Note: As of this time the Michigan Energy Innovators Conference has been postponed. New dates will be announced soon.

Lansing EV Convening Examines Fast Charging Infrastructure

 Michigan EIBC held another well-attended EV Convening, the 10th of the series so far, at the Michigan Municipal League in downtown Lansing on March 9.

This convening comes at an exciting time for advanced mobility in Michigan, from big moves by the automakers to produce more EV models to Gov. Whitmer’s announcement of a new cabinet-level agency on mobility and electrification. These developments will have a big impact on demand for EVs, and this convening focused on the topic of the placement and costs associated with charging infrastructure.

The event featured Chris Nelder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, one of the country’s leading experts on policy toward EVs, who discussed his research into why the costs of EV chargers in the U.S. are high and how to deal with that issue. The event also featured Dr. Mehrnaz Ghamami, assistant professor at Michigan State University’s College of Engineering, who presented her research on Michigan’s specific needs for DCFC infrastructure.  

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Michigan EIBC Visits The MSU Spartan PV 1 Project 

One of the largest solar carports in the world is at Michigan State University, a project made possible by Michigan EIBC members Inovateus Solar, Harvest Solar and MSU’s Sustainability office.

Starting last year, Michigan EIBC VP Director of Policy Cory Connolly has been visiting Michigan EIBC members to observe and learn from the work they do every day. For his first stop in 2020, Cory was joined by Michigan EIBC VP of Membership & Events Nicole Forward at the MSU Spartan PV 1 project – 13.5 MW of solar power from 40,000 panels canopying the parking spaces at the carport near campus.

Tim Powers of Inovateus Solar and Amy Butler from Michigan State University took Cory and Nicole on a tour through the carports. Besides providing protection for the elements for tailgating before Spartan football games, the project makes solar power a continual presence in the lives of MSU students and staff who use the space every day.

The solar array was the result of teamwork among Michigan EIBC members. The project was developed by Inovateus Solar and completed in partnership with Harvest Solar. And of course, the entire project happened at Michigan State University working with the Office of Sustainability, another Michigan EIBC member.  

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8th Annual Energy Innovators Conference Scheduled For April 22

The 8th Annual Energy Innovators Conference (formerly Annual Member Meeting), scheduled for Wednesday, April 22 at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing, features keynote speaker Patti Poppe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jackson, Michigan-based CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility and the nation’s fourth largest combination utility.

Register to attend today. Sponsorship opportunities can be found on the Michigan EIBC website.

Event Sponsors

Terawatt Level

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New Member

Olson, Bzdok & Howard, PC
Olson, Bzdok and Howard is a different kind of law firm. We operate on a belief that lawyers must work not only for their clients, but also for the greater good. That serving the client’s interest, and the public interest, should be one and the same.
We express this idea now as stewardship: the careful and responsible management of something of value, entrusted to one’s care. These ideals, and how we strive to meet them every day, have helped make us a leader in environmental and energy law.
First started in 1972, our firm has been dedicated to our clients and their causes for almost five decades. Today, in an increasingly complex world, we apply the same commitment to a full range of legal services. We serve individuals, local governments, small businesses, and non-profit organizations with innovative strategies for attaining their objectives, supporting their mission, protecting their environment, and serving their community.

Renewing Members

ChargePoint
ChargePoint is the largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, with a growing global presence across North America, Europe, and beyond. The company offers a diverse portfolio of charging solutions for fleets and in every category EV drivers charge, at home, work, around town and on the road along with a suite of software and cloud services designed to optimize the user experience and make driving electric more seamless than ever. With more than 108,000 places to charge on its network and the mobile app (available on iOS and Android) that enables drivers to easily find available charging stations, start a charging session, receive status updates regarding their charging sessions, and more; ChargePoint is effectively serving the rapidly growing EV driver community.
The software also provides analytics, pricing, and energy management along with many other services. ChargePoint drivers have avoided more than 89 million gallons of gas, which translates to over 298 million kgs of greenhouse gas emissions. Independent owners and operators of ChargePoint stations in Michigan have deployed over 1,500 charging spots from Monroe to Marquette.

Geronimo Energy
Geronimo Energy is a leading independent North American renewable energy development company based in Minneapolis, MN. Geronimo provides renewable electric energy development solutions for utilities, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), corporations and public entities looking to harness renewable energy for business growth. With deep and comprehensive expertise in wind and solar energy development, Geronimo’s resume boasts over 1,600 megawatts of U.S. wind and solar energy projects that are either operational or under construction. Geronimo’s near term development pipeline has an aggregate nameplate capacity exceeding 2,000 megawatts of additional clean energy. Our Mission We seek to leave the world a better place than it was before we touched it: environmentally, through the deployment of clean and renewable energy in our communities, through economic development for our employees, through personal improvement and pride in what we do for our shareholders, through profitable operations Our Philosophy Farmer-Friendly / adj: / exhibiting a respect and appreciation for hardworking farmers, their communities, and the rural American way of life. Geronimo was founded with deep roots in agriculture and an understanding and respect for farming practices. As landowner advocates, the Geronimo development team is dedicated to improving the productivity of our landowners’ properties by introducing our host communities to the benefits of renewable energy.

Invenergy
Invenergy is North America’s largest independent, privately held renewable energy provider. The Company develops, owns and operates large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation and storage facilities in North America, Latin America, Japan and Europe. Invenergy is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. In Michigan, Invenergy developed and constructed the 133-turbine Gratiot County Wind project and has several additional projects under advanced development.

LexTM3
LexTM3 is a leading manufacturer of innovative power distribution and control systems for demanding markets, including entertainment, industrial and the military. The privately-owned company was formed in 2015 as a merger between Lex Products Corp, founded in 1989, and TM3 Systems Inc, founded in 2012. The company specializes in smart and conventional portable power systems including distribution boxes, cable assemblies, connectors, cable protectors and other products, designed to withstand rough use and harsh environments. LexTM3 is ISO 9001:2008 certified across its four U.S. manufacturing facilities and MIL-STD790 Complaint and AS9100 certified at its military facility in Davie, FL.

Michigan BiomassMichigan Biomass is a coalition that advocates for the state’s grid-connected, wood-fired power plants – facilities constructed between 1985 and 1994. It was formed in 2007 to ensure that the biomass power industry would continue to contribute to the state’s energy, resource and economic wellbeing under renewable energy policy. About 20% of the state’s renewable energy comes from forest-based, sustainable resources, mostly byproducts from wood products manufacturing. Because these power plants predate Michigan’s RPS they are affected differently by the growing renewable energy marketplace. The intrinsic values of biomass power – jobs and rural economies, low-value wood fiber markets, forest health and stewardship, mitigation of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, and support of the state’s electricity transmission system – warrant energy policy that preserves the production capacity and non-energy values these facilities provide. 

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Michigan Energy News

• The requirement for Michigan utilities to file more robust integrated resource plans is bearing fruit in the form of better planning.
• DTE and Consumers Energy each announce a number of steps they are taking to deal with the coronavirus.
• Huron County is a state leader for both farming and wind energy.
• A draft of the Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force’s report on propane access in the UP will be available next week.
• The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is awarding grants to fund 300 diesel school bus replacements.
• Seven Michigan colleges are participating in an energy efficiency challenge sponsored by DTE.

National Energy News

• Duke Energy, Dominion Energy and Southern Company are not on track to meet their clean energy targets, according to a new report.
• What could be the largest solar project in Ohio breaks ground.
• The Edison Electric Institute issues a bulletin warning that investor-owned utilities may see 40% of their workforce out sick due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Midwest grid operator the Midcontinent Independent System Operator says 4,250 megawatts of wind power capacity and 730 megawatts of natural gas-fired capacity will come online in its region this summer.
• The U.S. offshore wind industry can support up to 83,000 jobs, according to a report from the American Wind Energy Association.
• Distributed system operators (DSOs) may be a business model that can overcome regulatory hurdles to integration of distributed energy resources.

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Michigan Energy Events

Tickets are available for the Southeast Michigan PACE Summit in Ann Arbor on April 15, hosted by Michigan EIBC member Lean & Green Michigan. Learn about work in Southeast Michigan regarding PACE financing and the economic benefits of green buildings.

The U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan is hosting the 2020 Michigan Energy Summit in Grand Rapids on April 21. Tickets are available here.

Join Energy Michigan for its 2020 Spring Meeting on May 21 in Lansing. RSVP by May 14.

The 4th annual Michigan Clean Energy Conference is in Traverse City from May 17-19.

The Mid-America Regulatory Conference, an association of regional organizations of utility and regulatory agencies from 14 states, is holding its annual meeting in Grand Rapids on June 21-24.

On July 21-23, 2020 PlugVolt will be hosting its next Battery Seminar in Plymouth, MI (USA), featuring an entire day of in-depth technical tutorials presented by renowned professors from several US universities on Day 1, followed by Days 2 and 3 with industry subject matter experts presenting on Automotive and Stationary Storage applications respectively. Attendees will also get an exclusive opportunity to tour A123 Systems’ new Novi, Michigan (USA) facility.

The NetZeroBuild Summit 2020, bringing together the key stakeholders involved in the Midwest’s value chain for net-zero construction in residential, commercial, academic and government buildings, is in Novi from August 25-26 (New dates due to delay related to the coronavirus.) 

National Energy Events

The Midwest Solar Expo will be held from May 19-21 in Minneapolis. The CLEANPOWER 2020 expo, organized by the American Wind Energy Association, will be in Denver from June 1 to 4, 2020. See registration options now.

Opportunities

 The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has two new RFPs related to renewable energy projects at the Oden Fish Hatchery. The RFPs are published on the state’s online bidding portal. Search for numbers 20*1376 and 20*1377.

The Detroit 2030 District is a free program that challenges Detroit building owners and managers to reduce wasted energy. Those that achieve the greatest reductions from the prior-year baseline will be recognized at the first annual Detroit Energy Challenge Award Ceremony in 2021. Visit 2030districts.org/Detroit to find out more information including how a building can apply.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service is seeking applications for its Rural Energy for America Program, which makes loan guarantees and grants available for renewable energy systems, energy efficiency, energy audits and more. The deadlines to apply for renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement grants are Oct. 31, 2019, and March 31, 2020, while applications for loan guarantees are accepted year-round. Find out more here.

The Michigan Energy Office’s Small Manufacturers Energy Waste Reduction Incentive Pilot is offering rebates of up to $15,000 per company for small manufacturers that can implement energy efficiency activities between Oct. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2020. There is a 100% minimum match requirement. Click here to learn more about eligibility and apply.