Solar Powering Michigan conference, sponsored by MREA, NMC, and GLREA will be held in Traverse City on September 12. Topics covered will include project finance, community solar, commercial successes, state policies, market development and workforce training. Matt Card, VP of Global Sales & Marketing for Suniva will be a keynote speaker. Students can get a discount of $99 (by using “student” as a code) off the regular rate of $149 to get a net admission fee of $50.
http://www.growsolar.org/education-training/solar-powering-michigan/
National Solar Home Tour will be Saturday, Oct. 4 in a number of Michigan communities including Lansing, Ypsilanti, Chelsea, and Kalamazoo. Meet your neighbors and learn about their solar experiences. Specifics will be posted at www.glrea.org in mid Sept. If you would like your home to be on the tour, contact your local tour coordinator or John Sarver at johnsarver3@gmail.com.
Member Highlight
Dark Horse Brewing Company, in conjunction with The Green Brewery Project and CBSi Solar, have installed the largest PV system of any brewery in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River. Dark Horse is purchasing over 140 Michigan-assembled PV panels to cover 6,000 sq. ft. of the roof. The panels will produce approximately 49,000 kWh’s or 10% of the total brewery and taproom’s energy needs. The project will be financed by Michigan Saves. See photo above.
Michigan News
Annual Net Metering & Solar Pilot Program Report has been issued by the MPSC. The report noted that the number of net metering customers increased from 1,330 in 2012 to 1,527 in 2013. Solar was the most popular, with an additional 221 customers totaling 1,674 kW in 2013. Category 1 projects, those up to 20 kW, account for 82% of the total program capacity. The report is available at www.michigan.gov/netmetering.
Michigan’s First Privately Financed PACE project is under construction at the 1-800-LAW-FIRM building on Lahser Rd. in Southfield. Outdoor lighting and solar panels have been installed. The rooftop solar system is 65.52 kW and the carport system is 80.64 kW. There will be two EV charging stations under the carports. You can learn more about the project at the Sept. 12 Solar Powering Michigan conference. More details.
MSU Researchers are working on a transparent luminescent solar concentrator that can be used on buildings, cell phones, and other devices that have clear surfaces. The solar harvesting system uses small organic modules developed by MSU Professor Richard Lunt to absorb specific wavelengths of sunlight. The infrared light is guided to the edge of the plastic where it is converted to electricity by thin strips of PV cells. More work is needed to improve its efficiency. Currently it only has a conversion efficiency close to 1%. More details.
MPSC has directed Consumers Energy and DTE to file applications by Oct. 6 that examine the cost allocation and rate design methods they use to set rates for their electric customers. Public Act 169 of 2014 requires the utilities to develop rates for each customer class based on the 50-25-25 method of cost allocation. The 50-25-25 allocation formula is understood to consist of 50% weighting of peak demand, 25% weighting of on-peak energy use and 25% weighting of total energy use. These are Case No. U-17688and U-17689.
Wildlife Study is being conducted for four of DTE Energy’s wind parks in the Thumb. DTE owns 217 turbines in Huron County, with 371 turbines in wind parks spread across Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Bay and Saginaw counties. At the midpoint of the study, results show 35 bird and 8 bat carcasses have been picked up since winter. The numbers are what the researchers expected and no threatened or endangered species have been found so far. More details.
DTE has selected 84 new solar energy projects in Phase 2 of the SolarCurrents customer-owned pilot program. A total of 74 residential projects, representing 616 kW and ranging in size from 1 to 20 kW, will be offered incentives. In addition, 10 non-residential projects, representing 157 kW and ranging in size from 5 to 20 kW, were accepted into the program. This final group of projects will bring the SolarCurrents customer-owned pilot program to a total of 846 projects representing 7 MW. www.dteenergy.com/solar
Ford Motor and DTE Energy plan to build a 1.038 MW, roughly $5 million solar array at the automaker’s world headquarters. The project, funded by DTE, will provide Ford employees in Dearborn with 360 covered parking spaces and 30 charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles. Construction is set to begin in September and will be completed in early 2015. More details.
Kevin Ricco has been selected to be the new director of Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center starting Sept. 22. He succeeds Arn Boezaart who will retire at the end of October. Since Nov. 2012, Ricco has been the manager of operations for the GVSU Pew Grand Rapids Campus and regional centers.
More details.
Beyond Michigan
Stanford University researchers say California could achieve 100% of its electricity needs from a mix of renewable energy sources by 2050 — including 25,000 land-based 5-MW wind turbines,15 million 5-kW residential rooftop PV systems, and 3,400 1-MW tidal turbines. More details.
Illinois Solar Energy Association is raffling off a Tesla Model S! Only 2,000 tickets will be sold and the drawing will be held October 4th. The winner will also receive a Bosch home charger. Tickets are 1 for $100 or 4 for $300. http://www.illinoissolar.org/Tesla2014
PV Microgrid Project has broken ground in Rutland, Vermont. The Green Mountain Power facility will be among the first microgrids in the country to be powered exclusively by PV, with over 7,700 solar panels on the site, backed up with 4 MW of battery capacity. The microgrid will be built on a landfill and supply resilient power to a public school designated as a Red Cross emergency shelter.
Health Impacts of Wind Farms report from the Energy and Policy Institute has found that of the 49 court cases heard globally relating to wind farms and health, 48 were determined to have no reliable evidence showing wind farms cause health impacts. The report assesses legal cases in five English-speaking countries and identifies the weaknesses of evidence and expertise that are common in health-related suits against wind farms.
Massachusetts Dept. of Public Utilities has issued two groundbreaking orders requiring electric distribution companies in the state to modernize the state’s electric grid. One order requires each utility to develop and implement a 10-year grid modernization plan. A companion order requires that electric customers be allowed to pay time varying rates reflecting the true costs of generating electricity. More details.
Events
Monroe County Community College will offer a number of renewable energy classes this fall including Introduction to Renewable Energy Systems, Introduction to Solar Energy, and Green Building & LEED Rating Systems. www.monroeccc.edu or 734-384-4104
2nd Annual Michigan Energy Futures Conference will be held on September 9 in Ann Arbor. Sponsored by the UM Ross School of Business, UM Erb Institute, 5 Lakes Energy, and the Institute for Energy Innovation, the conference will assemble national experts to discuss future energy supplies, services, markets and new utility and regulatory models.
Michigan Energy Forum – Brewing with Clean Energy will be held on Sept. 11, 5:00-7:00 pm at SPARK, 330 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor. Discover how brewers are reducing energy use and boosting their bottom lines with solar and geothermal, water recycling, renewable energy credits, and LEED certification.
West Michigan Advanced Energy Networking Meeting sponsored by MEIBC will be held on Sept. 25, 11:30 am- 1:30 pm at the Varnum office in Grand Rapids. The discussion topic will be energy districts and micro grids. Deadline to register is Sept. 22.
Northwestern Michigan College and the Midwest Renewable Energy Assoc. have teamed up to offer nationally accredited training here in Michigan before and after the Solar Powering Michigan conference.
NMC – PV Design and Installation Boot Camp , M–Th, September 8–11, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
MREA Courses at NMC:
PV 101 – Basic Solar Electric (PV) Power Systems – September 10
PV 201 – Solar Site Assessment – September 11
PV 606 – IAEI Inspecting PV Systems – September 11
PV 203 – PV Sales and Finance – September 13
More info: nmc.edu/energy or midwestrenew.org
Battery Show 2014 will be held in Novi on September 16-18. The Battery Show will host the very latest advanced battery solutions for electric & hybrid vehicles, utility & renewable energy support, portable electronics, medical technology, military and telecommunications.
Michigan Energy Forum – Alternative Fuel Technologies will be hosted by SPARK on October 2, 5-7 pm in Ann Arbor.
Michigan Energy Innovators Gala will be held on Nov. 12, 6:00-9:00 pm at the Kellogg Center. This annual event sponsored by MEIBC celebrates the companies and individuals who are working to build Michigan’s growing advanced clean energy industry and includes networking opportunities, keynote, and awards.
Michigan Advanced Lighting Conference will be held on November 19 at the Radisson Hotel Lansing. Explore a showcase of Michigan’s advanced lighting products, services and solutions.
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SOURCE: GLREA
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