Six new research and development projects to advance innovative concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies are being funded with $10 million from the Energy Department. The projects will develop thermochemical energy storage systems to enable more efficient storage of solar energy while using less storage material, cutting the cost for utility-scale CSP electricity generation, and enhancing the ability to provide reliable power even when the sun isn’t shining.More

Whether building new or remodeling your existing home, make it highly energy efficient, sustainable and green, recommends the Bureau of Construction Codes in the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs as it recognizes the fourth week of Building Safety Month.More

AvaSure, LLC is expanding its facility in Plainfield Township with support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development announced today. The project will generate a total capital investment of $1.9 million and create 110 jobs.More

A really good brand not only grabs you visually, it also informs your customer base – current and potential – as to what your company stands for and your purpose. So when a company updates its brand, it’s a big deal.More

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today the first-ever Energy Star label for clothes dryers. If all residential clothes dryers sold in the U.S. meet these new requirements, the utility cost savings will grow to more than $1.5 billion each year and more than 22 billion pounds of annual greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented. Informed by extensive input from manufacturers, retailers, the U.S. Department of Energy and environmental groups, the new specifications will recognize a selection of highly efficient electric, gas, and compact dryers that will use approximately 20% less energy than what is required by the minimum efficiency standards effective in 2015. In 2013 alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved $30 billion on their utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to those of 38 million homes.More

The 2010 census confirmed what leaders across the U.P. already know: the region, like many rural areas, continues to lose population. The trend is partly due to the U.P.’s demographics, which skew older than the country’s urban areas, and partly due to residual effects from the loss of major employers like K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. It’s likely to persist for the foreseeable future, whether due to the apparent final closing of the Empire Mine in Marquette County or the potential loss of a lucrative military contract at Marinette Marine, which would affect Menominee County.More

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday celebrated House passage of bills that would facilitate a “grand bargain” to help Detroit emerge from bankruptcy and minimize pension cuts for retirees.More

Automation Alley, Michigan’s largest technology business association, recently welcomed four new companies to its International Business Center. The companies – from Germany, France and Canada – are expected to create about 80 new jobs for the region.More