New State Budget and Advanced Energy, Storage Convening, EV Initiatives and More

Welcome to the weekly newsletter of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC), the business voice for advanced energy in Michigan. Here’s what’s new this week:

New Budget Deal Targets Climate Impact Assistance, Efficiency, Green Financing and More


Gov. Whitmer and the state legislature have come to an agreement on a budget for Fiscal Year 2022 that includes several increases in funding for advanced energy priorities.

The nearly $70 billion budget deal approved this week includes:

  • $14.3 million to help local governments deal with climate change and extreme weather impacts such as flooding and coastal erosion
  • $5 million for a home weatherization and energy efficiency pilot program
  • $5 million for the State Facility Green Revolving Fund, which helps finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects at state facilities
  • $1.5 million in additional funds for Michigan EIBC member Michigan Saves, the state’s nonprofit green bank

The budget deal does not address $7.5 billion in federal relief money, primarily from the American Rescue Plan, that will still need to be appropriated through subsequent spending bills.    




This October: Energy Storage Convening In-Person at Advanced Battery Concepts

On Oct. 18 the Institute for Energy Innovation and Michigan EIBC, with support from the Michigan Department of Great Lakes, Environment and Energy (EGLE) and Michigan EIBC member Advanced Battery Concepts, are presenting the 4th Energy Storage Convening, an in-person event to be held at Advanced Battery Concepts’ facility in Clare, Mich. Advanced Battery Concepts recently announced the launch of a new addition to the microgrid storage market, the Home Emergency Energy Storage project, which will provide homeowners and small commercial business owners with emergency power.

This event will focus on the reuse and recycling of energy storage technologies and participants will discuss how policymakers and businesses can best pursue second-life opportunities for battery technologies to keep both costs and environmental impact down. Confirmed speakers include Michigan State University Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Dr. Annick Anctil, a leading researcher in life cycle analysis and waste for energy technologies.

In addition to this discussion, the event will include a tour of the facility and a boxed lunch. Click here to RSVP (at no cost)


 

State Launches Several Electric Vehicle Innovation Initiatives

This past week has seen a flurry of EV-related announcements from the Whitmer administration—all of which will help to further cement Michigan as a hub for mobility innovation.

On Sept. 22 at the Mackinac Policy Conference, Gov. Whitmer unveiled the Lake Michigan EV Circuit, a proposed network of charging sites along Lake Michigan, in order to create “the best new road-trip for EV owners in America,” as the governor’s office described it. The charging sites themselves will be DC fast charging or level 2 chargers and will be located in coastal and rural communities, state and national parks and at tourist attractions.

This charging infrastructure will be built with grants provided through Michigan EGLE’s Charge Up MI program. The Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will also work on the project.

Also at the Mackinac Policy Conference, the governor announced the Michigan Revolution for Electrification of Vehicles Academy/Academies (MiREV), an initiative to develop talent that will staff and lead Michigan mobility and electrification companies for years to come. Under MiREV, employers will get help filling gaps in their workforces as the mobility and electrification industry grows. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity will partner with three to five organizations through an RFP process. Applications are due Nov. 8, and more information can be found at Michigan.gov/MICA.

In addition, on Sept. 21, Whitmer announced that MDOT and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification will partner on the Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot with the goal of Michigan becoming the first state to deploy wireless EV charging. On Sept. 28, MDOT will release an RFP to design, fund, evaluate, iterate, test and implement the Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot along a one-mile stretch of state-operated roadway in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb counties. More information on the RFP, which is Requisition 3524, can be found here.

Finally, earlier this month Whitmer announced a total of $440,000 in grants from the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification for five companies that are building new electrification and mobility technologies in Michigan.  


New Member

Greenworks Lending from Nuveen
Greenworks Lending, a Nuveen affiliate, is a private capital provider uniquely dedicated to funding commercial real estate through Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing. Greenworks Lending’s C-PACE financing makes clean energy a smart financial decision for commercial property owners and developers.


 

Michigan Energy News

  • Gov. Whitmer announces an initiative to test wireless charging infrastructure on a road in southeast Michigan through the Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot.
  • A new report from the Regulatory Assistance Project provides further support for the rationale for ending the cap on distributed generation.
  • Former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed writes about his experience installing rooftop solar.
  • EV manufacturer Rivian will build a $4.6 million customer service center in Plymouth.
  • The city of Holland is looking into requiring the Holland Board of Public Works to move more quickly to renewable resources.
  • South Lyon-based Utopian Power wins a power purchase agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to supply solar energy to seven state parks and offices.

National Energy News

  • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issues recommendations that power utilities be required to plan for critical equipment freezing, a response to the reliability incident in Texas early this year.
  • New York state is increasing its goal for its distributed solar program from 6 GW to 10 GW by 2030.
  • Companies like startup Revel are trying to accomplish the difficult task of building significantly more EV chargers connected to New York City’s electric grid.
  • A coalition of cities in the PJM region say that in order to realize the cities’ emissions reduction efforts, FERC must approve a plan to remove the Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR).
  • The $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill includes $4 billion for transportation initiatives related to greenhouse gas emissions and also requires the Federal Highway Administration to set emissions targets for states.

 

Job Board

We are debuting a new section of the newsletter for Michigan EIBC members to post job openings in advanced energy fields. If you have a job announcement you would like in the newsletter, please send a paragraph describing the position and a link to apply to Matt Bandyk at matt@mieibc.org. Please include in the email a specific end date for the job posting.

Inovateus Solar

Positions: Business Development Manager, Design Engineer, Construction Manager, South Bend, IN

Inovateus Solar is hiring for several positions in South Bend. Check out the company’s LinkedIn page for more information.

NOVI Energy

Position: Project Engineer, Novi, MI

NOVI Energy is growing, and they need your help. This month, they announced a joint venture with Osaka Gas USA to develop over 1000 MW of solar power generation facilities, enough solar and storage to power more than 150,000 homes with clean, affordable energy while creating good-paying jobs. This is one of several exciting projects NOVI Energy is developing! Learn more about their company and available Project Engineer positions. See open positions here.     


Michigan and National Energy Events

On Oct. 4 at 10:30 am, the Institute for Energy Innovation will host a virtual Energy 101 education session for legislators and members focused on the role of distributed energy resources such as solar, energy storage, and energy management technologies in increasing Michigan’s resilience to extreme weather events and power outages. Members have received a calendar invite (email mieibc@mieibc.org if you did not receive the invite!). 

The PlugVolt Battery Seminar 2021 in Plymouth, Mich., will feature an entire day of in-depth technical tutorials presented by world renowned professors from Top 50 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 INTERTEK Battery Testing Center of Excellence in Plymouth, MI (USA). The seminar is scheduled for Oct. 5-7, and registration is open here

On Oct. 18 the Institute for Energy Innovation and Michigan EIBC, with support from the Michigan Department of Great Lakes, Environment and Energy (EGLE) and Michigan EIBC member Advanced Battery Concepts, are presenting the 4th Energy Storage Convening, an in-person event to be held at Advanced Battery Concepts’ facility in Clare, Mich. RSVP (at no cost) here.

The Distributed Wind Energy Association’s DIstributed Wind 2021 Conference and Lobby Day in Arlington, Va., has been postponed to Nov. 15-18. Tickets can be purchased for in-person attendance or virtual attendance

The U.S. Energy Storage Association Annual Conference & Expo (#ESACon21) will convene December 1-3 in Phoenix to bring together buyers, sellers, investors, and leaders in the energy storage industry for an event focused on driving deals and business in the energy storage industry. The #ESACon21 is a must attend for anyone looking to expand their business, invest in, or develop partnerships in the energy storage industry. Learn more here. Register using this link and use code “MIEIBC2021” for a 5% discount on nonmember passes.

Gov. Whitmer created the Council on Climate Solutions as an advisory body to help formulate and implement the MI Healthy Climate Plan. The council is holding a series of meetings throughout the year on various topics related to cutting Michigan’s CO2 emissions and recommending solutions for communities disproportionately affected by climate change. Go to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Office of Climate and Energy website to learn how to join these meetings.

Opportunities

Michigan EIBC member Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University is now accepting applications for its C3 Accelerator. Apply here by Jan. 10, 2022. C3 is a growth stage Accelerator with up to $1.6M in funding in the form of grants, investments, and services to support the product development and scaling of Cleantech, Climatech, and Circular Economy technologies.

The Community Collaboration on Climate Change (C4) is seeking a full-time contract position to provide coordination of C4 leadership, organizational representatives, Grand Rapids residents, and the program deliverables.

State of Michigan DNR is going big in solar with projects in the ground, others in development and additional ones being planned. DNR has released a Request for Proposal for Prequalification Program for Renewable Energy PPAs: www.michigan.gov/sigmavss. Use “Guess Access” to get the RFP. A previous round of pre-qualifications netted solar companies that then were able to bid on a portfolio of DNR solar projects in Southwest Michigan. Another portfolio in the Northern Region is in the works for later this year. Only companies who pre-qualify can bid on future DNR solar projects. Please direct all correspondence to the Solicitation Manager, Laura Gyorkos at gyorkosL@michigan.gov

Consumers Energy Company is planning to seek competitive bids in response to a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) from participants in the MISO Energy Market in accordance with the Company’s Proposed Course of Action in its Integrated Resource Plan. Enel X North America, Inc. will administer the solicitation and anticipates formally releasing the upcoming RFP and associated documents late September 2021. Questions pertaining to this RFP or the proposal submittal process can be sent via email to Enel X by way of CECIA.enelxnorthamerica@enel.com.

The Lansing Board of Water and Light will issue a Request for Information for electricity storage by the end of September. Vendors can register here.
  The Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s PlanetM Testing Grant gives mobility companies the opportunity to access testing facilities around the state, including Mcity at the University of Michigan. Apply here.

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.