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Check Out More Photos from the 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference

Our 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference held April 24 in East Lansing was a big success! Check out more pictures from the event below and at this link:

Keynote address from Alliance to Save Energy President Paula R. Glover

Panel featuring Kara Cook of Michigan EGLE, Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Dan Scripps and state Sen. Sam Singh, moderated by Michigan EIBC Director of Policy Justin Carpenter

Michigan EIBC and Advanced Energy United Push for More Streamlining in Implementation of Siting Law

Public Act 233, the new law that requires a new process for siting large renewable energy and energy storage projects, holds great promise to enable more projects to be sited at the local level and, if necessary, by the state. As the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) works to implement the new law, Michigan EIBC and Advanced Energy United are working to make sure this promise is realized and that the MPSC interprets the law in sensible ways that remove unnecessary siting hurdles.

Toward that end, Michigan EIBC and Advanced Energy United recently submitted comments on an MPSC Staff draft proposal for how to implement several of the provisions of PA 233. Our comments explain how the implementation can avoid pitfalls where it would, contrary to the intent of the law, make the siting process needlessly complicated instead of simpler.

Various provisions of the law involve what the law describes as the “affected local unit.” For example, the law requires various public meetings to be held in “affected local units” when the MPSC is considering a siting approval for a project. The Staff is proposing that “affected local unit” be defined as “all counties, cities, townships and villages in which all or a part of the proposed facility will be located.”

But our comments argue that using this broad definition for “affected local unit” does not make sense because ultimately only one local unit has zoning authority over a project. The Staff’s broad definition “would give local units that have no say in local siting… a voice and role in the siting process established under PA 233, thus expanding the number of parties involved in a local approval process. This would not expedite the siting approval process (as intended by the Legislature) and would, in fact, have the opposite effect,” our comments said.

Michigan EIBC Team Visits BorgWarner in Auburn Hills

Michigan EIBC’s Director of Policy Justin Carpenter, Sustainable Business Associate Natalie Lyijynen and Policy Fellow Sophia Schuster recently paid a visit to Michigan EIBC member BorgWarner and its Propulsion Technical Center in Auburn Hills. Justin, Natalie and Sophia got a tour of the Propulsion Technical Center’s engineering garage and vehicle test lab.

Thank you so much to the BorgWarner team for having us last week! It’s always incredibly valuable to see what members are doing and discuss policy priorities.

New Member

Geothermal Exchange Organization
GeoExchange is a nonprofit trade association promoting the manufacture, design and installation of geothermal heating and cooling technology, also known as ground source heat pumps. Our members include manufacturers, installers, technology providers, utilities, and others in Michigan and across the country.

Michigan Energy News

Consumers Energy touts its installation of iron electric poles as a reliability-strengthening measure.
Natron Energy begins commercial-scale operations at its sodium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Holland.
The Guardian investigates the status of Flint a decade after the water crisis.
The MPSC and Michigan EGLE are accepting applications for the Propane Resilience Enhancement Program.

National Energy News

In what is being described as the single largest corporate power purchase agreement for clean energy ever, Microsoft signs a deal to purchase 10.5 GW of wind, solar and “new or impactful carbon free energy generation technologies” from Brookfield Asset Management and its Brookfield Renewable affiliate.
The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a rule requiring the phase-out of fossil fuel use in new federal government buildings.
Clean energy advocates argue there has been insufficient transparency on the part of the New York Power Authority and its plans to build publicly-owned clean energy projects.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is requesting $189 million in federal funding for the implementation of the state’s climate action plan, which includes fleet electrification and building retrofits.

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.

AES

Stakeholder Relations Advisor. Location: Remote (Indiana, Michigan).

The Stakeholder Relations Advisor will work within AES Clean Energy’s Stakeholder Relations team in the central US, specifically MISO North, to include Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and other states, as assigned. This is an exciting opportunity to have a career in industry-leading engagement strategies to empower communities and advance a carbon-free future. This role will support AES’ strategic renewable energy-related stakeholder engagement, local community relations, drafting communications and collateral materials for strategic planning and social impact partnership development. This role will report to the Manager of Stakeholder Relations MISO.

Elevate

Senior Associate, Talent Acquisition. Location: Chicago/Remote.

The Senior Associate, Talent Acquisition supports the recruiting cycle from candidate sourcing and evaluation to closing of all positions for Elevate. The position is a recruiting business partner, supports the front-end recruitment strategy, integrates a focus on diversity sourcing and recruitment that includes sourcing candidates through a variety of channels, plans interviews and selection procedures, and hosts or participates in career events.

Michigan and National Energy Events

Join Michigan EGLE for the 2024 Michigan Healthy Climate Conference at the Lansing Center on May 16-17. Register here.

Get tickets for Michigan EIBC and Michigan EGLE’s Public Convening on Microgrids on May 22 in Grand Rapids.

Registration is open for the Mid-America Regulatory Conference (MARC) 2024 Annual Conference on June 9-12 in Minneapolis.

The 68th Annual Michigan Energy Providers Conference will be held at the Grand Traverse Resort July 25-26. Register here.

Opportunities

Michigan EGLE is launching the Renewables Ready Communities Award (RRCA), which makes Michigan municipalities that have, on or after October 1, 2023, begun physically hosting and performing local permitting for any portion of an eligible renewable energy project eligible for awards of $5,000 per MW. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until Sept. 30. More information on this opportunity can be found on the RRCA Webpage.

The Michigan Public Service Commission has created a website tracking its progress implementing Public Acts 229, 231, 233, 234, and 235, passed on Nov. 8, 2023 and signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Nov. 28.

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a funding opportunity announcement for grants to “fund research, development, and prototype or pilot scale technology validation and demonstration activities that will accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable technologies that increase efficiency and eliminate industrial GHG emissions for the most energy- and emissions- intensive industrial subsectors.” The deadline is June 11. Learn more here,

Michigan EGLE is offering at least $320,000 in funding MI Solar Communities-MI Solar Access Program. Applications will be accepted through March 31, 2025, or when funding is expended, whichever comes first. Find the request for proposals for MI Solar Access here.

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