Recent Posts
Blog Categories
- Newsletter (403)
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:
Buildings Should Be EV, Solar and Storage-Ready, Michigan EIBC Says in Comments on Electrical Codes
Michigan EIBC has proposed electrical code language that would ensure most new buildings in Michigan are designed to be ready for EV charging, solar installations and batteries.
The Bureau of Construction Codes, part of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, is working on updating electrical codes for 2023. This month, Michigan EIBC submitted three comments to assist with this process.
First, the codes should make buildings “EV-ready” by having a certain percentage of parking spaces equipped with circuits that can handle EVs and EV charging equipment. “A major barrier to the transition to EVs is the lack of charging infrastructure at businesses and the potential need for extensive electrical upgrades, which often require the installation of conduit through existing infrastructure to connect the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to electrical service. It is more cost-effective to ensure a building is ‘EV ready’ when it is being built or undergoing major renovations than to conduct these extensive upgrades later,” according to our comments.
Next, codes should ensure buildings have the space and electrical pathways necessary to install solar systems. “If a residential home is not built to be ‘solar ready,’ it can be technically infeasible or economically prohibitive to install solar at a later date,” our comments said.
Third, we proposed that new buildings are ready for the installation of future energy storage systems. “Storage solutions will not only benefit businesses in helping to decrease demand charges, but also contribute to the vision of grid-interactive buildings and vehicles, where all pieces of the energy system are working in coordination,” our comments said.
We are also submitting comments on commercial building codes on Dec. 22.
DOE Closes $2.5B Loan for Battery Cell Manufacturing, Including A Plant in Michigan
The U.S. Department of Energy has closed on a $2.5 billion loan to help finance three new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plants being built by Ultium Cells, a joint venture between Michigan EIBC member General Motors and LG Energy Solution.
“We in the Biden-Harris administration believe that all of this growth is going to make the battery industry a dominant 21st century economy and will create millions of jobs,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said following a roundtable discussion with members of the Battery Workforce Initiative held at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn. “The question is, who’s going to lead that market, both in the United States and globally? Who’s going to be working those jobs? Who’s going to be manufacturing those batteries? President Biden wants them manufactured here in America, by American workers,” she said.
The Battery Workforce Initiative is coordinated between the DOE and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Working for America Institute, Li-Bridge alliance members and other organizations.
The Michigan plant location is in Lansing and will produce battery cells for GM EV models such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV. The plant will provide 1,700 jobs and construction, which began in May, will continue to spring 2023, Ultium has said.
Renewing Members
Four Elements Energy designs and installs solar ( electric, water heating, air heating) and wind renewable energy systems.
Highland Electric Fleets is a comprehensive turnkey solutions provider that delivers electric school buses (EVSB) to school districts and third-party managed fleet providers (3PMs). We offer a model involving financing, infrastructure, vehicle deployment, and maintenance in an easily digestible, economic format that enables EVSB acquisition at traditional diesel cost of ownership. Our mission is to eliminate the barriers to better student health and cleaner air. We aim to mitigate risk for our customers, increase EVSB market penetration, and deliver positive impacts across a broad spectrum of stakeholders: students, communities, school districts, fleet operators, manufacturers, and utilities.
Inovateus Solar is an experienced solar energy provider with over 500 MWs delivered since we opened our doors in 2008. Our development and EPC team is committed to investing in your energy future by providing affordable, reliable, and sustainable solar and energy storage solutions. Inovateus serves utilities, municipalities, electric cooperatives, Fortune 500 firms, schools, universities, and commercial industries throughout Michigan, the greater Midwest, and East Coast.
RWE Renewables is one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world and is proud to develop, build, and operate clean, affordable renewable energy projects across the United States. With more than 5GW of renewables under operation, more than $7 billion in assets, and more than 700 employees across the U.S., RWE Renewables is committed to building the future with our energy for a sustainable life.
Together with Shell and other collaborators, Shell Recharge Solutions is powering the transformation to electric mobility to create a more sustainable future. Shell Recharge Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell New Energies, is a leading provider of open standards-based technology solutions for electric vehicle (EV) networks and grid management. Based in Los Angeles, Shell Recharge has deployed charging networks for some of the world’s largest automakers, utilities, fleet owners and cities. Combining an award-winning software platform with a suite of services to support EV infrastructure deployment, Shell Recharge has scaled its flexible, smart charging solutions in various applications including utility programs, fleet charging and public DC fast charging. Shell Recharge is excited to help support and accelerate the growth of electric vehicles in Michigan.
Michigan Energy News
- The victories for Michigan Democrats in this year’s election may lead to climate change policy, as reflected by the MI Healthy Climate Plan, becoming a legislative priority, Bridge reports.
- Increasing home weatherization assistance is among Michigan Democrats’ legislative priorities for 2023.
- The Michigan Department of Transportation provides a grant to rebuild a road in Wayne County so it can support Michigan EIBC member Our Next Energy’s $1.6 billion construction of a gigafactory.
- The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget nabs a $110,000 rebate from Consumers Energy for its project to install “smart lighting” at its General Services Building, which cut 75% of lighting fixtures.
- Stellantis signs up for 400 MW through DTE’s MIGreenPower program.
National Energy News
- Despite Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s breakthrough nuclear fusion experiment, it is still unclear when, if ever, fusion energy can operate at scale.
- In Tucson, Ariz., American Battery Factory is opening the first in a network of lithium-ion phosphate battery factories.
- California regulators are considering changes to net metering that could make rooftop solar even more difficult for low-income customers to access.
- A proposed multi-billion dollar transmission line could deliver 2.1 GW of power from the mainland U.S. to Puerto Rico.
- The Winter Olympics is having trouble finding potential host cities due in part to climate change making it more difficult to hold the event.
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.
Form Energy
Director, State Affairs. Location: Somerville, Mass., Berkeley, Calif., Washington, D.C., or Remote
As Director of State Affairs, you will play a leadership role in building and guiding a team of state policy advocates to transform state and regional electric markets and enable Form Energy’s goals. The team you direct will secure incentives, procurement programs, electricity market designs, and other supportive policies for multi-day storage that will enable Form Energy to deploy multiple gigawatts of our iron-air batteries before 2030. Your team will lead efforts to weave multi-day storage into all aspects of state electric resource planning and decarbonization goals.
Form Energy
Policy Manager, Eastern Region. Location: Remote
The Policy Manager, Eastern Region will drive policy advocacy efforts across eastern states to advance Form’s goals and transform state and regional electric markets. You will collaborate with policy team leadership alongside outside partners to develop and execute state specific advocacy plans that successfully influence regulatory and legislative outcomes and advance Form’s goals. You will be responsible for securing incentives, procurement programs, and changes to market design in priority states to develop markets for multi-day energy storage.
Madison Energy Investments
Finance Analyst — Renewable Energy. Location: Vienna, Va., or New York City
Madison Energy Investments is a high-growth, PE-backed renewable energy company with investments in Solar, Battery and Electric Vehicle infrastructure.Madison is seeking a full-time Finance Analyst to work on our renewable energy investments. Candidates should have a passion for systematically managing cash flows of a business, general knowledge of accounting principles and ability to work cross functionally with team members in Sales, Accounting and Operations.
Michigan EGLE
Environmental Engineer 12 (Energy Unit Engineer), Location: Lansing, Mich.
This position serves as a recognized technical resource regarding light-duty electric vehicles (plug-in electric vehicles [PEV], hybrid electric vehicles [HEV], battery electric vehicles [BEV]), charging infrastructure, planning of road networks, and commercial building codes related to PEV. It will interface with various state agencies and private sectors to research, analyze, develop, and manage projects/programs that support the State Energy Program’s (SEP) Light-Duty Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Supply Equipment Program objectives in coordination with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) work on the Volkswagen (VW) Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT) and Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (BMP).
Michigan EGLE
Environmental Engineer 12 (Building Trade Industry Engineer), Location: 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 and National Energy Events
Save the date April 26, 2023 for the Michigan Energy Innovators Conference at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Save the dates Aug. 6-9, 2023 for the Mid-America Regulatory Conference (MARC) Annual Meeting at the JW Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids.
Opportunities
The Michigan Public Service Commission, EGLE and the Great Plains Institute encourages organizations that are interested in partnering on applications for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) competitive grant program to share their contact information by filling out this form.
The Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice (MAC-EJ), whose members are appointed by Michigan EGLE, advises the state on environmental issues. The state government is currently seeking statewide nominations for new members of MAC-EJ, with applications due by Dec. 19.
The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Notice of Intent announcing $550 million for community-based clean energy projects through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, Section 40552(b) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021. Applications will open in January 2023.
The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) is soliciting an all-source Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking competitive proposals to supply up to 475 MW firm capacity to meet customer loads into the future and to meet the planning reserve requirements of the Mid-Continent Independent System Operator (MISO). RFP offers are due on Jan. 13, 2023. Registration to participate in this RFP is 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.