michigan Energy Forum: Powering Your Own Home with RenewableEnergy: Lessons Learned will be held on June 2, 5:00-7:00 pm at Ann ArborSpark, 330 E. Liberty. Hear stories fromhomeowners who have actually done it and the installers who helped them.
Michigan Energy Fair will be held on June 22-24 at the MasonCounty Fairgrounds in Ludington.
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Source/Prepared by: John Sarver for Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA)
