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:

Need Growing for Statewide Plan for Transportation Electrification

As Michigan’s automotive industry transitions toward an automated, electrified, connected and shared future, it will be increasingly important to ensure coordination among all of the entities and stakeholders involved in this transition. At the state level, electrifying Michigan’s transportation sector will require coordination across multiple state agencies toward clear goals. Along with Michigan EIBC member companies and partners, Michigan EIBC recently submitted a proposal to the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification (CFME) urging the creation of a “coordinated and comprehensive transportation electrification plan for 2030, with clear goals, timelines and metrics, including the allocation of sufficient resources and personnel needed across state agencies and offices necessary to create and implement the plan.” 

Such a statewide plan needs to direct attention across the state government and industry to answering important questions, such as the number of chargers needed to support 2 million EVs on Michigan roads by 2050, the number of chargers for which each utility should be responsible, the types of data utilities should make publicly available via hosting capacity analyses to help the private market more effectively plan for EV infrastructure build out and more, the brief said.

The Michigan Departments of Transportation (MDOT), Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) are already collaborating to develop the state’s plan to utilize federal funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This plan will lay out how to utilize funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, potentially “the most transformative investment in EV charging in United States history that will lead to deployment of a nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030 that ensures a convenient, reliable, affordable, and equitable charging experience for all users,” according to a stakeholder outreach survey issued by the state departments.

It will be important to appropriately pair this federal investment with existing utility EV programs. For example, Michigan EIBC has testified in DTE and Consumers Energy’s rate cases about the need for the utilities to establish permanent EV programs which can expand in scope in response to demand for charging and new funding opportunities. In DTE’s current electric rate case, Michigan EIBC President Laura Sherman testified that DTE Electric [should] “be enabled to respond to evolving demand for EV charging as fluidly as it would for any other changes in customer demand and that the business model for this be reasonably persistent and understood by market participants.” 

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Michigan EGLE Details Fiscal Year 2023 Budget

Michigan EGLE said the state of Michigan’s budget for fiscal year 2023, signed into law by Gov. Whitmer on July 20, positions it for more energy efficiency grants and work on drinking water, wastewater and air permitting issues.

The budget allows EGLE to create seven limited-term positions “to help address Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding available for energy efficiency grants and to close orphaned, or abandoned, oil and natural gas wells found throughout the state,” EGLE said in a statement.

Some of the largest items in the budget for EGLE include $30 million for legacy contamination cleanup and $48 million for technical assistance to help communities apply for funds to replace lead water lines or other water infrastructure.

The budget, passed by the legislature earlier this month, funds energy efficiency and weatherization for low-income residents and includes $1 million for the revolving loan program run by Michigan EIBC member Michigan Saves. 

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Tickets On Sale for 10th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Gala

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available for the 10th Annual Energy Innovators Gala on Sept. 28 at The Eastern in Detroit! Get your tickets now! Please click here for more sponsorship details and contact Brianna Gerard at brianna@mieibc.org with any questions.

Tentative Timeline

5:00 pm | Cocktail hour + Networking (open bar + food trucks serving)

5:30 pm | VIP reception (open bar + food trucks serving)

6:00 pm | Keynote Speaker + Awards Program

7:30 pm | Continued Networking + Dessert & Coffee/Tea Bar

8:00 pm | Event Concludes

The Gala’s keynote speaker will be State of Michigan Treasurer Rachael Eubanks. Eubanks was appointed as Michigan’s 47th State Treasurer by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in January of 2019. She is committed to bringing creativity, collaboration, and commitment to identify and implement solutions to some of Michigan’s greatest challenges. She does this while also building upon Treasury’s culture of service to Michiganders, through continuous improvement and employee engagement, which are the foundation of Treasury’s mission to provide fair and efficient financial services on behalf of taxpayers, governments, students, and all Michiganders, for the long-term fiscal health and stability of our state. In 2016 she was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder (and reappointed in 2017) to serve on the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) as a utility regulatory commissioner. In that capacity she reviewed and voted on hundreds of orders that helped shape Michigan’s energy future. In particular, the Commission had regulatory oversight over the implementation of two comprehensive energy law changes during her tenure. She served on several national organizations, including being elected as Vice President to the Organization of PJM States, Inc., and was on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, where she was Chair of the Supplier and Workforce Development Subcommittee.

Thank you to our sponsors!

GIGAWATT

Megawatt

Kilowatt

The Watt

 

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New Member

AC Power LLC
AC Power is a woman-owned solar development company committed to repurposing previously disturbed land for a brighter future through solar development. Our team overcomes the obstacles associated with these sites to successfully bring solar facilities into operation and return the property to revenue-generating use. AC Power is committed to working with transparency, collaboration, and integrity.

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Michigan Energy News

• A tranche of proposed transmission lines set to be approved by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) present benefits for energy customers in Michigan and across the Midwest, the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan writes.
• A new combined-cycle, gas-fired power plant, which the owner says “more than replaces” the shuttered Palisades nuclear plant, opens in southwest Michigan.
• In a move that could ease the path forward for wind and solar projects, DTE settles a tax dispute with township governments.
• Michigan Tech researchers are looking at abandoned mines as potential sites for pumped storage.
• Consumers Energy and Wolverine Power Cooperative are engaged in lawsuits regarding the early retirement of the J.H, Campbell coal-fired power plant.
• Consumers Energy touts its commitment to EVs and lists statistics on the growth of EV and EV infrastructure in its service territory.

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National Energy News

• Grain Belt Express, the proposed 800-mile HVDC transmission line being developed by Michigan EIBC member Invenergy, will expand from 4,000 MW to 5,000 MW in capacity.
• Ford announces expansions of its battery supply chain with new purchases of battery packs from Chinese and South Korean suppliers.
• FERC considers requiring parts of the grid not under regional transmission organizations, such as the vertically-integrated Southeast, to transfer minimum amounts of capacity to other regions.
• Solar installers in Indiana say the state’s new rate for the export of surplus solar energy is worse than they feared.
• The U.S. Postal Service increases its order of electric trucks from 10% of its fleet to 40%.
• A pilot program in Delaware offers free solar panels to low-income customers and covers 70% of the costs of panels for moderate-income customers.

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Job Board

Attention Michigan EIBC members: 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.

Michigan EGLE

Environmental Engineer 12 (Building Trade Industry Engineer). Lansing, Mich.

As a recognized resource, this position serves as the Building Trade Industry Engineer for EGLE’s Energy Services, with responsibilities for supporting operations and maintenance activities within the public (state and municipal units of government and institutions) and commercial buildings’ sectors. These duties include, but are not limited to, grant management; interfacing with the public; providing in-depth engineering technical assistance for optimization of energy intensive building operating systems; developing strategies for reducing energy consumption in building; benchmarking building operations; technical advising on performance contracting; authoring technical reports; and serving as a technical resource to EGLE on building matters.

Michigan EGLE

Position: Environmental Engineer Specialist 13. Lansing, Mich.

This position serves as a state-wide specialist on clean energy manufacturing. The position works directly with Michigan’s manufacturing sector, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Next Energy Center, Michigan’s Clean Technology Centers, Michigan’s universities and colleges, and the Department of Energy’s (U.S. DOE) National Laboratories and Office of Technology Transition. It also serves as an expert advisor on energy waste reduction and the environmental specialist on all projects requiring Title 42 of the United State Code (U.S.C.), Section 4321 et seq., National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), approval from the U.S. DOE.

Rhombus Energy Solutions

Position: Government Funding Manager. Dearborn, Mich.

Responsibilities:

• Manage Rhombus Energy Solutions public funding opportunities from planning, proposal, submission, negotiation and project management.
• Develop key contacts at national and local level to influence spending on infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and VW Consent Decree towards Rhombus Energy value propositions.
• Identify pipeline of public funding opportunities for Rhombus Energy Solutions including federal, state, local DC Fast charging opportunities.
• Respond to requests for quote (RFQ), requests for proposal (RFP) and requests for information (RFI) related to USDOT, USDOE national EV charging network. Craft abstracts and submission for public funding opportunities. Analyze and create budgets for funding opportunities including identifying cost shares and necessary resources to meet tender requirements.

Rhombus Energy Solutions

Position: Utility Account Manager. Dearborn, Mich.

Responsibilities:

• Thorough knowledge of the market including the competitive landscape, articulates our key value propositions and differentiators to customers and influencers
• Develops and maintain knowledge of relevant utility, state and federal requirements for EVSE and related infrastructure. Secures participation of Rhombus Energy Solutions into EVSE rebate programs. Influence utility program managers toward Rhombus Energy Solutions differentiators.
• Document and understand funding opportunities and share within Rhombus, key customers, and distributors. Register Rhombus Energy Solutions across North American utility programs.
• Engages frequently with partners, end users, electrical contractors, consulting engineers, OEMs, and other parties to support and drive growth of Rhombus Energy Solutions sales.

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Michigan and National Energy Events

The Michigan Public Service Commission’s next meeting will be in-person at Cadillac Place in Detroit on July 27.

The 10th Annual Energy Innovators Gala will be held on Sept. 28 at The Eastern in Detroit. Get tickets here.

Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will award $300,000–$13 million for “projects that help communities design and deploy geothermal district heating and cooling systems, create related workforce training, and identify and address environmental justice concerns.” The application deadline is Oct. 11.

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 “Guest 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.

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.

Aaron Kurz, a former Michigan EIBC intern and University of Michigan alum, is working to build a state-level Science Policy Fellowship in Michigan, the Michigan Initiative for Science Policy (MISP). This program will place five recent STEM PhD recipients throughout the Michigan state government to provide a source of non-partisan, evidence-based information to decision makers. MISP will join the 10 other state programs throughout the country, including Idaho, Missouri, and New Jersey. Additional information about this initiative may be found at miscipol.org. If you are interested in providing written support for MISP, please contact Aaron at aaron.kurz@miscipol.org.