GLREA News
GLREA hosted a tour of the Power Panel plant in Detroit on Sept. 20. Brian Hayden, a new member, describes the tour and Power Panel solar system at htttp://blog.heatspring.com/power-panel-factory-tour/.
Solar Home Tour will be held on Saturday, October 6 at various locations in Michigan including Ypsilanti, Chelsea, East Lansing, Muskegon , Southeast Michigan, and Southwest Michigan. Check out your neighbors’ homes and learn first hand about solar energy and sustainable energy practices. http://ases.org/solar-tour/find-a-tour/locations/michigan-tours/
GLREA Member Highlight
Valissa Naganashe of Brownrigg Companies Ltd. provides insurance for Property, Casualty, Workers Compensation and Auto for local, national and international businesses. Specialty insurance coverage’s include Cyber Liability, Products Liability, Foreign Liability, Green Technology, Emerging Technology and Research & Development Liability with specialty insurance coverage for excess and reinsurance for self-insured insurance programs. You can reach out and connect with Valissa on LinkedIn or at vnaganashe@brownrigg.com. Telephone is 800-397-5580.
Michigan News
City of Saginaw has installed a 20 kW solar array on the roof of its public services building. Consumers Energy selected Saginaw to participate in its Experimental Advanced Renewable Program. Consumers Energy will purchase energy generated by the 96 panels for up to 15 years. In a competitive bidding process, the City of Saginaw was able to install OPTimus panels powered with Suniva cells, utilizing polycrystalline silicon from Hemlock Semiconductor for its 20 kW array. A smaller 4 kW educational display unit will also be installed adjacent to Saginaw City Hall with a new tracker system from SunSteer, which was developed at Nexteer Automotive’s world headquarters in Saginaw. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/12/city-of-saginaw-fires-up-rooftop-solar-array/
NextEnergy will receive a $750,000 federal grant from the Economic Development Administration to help fund improvements at the research and development center in Detroit. The project will upgrade the microgrid pavilion to allow for testing and validation of electric vehicles, electric vehicle infrastructure, energy storage, power conditioning and control systems, and renewable energy integration such as off-grid public lighting. The EDA grant will cover half the project’s $1.5 million cost. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/16/nextenergy-gets-federal-grant/
WARM Training Center has been a local leader in green energy training for over 20 years. Much of their success is due to partnerships. Since 2009, Henry Ford Community College, Southwest Solutions, and Detroit Green Works Solutions have teamed up with WARM to offer a 10 week training course to teach weatherization and construction skills such as MIOSHA training, insulation and window installation, and proper air sealing. Deconstruction has become a vital part of the course as well. Reclaim Detroit, a program operated by WARM and Detroit GreenWorks Solutions, offers deconstruction services. http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/betterbuildingsfeat-912.aspx?
Michigan Energy Options has achieved LEED-EBOM Platinum status for the Energy Demonstration House in East Lansing. This certification is for existing buildings. MEO is located in a 1920’s house with a two-story passive solar addition in the 1990’s. MEO recently added more solar power and a stormwater capture system. http://www.michiganenergyoptions.org/newsevents/news/504-meo-announces-leed-certifications
WARM Training Center’s Annual Breakfast on Sept. 20 honored several local “Energy Champions” that are leading the way in Detroit: Emile Lauzzana, Energy Manager for Detroit Public Schools, Bridging Communities which takes foreclosed and abandoned properties and rehabilitates them into homes, Green Garage, a green business incubator, and Detroit Diesel for refurbishing its aging plant. http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/09/post_99.html
Beyond Michigan
General Electric has introduced a natural gas electric generator called FlexEfficiency that allows operators to adjust quickly as renewable energy comes on and off the grid. The 750 MW combined-cycle plant can vary its output by 100 MW in one minute. The model introduced in 2000 could only change its output by 50 MW in one minute. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/adapting-gas-fired-power-to-a-greener-grid/?smid=tw-share
Congressional Research Service report has backed up claims that pricing carbon could be a powerful tool for reining in the federal deficit. The CRS report found that Congress could cut the federal deficit in half in 10 years by enacting a $20 per metric ton carbon tax that rises 5.6% annually. This prediction relies upon the Congressional Budget Office’s August estimate that the U.S. government would run a deficit of $2.3 trillion between 2012 and 2022. CBO has estimated that the carbon tax would raise $1.2 trillion over the next decade. http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/09/26/2
European Union (EU) has installed 100,000 MW of cumulative wind power capacity. It took the European wind energy sector about 20 years to get the first 10,000 MW of wind power capacity and only 13 years to add 90,000 MW more. Half of the EU’s total installed capacity was installed over the past six years. http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10461
Events
Michigan IPL Annual Sustainability Conference will be held on Oct. 4, 9:00AM-4:00PM, in partnership with Madonna University. The conference will inform and educate congregations, students, and the public in building visions for sustainability in faith communities and identifying next steps. Dr. Alicia Sprow, Environmental Sustainability Coordinator at Alvernia University, and Dr. Thomas Gladwin, the Max McGraw Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at UM’s Erb Institute, will be keynote speakers. http://www.miipl.org/conference2012/
West Michigan Bioenergy Consortium will meet at Varnum offices in Grand Rapids at noon on Oct. 4. Email chaplar@rightplace.org
Solar Home Tour will be held on Saturday, October 6 at various locations in Michigan including Ypsilanti, Chelsea, East Lansing, Muskegon, Southeast Michigan, and Southwest Michigan. http://ases.org/solar-tour/
Lawrence Tech announces its 8th annual Seminars On Sustainability Conference, SOS2012-Sustainable Urbanism to be held at Lawrence Tech on October 5-6. This conference explores sustainable solutions to the problems of 21st century shrinking cities. A storm water trail and electric vehicle charging station will be dedicated. The SOS2012 Green Expo boasts several electric and hybrid vehicles, some available for test drives. Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s sustainability film, “Home” will be shown free of charge to both conference attendees and the general public. www.sos2012.ltu.edu
Oakland University SBA-SECS is offering an Energy Management Certificate Program, a six week intensive program designed for busy professionals held October 5 thru Nov. 4, on Fridays, noon – 4 pm & Saturdays, 8:30 am- 4 pm. Optionally, all sessions also offered on-line. Visit www.oakland.edu\energymgmt or contact Maureen Callaghan, Professional Development Coordinator at 248-412-3235.
Live Green Fair will be held on October 6-7 in downtown Ferndale. Join MI Green Team and 100+ exhibitors, presenters, performers, media and sponsors for the event. http://migreenteam.wildapricot.org/lgf
West Michigan Wind Manufacturing Network will meet at Varnum offices in Grand Rapids at noon on Oct. 11. Email chaplar@rightplace.org
West Michigan Solar Supply Chain will meet at Varnum offices in Grand Rapids at noon on Oct. 18. Email chaplar@rightplace.org
Great Lakes Bioneers-Detroit will be held Oct. 19-21. GLBD promotes collaboration and networking among SE Michigan individuals and organizations working on sustainability and eco-justice issues. http://www.glbd.org/
Great Lakes Bioneers in Traverse City will also be held Oct. 19-21. http://www.glbconference.org/
2012 International Conference on Sustainability, Transition & Culture Change: Vision – Action – Leadership will be held on Thursday, November 15 – Monday, November 19 at the Prince Conference Center at Calvin College. http://sustainabilityconference.org/
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Source/Prepared by: John Sarver for Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA)