[announce] Energy Tidbits - April 2010

[Sarver, John (DELEG)]

ENERGY TIDBITS - April 2010

 

2010 Michigan Wind Energy Conference will be held in Detroit at Cobo
Hall on April 20-21.  Workshop tracks will include Building a Wind Farm,
Small Wind, Siting, Finance, Manufacturing, Community Wind, and Policy.
If you're interested in any aspect of wind energy, don't miss it.
www.glrea.org <http://www.glrea.org/>  

 

ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) federal funding
opportunities can be found at
http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Recovery/Opportunities/Default.aspx and
www.michigan.gov/energyoffice.  

 

MI Earth Day Fest will be held April 23rd-25th in downtown Rochester.
With an anticipated audience of 100,000, it will easily be Michigan's
largest earth day celebration, and one of the largest in the country.
The festival will highlight what's working in our communities and
showcase leadership in green business, government and non-profit
programs. The event will offer 200+ green and wellness exhibits,
top-notch presentations, lively music & entertainment, organic food and
drink, kids' crafts & activities, a portable farm, free massage and
wellness activities, door prizes and samples, networking, and more.
Special activities include a parade (Sat 10am), a 5K trail run (Sun
10am) and an evening-hours Party for the Planet (Fri & Sat 7-11pm). A
Preview Party will be held on Earth Day (7-9pm), where comedian Dave
Coulier will act as emcee, and several dignitaries, including DELEG
Deputy Director Andy Levin, will speak. And, MI Earth Day Award
recipients, including Green Lodging Michigan certified Royal Park Hotel,
will be honored. Dr. Kevin Danaher, founder of Global Exchange and the
Green Festivals, will be on-hand to offer both public presentations and
a community leader roundtable. Admission is free and open to the public.
www.miearthday.com <http://www.miearthday.com/>  

 

2010 Michigan Energy Conference will be held at Ferris State University
on 

April 7-8.  The conference will consist of one day of focused workshops
and one day of technical breakout sessions. Sessions will cover energy
policy, building efficiencies, renewable energy, transportation and
energy distribution. www.ferris.edu/energy 

 

West Michigan Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (WMAEE)
will hold its next meeting at the Big Rapids Holiday Inn on April 7, 5
to 6:30 pm. Presentation will be on MI PA 295 - State of Michigan Energy
Optimization Energy Incentive Program.
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=199971
<http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=199971>  

 

The Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council, a 29-member advisory body
appointed by Governor Granholm to recommend policies for offshore wind
energy development, is hosting 3 public meetings to get input.  The
first meeting was held in Bay City on March 25.  Future meetings will be
in Escanaba on April 14 and Muskegon on May 4.  The Council issued a
report in September 2009 with criteria for identifying the least and
most favorable areas for offshore development.  For example, the most
favorable areas must be at least six miles offshore and avoid shipping
lanes, sensitive fish and wildlife habitats, etc. The five largest most
favorable areas are located in southern Lake Michigan near Berrien
County, northern Lake Michigan near Delta and Mackinac Counties, outer
Saginaw Bay, and Lake Huron near Sanilac County.  In addition, the
council has provided input on a proposed legislative framework for the
siting and regulation of offshore wind energy systems.
www.michiganglowcouncil.org <http://www.michiganglowcouncil.org/> .  

 

13th Sustainable Business Conference of Michigan: Creating Connections:
Revitalizing Michigan will be held April 28-30th at the Grand Traverse
Resort.  The hosts this year are Northwest Michigan Sustainable Business
Forum & Grand Traverse Resort with assistance from West, Southwest, &
Southeast Michigan sustainable business forums.  The focus of this
conference is to highlight and learn from Michigan sustainable
businesses - manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism.  www.nwmsbf.org 

 

Detroit Edison is looking for several businesses and educational
institutions with large rooftops or ground area to host solar energy
installations.  The utility is starting another aspect of its pilot
SolarCurrents program that calls for photovoltaic systems installed on
customer rooftops or property to generate 15 MW of electricity. Detroit
Edison plans to invest more than $100 million in the program, which
requires customers to participate for 20 years. The solar energy systems
will be owned, installed, operated and maintained by the utility. In
return, customers will get an annual credit on their energy bill based
on the system size, as well as a one-time, upfront construction payment
to cover any inconvenience during installation.  The utility is
accepting applications until April 29. Interested participants should
own a facility with 15,000 square feet of unobstructed roof in good
condition or a similarly sized area on the ground.
www.dteenergy.com/solar 



Padnos Iron & Metal Co in Holland. is now operating one of the largest
solar energy installations in Michigan, 636 panels and 150 kW.  As part
of Consumers Energy's Experimental Advanced Renewable Program, the power
company will buy back the generated power for 12 years at a preferred
rate. After that, power will be fed directly into the building's use.
The Padnos company's $1.27 million investment should be paid back in
eight or nine years. 

 

ASHRAE has published ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for
the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise
Residential Buildings. Published January 22, the standard is intended to
be adopted into local codes. It covers site sustainability, water-use
efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the
building's impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.  The
energy efficiency goal of Standard 189.1 is to provide significant
energy reduction over that in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007. 

http://bcap-ocean.org/category/topics/ashrae-standard-1891 

 

Worldwide Tour of Renewable Energy Applications on Islands will be
supported by an anonymous benefactor.  Planned tour sites will include
Lime Island (MI), Fox Island (Maine), Samso (Denmark), El Hierro
(Spain), Fiji, and Maui & Hawaii.  First twenty persons who contact me
at sarverj at michigan.gov will receive a free trip.

 

Ford Motor Co. will save $1.2 million and cut its carbon output by
16,000 to 25,000 metric tons annually by powering down laptops and
desktop computers when not in use. Under a new program called PC Power
Management, the power settings on Windows laptops and desktop computers
are centrally controlled to reduce energy waste and optimize software
updates. A managed shutdown of computer systems not in use, especially
overnight and on weekends, further reduces energy use.

 

$24,950 Bioenergy Feasibility Study grant has been awarded to Michigan
State University Extension by Bureau of Energy Systems.  This grant will
explore the feasibility of growing, harvesting and utilizing bioenergy
crops on nontraditional croplands, including Michigan roadways, vacant
urban lots and State owned tracts of land.  For more information,
contact Charles Gould gouldm at msu.edu <mailto:gouldm at msu.edu>  

 

31st Annual Telly Awards, a national program recognizing outstanding
achievement in the TV, commercial and video industry, has a bronze award
for the July 2009 episode of "Michigan's Energy Future Today" hosted by
DELEG Deputy Director Liesl Clark.  This episode featured advances in
solar energy.

 

Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA) has announced that the
Rock Financial Showplace in Novi will be the site for the 5th annual
Michigan Energy Fair, taking place June 25th - 27th.  www.glrea.org
<http://www.glrea.org/>  

 

April Fools if you think you're getting a free worldwide tour!  However,
if you're a potential anonymous benefactor send me a note.  Energy
Tidbits is free and is prepared by John Sarver, Michigan Dept. of
Energy, Labor, & Economic Growth.  To subscribe, contact
sarverj at michigan.gov.  Previous copies can be found at
www.michigan.gov/energyoffice under Publications.

 

 

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