Jim Carter, GLREA Board President, passed away unexpectedly on June 21 at the age of 76. Jim was elected to the Board in 2013 and was elected President in January. Jim was a Michigan attorney and real estate professional who handled contracts, corporate and LLC matters and specialized in renewable energy. He started working with Homeland Solar in 2008 assisting them with financing, regulatory and tax matters. Jim earned his JD and an MBA from the University of Minnesota and resided in Grand Rapids.
Jim was a thoughtful man of exceptional integrity and kindness who lived an active and engaged life, enjoying and making the most of each day. GLREA is thankful for all his contributions in promoting renewable energy and we are deeply saddened by his loss. The picture above shows President Jim and Jimmy Carter and their partners.
The 2016 Michigan Energy Fair was dedicated to Jim. Sunny weather made for a great Fair experience for the many who came to the Ingham County Fairgrounds in Mason. Saturday keynote speaker Jack Lessenberry, writer, commentator, and political analyst talked about energy legislation pending in Lansing, the importance of climate change and renewable energy, and actions that need to be taken to reform the political process.
Member Highlight
Homeland Solar is a company of Michigan professionals with decades of experience in building, engineering and project management. Homeland’s mission is to help homeowners, business, farmers, churches and places of worship enjoy freedom from rising utility energy bills and to take advantage of what Thomas Edison said 100 years ago: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy; what a power source!” http://homelandsolar.com/
Michigan News
Michigan Lawmakers headed back to their districts on June 9 for the start of an in-district work period without enacting energy legislation. Energy legislation has been pending in Sen. Mike Nofs’ Senate Energy and Technology Committee since last year, but Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof said there was more work to do with stakeholders. More details.
MSU PV Project was in doubt when the East Lansing City Council approved a tax abatement on “personal property” at 80% for 10 years rather than the 25 years requested. A 25-year abatement would have saved Inovateus, the project developer, about $4.4 million. Over 10 years, the abatement is worth $2.6 million. Following a week of uncertainty, Inovateus says the $24 million, 13 MW project will move forward. More details.
Appropriate Technology Collaborative, an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit organization, is among the world’s top 100 leaders in global sustainability according to Sustainia, a Copenhagen-based firm working in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Program. ATC’s John Barrie, an Ann Arbor architect, has connected with people from across Guatemala in bringing solar lighting to 3,000 people since 2007. ATC has kick started 13 small businesses in rural Guatemala since 2015. The businesses, which are operated by women entrepreneurs, now serve 10,000 people, selling solar panels, clean cook stoves, and other appropriate technology at affordable prices. More details.
Ann Arbor’s Climate Action Plan calls for reducing the community’s carbon emissions by 25% by 2025. Solar energy will play an important part. The city’s goals mean Ann Arbor should do 2.4 MW of solar each year for the next 10 years. The City Council recently voted 10-0 to approve a resolution to make Ann Arbor a Solar Ready Community and more solar friendly. The Ann Arbor Energy Commission’s solar subcommittee, led by Mark Clevey, calls for new solar-friendly public policies and financial incentives, regulatory reform, and public education. More details.
Consumers Energy celebrated in June its first solar power plant — a 17-acre array of 11,000 Michigan-made solar panels at Grand Valley State University. The 3 MW PV array on university property is the largest community solar project in Michigan, generating enough electricity to serve 600 homes. Consumers Energy is building a second site at Western Michigan University, which is expected to open late this summer, and a third site is being developed in Ingham County. More details.
Dow Chemical has decided to stop manufacturing its Powerhouse modules at its Midland plant less than 5 years after its solar roofing shingles first hit the U.S. market. Dow is going to accept orders through July 28. Dow will transition its Powerhouse platform to a licensing business model. The news comes the same day that Dow announced it was cutting 2500 jobs including about 700 in the Great Lakes Bay Region. A majority of the 130 positions in Dow Solar will be impacted by the restructuring. More details.
Midland County has voted to join the Lean & Green Michigan Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. Midland became the 19th county and the 28th local government overall to participate in the public-private partnership to implement PACE financing across the state. leanandgreenmi.com
Beyond Michigan
Warren Buffet’s MidAmerican Energy utility has announced it will build the largest wind project in the US in Iowa. The 2 GW Wind XI will have 1000 turbines and could be producing electricity by 2018. The utility’s goal is to provide 100% renewable energy to Iowa customers and this $3.6 billion investment will get it to 85%. More details.
PJM Interconnection, the operator of the largest electric grid in the U.S., recently wrapped up a generation capacity auction. This auction determines the price paid to power plants 3 years in the future and was far below expectations and nearly 40% below last year’s clearing price. This is in large part due to new natural gas power plants and energy efficiency. Approximately 1,515 MW of energy efficiency cleared the auction, the largest amount ever. In addition, 335 MW of solar and 969 MW of wind cleared the auction. More details.
North America’s first offshore freshwater wind project has received a $40 million boost from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The funding was awarded to Lake Erie Energy Development Co. (LEEDCo) for its Icebreaker project, which consists of six 3.45 MW turbines located 8-10 miles off Cleveland. LEEDCo’s decision to adopt the European-designed ‘Mono Bucket’ foundation, which eliminates pile driving, may have been crucial to DOE’s decision to fund the project. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. More details.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved a proposal by California Independent System Operator that will allow aggregation of distributed energy resources, such as solar and energy storage, for participation in wholesale electricity markets. For the first time outside of limited pilot programs, smaller distributed resources will be able to provide market-based grid services by aggregating a combined capacity of at least 500 kW. Many solar+storage providers have the capability to achieve this in California. More details.
Corporate Sustainability Mandates, rather than price alone, remain the primary driver of renewable energy purchasing decisions, according to a new survey from PwC. Seventy-two percent of companies surveyed said they are actively procuring renewable energy, mainly wind and solar. Two-thirds of the survey respondents said they spend more than $100 million per year on energy. More details.
Pacific Gas and Electric has announced plans to close Diablo Canyon, the state’s last operating nuclear power plant. The closure plan calls for the 2300 MW of nuclear generation to be replaced solely by a mix of solar, wind, energy storage, demand response, and efficiency. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a partner on the proposed plan, replacing the plant with a mix of zero-carbon emissions resources instead of extending its operating life will save utility customers at least $1 billion. More details.
Events
ASES Solar 2016 will be held in conjunction with Intersolar North America on July 11-13 in San Francisco. www.solar2016.org Register here.
Building Big Solar Across Ohio sponsored by Green Energy Ohio will be held in Bowling Green on August 25, 8:30-4:30. The second, in-depth conference discussing Ohio’s largest solar arrays and the emerging issue of community solar will feature expert speakers, green expo trade show, and a viewing of Ohio’s largest utility-scale array under construction at Bowling Green. More details.
Solar Home Tour will be October 1, the first Saturday in October. The tour will be held in communities throughout Michigan. Additional information coming soon.
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SOURCE: GLREA
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