Story by Lindy Lindell, Photo gallery credit, Robert Ryder
It’s better to be lucky than good. There was no main event. There were no real “names” on the card last Saturday night on February 23 at the Dearborn Civic Center. The best matchmakers Kenny Moore and Aaron Rodriguez could come up with for an opponent for the one true prospect slated to box, the 6-0 junior-middleweight Joseph Bonas, was an 0-3 boxer, about whom the less said, the better. Bonas told me after the card was over that he would likely be fighting in Mexico in March, where he notched his last two wins.
Board Officers were elected at the January board meeting. Melanie McCoy, Superintendent of Sebewaing Light and Water, is the new President. Dave Konkle served as President for almost 3 years and continues as a Board member. Mark Clevey continues as Vice-President, Cary Church continues as Treasurer and John Sarver continues as Secretary. GLREA will continue to promote and advocate for a greater use of renewable energy and your support will help make that possible. You can join on-line at www.glrea.org.
Michigan News
State Legislation to clarify taxation of solar panels has been introduced in the Michigan House (HB 4068 and HB 4069) by Rep. Bronna Kahle and in the Michigan Senate (SB 47 and SB 48) by Sen. Tom Barrett. The bills have the same intent and language as HB 5143 and HB 5680 that were passed by the House and Senate in 2018, but vetoed by Governor Snyder.
Governor Whitmer will be able to appoint two new commissioners to the Michigan Public Service Commission. Rachael Eubanks has left the MPSC and been appointed by Gov. Whitmer to become the State Treasurer. Norman Saari’s term as a commissioner ends on July 2, 2019. Sally Talberg, the third commissioner and present Chair, was appointed in 2017 to a new term which ends July 2, 2021. The change in the composition of the MPSC could have a significant impact on energy policy in Michigan.
Michigan’s Largest Solar Project, 239 MW, has been approved by the Shiawassee County Planning Commission. A special use permit that will allow the proposed $259 million development was unanimously approved by county planners on Jan 24. Construction will cover more than 1200 acres in Hazelton and Venice townships and start late this year. The Ranger Power project will use east-west tracking solar panels and will produce enough power for 35,000 typical homes. More details
Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has authorized Consumers Energy to launch the state’s first electric vehicle infrastructure pilot program. Consumers will launch its PowerMIDrive pilot program, a three-year, $10 million effort to support the growing EV market through new rates, rebates and customer education. The program includes a Nighttime Savers Rate to encourage EV drivers to charge their vehicles between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Residential EV drivers who sign up for the nighttime rate will be offered a $500 rebate for each EV. Consumers will also offer $5,000 rebates for chargers installed in public areas and up to $70,000 in rebates for the installation of a DC Fast Charger.
State Energy Laws passed in 2016 include a new distributed generation (DG) program to replace Michigan’s existing net metering program. General rate cases filed by utilities after June 1, 2018 include proposed DG tariffs. DTE filed their rate case soon after June 1 and consequently a DG tariff for DTE customers is expected in Spring 2019. Consumers Energy filed a rate case before June 1, 2018 and that has recently been settled. That settlement agreement includes a provision that a new rate case will not be filed until after Jan. 1, 2020. This means that a new DG tariff for Consumers Energy customers is not expected until October 2020. Customers can enroll in the existing net metering program until a utility has a new DG tariff and be grandfathered for 10 years.
SolarYpsi has won a Smart 50 Award. In partnership with Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation, and US Ignite, the awards annually recognize global smart city projects honoring innovative and influential work. SolarYpsi partnered with Chart House Energy to train local, low income, residents on how to install solar power and then hired them to put solar on the roof of a community center and the City’s Department of Public Services Truck port. More details.
DTE Electric’s Large Customer Voluntary Green Pricing Program (Case No. U-20343) has been approved by the MPSC. The minimum participation is 20% of monthly energy use, up to 100% and there will be 5, 10, or 20 year contracts. Participating customers will pay a per kWh subscription fee priced at the levelized cost of energy of the renewable assets associated with the Program. The pricing for the initial contracts is expected to be below $45/MWH. DTE Electric said power for the program will be available in late 2020 and costs will be set when renewable energy projects come online, but customers can already enroll in the program.
East Lansing Solar Park became operational on Dec. 28. The $600,000 community solar project located at Burcham Park is the first of its kind for the Lansing Board of Water and Light. The BWL partnered with Michigan Energy Options and Pivot Energy. About 144 customers have signed 25-year leases for one or more of the 1000 315-watt solar panels. The customers paid $399 per panel and will get utility bill credits for the power produced by their panel(s). The City of East Lansing and Capital Area Transportation Authority are major investors, leasing 300 and 189 panels, respectively. More details
One Year Later – MSU’s solar carport array has been working great. Local TV station provides a short video update. More details.
Grand Rapids’ West Side now has 1800 solar panels installed (see photo above) atop Bridge St. Market, an accompanying parking garage, and an adjacent building that houses the West Michigan Center for Arts & Technology. Consumers Energy hosted a dedication ceremony for the $5 million project that will include a nearby 500 kW battery. The combination of solar panels and battery is the first of its kind in a neighborhood setting in Michigan. More details
Beyond Michigan
Swedish 172-Unit Housing Complex will meet all of its electricity and heating needs year-round through a combination of rooftop solar and hydrogen fuel cells. The fully energy self-sufficient apartment complex will use 659 kW of solar to meet the summer energy needs of its residents and store up compressed hydrogen, which will then be converted back to electricity and heat during the cold winter months. More details.
World’s Largest Roofing manufacturing company has launched a startup called GAF Energy that’s focused on bringing solar power to new roofing projects in the U.S. According to Standard Industries, around five million homes are reroofed every year, but only 300,000 of those homeowners opt to install solar panels. GAF Energy will work with local contractors to take care of the installation logistics. More details.
Copenhagen plans to become the first carbon neutral city in the world by 2025. Some 22% of Denmark’s electricity is produced by wind turbines, but the country intends to increase that proportion to 50% by 2025. The city has greatly increased the efficiency of its public and older residential buildings. Copenhagen is making the city bicycle-friendly and hoping to account for 75% of trips inside the city by bicycle. The remaining automobiles and buses will be electric or hydrogen. More details.
Council of the District of Columbia has passed the “Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018.” The legislation requires that 100 percent of the electricity sold in the District come from renewables by 2032. It also sets annual solar targets for every year through 2041. More details.
Events
2019 Michigan Climate Action Summit will be held by the Michigan Climate Action Network at the Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids on Feb. 21, 9am-5pm. The Summit will bring together climate advocates, activists, and policymakers to set a bold new agenda for Michigan to move forward on climate. More details.
SOLAR 2019 Conference “Race to Renewables” will be held on August 5-9 in Minneapolis. ASES believes that supplying 100% of America’s electricity with renewable energy is not only possible but urgently needed. ASES represents the scientists, educators, and activists who can provide renewable energy technologies and solutions for climate action that will have an impact within the next five years. SOLAR 2019 will focus on those strategies.
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City’s first major vegan event returns with more entertainment, exhibits, education, engagement and edibles. The second annual V313: Detroit’s Premier Vegan Celebration will be held Thursday, March 7, 3-9 pm, inside Eastern Market’s Shed 5. The event will offer an entertaining, informative and authentic Detroit vegan experience, drawing a large and diverse audience to the historic market building from among the rapidly growing number of metro Detroiters interested in a plant-based, healthier lifestyle.
Matcha has been celebrated in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony for hundreds of years. It is a high-grade green tea ground into powdered form. The green tea powder is whisked into hot water, instead of steeped, to form a frothy drink.
MPSC Commissioner Dan Scripps to Keynote MEECA Event
MEECA is pleased to announce Commissioner Dan Scripps as the keynote speaker for our 5th Annual Banquet & Awards Celebration on Wednesday, March 6th. Mr. Scripps was recently appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission by Governor Whitmer. He fills a vacancy left when Rachael Eubanks (MEECA’s 2017 keynote speaker) left the MPSC to become State Treasurer. Next weeks’ event will give MEECA members and guests an opportunity to meet one of Michigan’s top utility regulators and learn about his priorities for the state’s energy system–including future prospects for energy efficiency as a resource.
Commissioner Scripps will speak to a sold-out audience. Nearly 130 people are registered to attend–a record for this event previously known as MEECA’s Annual Gala. The evening will also feature an awards program to highlight outstanding work in our industry during the past year.
MEECA is grateful to this year’s Title Sponsor DNV GL and to our other sponsors CLEAResult, DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, 5 Lakes Energy, SEEL, Walker-Miller Energy Services, ICF, Energy Sciences, Pure Eco, Development Solutions Midwest, WaterFurnace International, Lean & Green Michigan, The Nielsen Group, and Wright Energy Partners. Thanks to all!
EE in the News
MPSC Releases Annual EWR Report
The 2017 Utility Energy Waste Reduction Programs report found 64 electric companies (investor-owned, cooperatives, and municipalities) spent a total of $220.5 of EWR programs, and gas utilities spent $88.1 million. The $308.6 million spent is expected to save customers nearly $1.1 billion over the 12-year lifecycle of EWR efforts adopted in 2017. Together these programs have saved nearly 1.6 million megawatt hours of electricity and about 5.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Michigan’s EWR standard, created in 2008, requires all natural gas and electric utility providers in the state to implement customer programs to lower energy usage to reduce the future cost of service.
The commission found that customers should see an estimated savings of $3.51 for every dollar spent on these programs. Read the full report here.
New Program Helps Businesses Improve Storefronts and Save Energy
Cornerstone Alliance and Indiana Michigan Power are partnering to assist small businesses in Benton Harbor in updating their facades with grant funding. Businesses that receive the $10,000 grant would then be eligible for up to $100,000 in energy rebates. Cornerstone says this program runs through August 1, 2019 or until funds are exhausted. Click here for a television news story about this program.
PACE Project Spotlight: Hotel Harrington
The historic Hotel Harrington — once a center of social and political life in Port Huron from its late 19th century beginnings — recently served as an assisted living center for seniors, before its closing in 2017. Developers Jeff Katofsky and Rick Barreca purchased the building in August 2018 through Hip Hip, Huron! LLC. They incorporated over $2.6 million of PACE financing for a broad array of energy upgrades as part of the overall restoration of the hotel, including solar PV, high efficiency HVAC, LED lighting and water conservation measures (more than 1 million gallons saved per year).
The Hotel Harrington redevelopment marks Katofsky’s third Michigan PACE project and his second in St. Clair County, after his landmark restoration of the St. Clair Inn. This new collaborative effort with G-Energy, Twain Financial and MEECA member Lean & Green Michigan will help them transform a second historical landmark in the county with state-of-the-art energy and water efficiency and renewable energy measures. See this case study for more details of this impressive project.
Michigan Saves Financing Sees Steady Growth
As reported by MiBiz, MEECA member Michigan Saves has surpassed $175 million in private investment since its inception in 2009. The organization, which is charged with providing low-interest loans for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in all sectors, has set a goal of achieving $1 billion of investment by 2023. So far about 17,000 projects in homes and commercial buildings have been enabled. Annual savings have averaged about $270 for residential customers and roughly $7,100 for commercial customers.
On-bill Financing Gains Popularity
Paying for energy efficiency upgrades can be a challenge, especially for low-income utility customers without the cash or credit line to fund capital improvements. In response, some utility companies are turning to on-bill financing as a valuable tool. At no upfront cost, customers can pay for EE projects over time as a line item on their utility bills, often at no increase to their monthly bills given the immediate energy savings. See this recent article about one such program in North Carolina. Closer to home, the Holland On-Bill Loan Program (OBLP) is proving this model for other utility companies in Michigan to follow.
Walker-Miller Energy Services Offering Free Job Training
MEECA member Walker-Miller Energy Services, based in Detroit, has announced a free green job training and placement program. The company is seeking committed individuals who are either long-term unemployed, economically disadvantaged, or returning citizens to train them in a six-week program in building science. The first session runs April 8 through May 18, 2019. Classes will be held 6:00-9:00PM Monday through Friday.
Upon completion of the six-week course, participants will take BPI’s Building Performance Analyst certification exam to verify their knowledge in conducting comprehensive energy audits and associated quantitative skills. Graduates who pass the exam will then participate in a job fair focused on energy careers with Michigan businesses.
Walk-in interviews will be conducted March 12-14, 2019 during 8:00AM-Noon and 1:00-4:00PM at 8045 2nd Ave. in Detroit. To learn more about this opportunity, send an email to bpi@wmenergy.com or contact Teri Howard at 313-366-8535.
From the U.S. Energy Information Administration:
Regional variations in household lighting consumption driven by bulb choice and bulb count. U.S. households consumed an average of 1,105 kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity for lighting in 2015, or about 10% of electricity consumption in homes. Data from EIA’s latest Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) show that average lighting consumption varied geographically from a high of 1,333 kWh per home in the West North Central states of the Midwest to 911 kWh in the Pacific states along the West Coast.
Electricity intensity of U.S. homes and commercial buildings decreases in coming decades. In EIA’s recently released Annual Energy Outlook 2019 (AEO2019) Reference case, projected residential and commercial purchased electricity consumption grows more slowly than the number of households or total commercial floorspace. As a result, electricity intensity—the amount of electricity consumed per household or square foot of commercial floorspace—decreases by an average of 0.3% per year and 0.4% per year from 2018 through 2050 in the residential and commercial sectors, respectively.
Demand Response Updates
Energy News Network has reported that Michigan utilities’ request for customers to turn down their thermostats during the recent polar vortex was a widespread exercise in demand response, or reducing energy usage during peak demand periods. As the article explains, Consumers Energy suffered a fire at a critical natural gas compression station in southeast Michigan, while DTE Energy asked customers to reduce their electricity usage as the regional grid required an usually large amount of gas generation. Consumers Energy officials reported that their request—sent via emergency text message—reduced gas demand by 10 percent.
University of Michigan researchers will apply a $2.9 million grant to study how strategic control of air conditioners can improve grid reliability and efficiency. The grant was awarded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). While other research and industry teams have used residential loads like air conditioners to provide load balancing in a variety of small-scale projects, the aim of this project is to overcome the challenges of implementing this technology at large scales. Learn more about UofM’s research.
Climate Change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released their 2018 Annual U.S. Climate Report and 2018 Annual Global Report. These reports conclude that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record worldwide, and that disasters in a warmer, wetter-than-average year cost $14 billion in damages. In this context, nearly 300 people gathered in Grand Rapids this month for the inaugural Michigan Climate Summit. A local television station produced this report of the event.
Public Policy Update
Dan Scripps Appointed to MPSC
Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Dan Scripps, of Northport, to the Michigan Public Service Commission on February 8, 2019. Mr. Scripps will succeed Rachael Eubanks who has resigned for a term expiring July 2, 2023 following her appointment as State Treasurer. MEECA looks forward to having Michigan’s newest commissioner as the keynote speaker for its upcoming Annual Banquet & Awards Celebration on March 6, 2019. More information about Commissioner Scripps is available at the MPSC website.
Gov. Whitmer Signs New Executive Order Creating EGLE
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order to create the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The department will include a new Office of Climate & Energy in addition to other functions previously housed in other departments. Those functions in the Michigan Agency for Energy that dealt with energy reliability and security are reassigned to the MPSC. All other MAE functions including the Michigan Energy Office will fall under EGLE. Click here to read Executive Order 2019-6.
Code of Conduct Rule 9 Collaborative Meeting Notice
In its order dated August 28, 2018 in Case No. U-18361, the Commission directed that MPSC Staff to convene a collaborative with the utilities and alternative electric suppliers who will be subject to the Code of Conduct rules, and all other interested parties, for “the purpose of identifying a process whereby competitors who wish to receive information that is shared by a utility under proposed Rule 9 make their request for the information known to the utility.” (see page 18, ordering paragraph C). MEECA will participate in the upcoming meeting during 9:00AM to 1:00PM on Monday, March 11, 2019 at Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), Lake Michigan Hearing Room 7109 W. Saginaw Highway in Lansing.
Michigan Energy Codes Compliance Collaborative
MEECA is participating in a newly formed stakeholder group focused on implementing Michigan building efficiency codes. Subgroups have been tasked with addressing the separate residential and commercial codes. These subgroups will meet next on March 7, 2019 during 9:30-11:30AM (commercial) and 1:00-3:00PM (residential).
Renewing Members
Duro-Last is now the world’s largest manufacturer of custom-fabricated roofing systems. Duro-Last Roofing Systems, our contractor installation team, customer service and best-in-class warranties all set the quality standards for the roofing industry.
Lean & Green Michigan™ helps commercial, industrial, multifamily and nonprofit property owners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that are profitable for all parties – property owners, contractors, financial institutions and local governments.
Lean & Green Michigan PACE financing allows a property owner to use the local government’s taxing authority to the property owner’s advantage. The property owner voluntarily enters into a special assessment agreement, which it pays off as part of its property tax bill over the next 15 to 25 years.
With six weeks to go until our 6th Annual Banquet & Awards Celebration, sponsorship and ticket sales are picking up. Don’t forget to register for the Michigan EE industry’s most anticipated networking opportunity of the year!
Reminder to MEECA members: The deadline for submitting award nominations is COB Friday, February 14th. If you have questions about the nominating process, contact David Gard at david@meeca.
The word ‘Green’ for many years has been considered synonymous with two things – Environmental Sustainability and Money. These two items, in consideration of Economic Stability have been at the core of GreeningDetroit.com’s mission since its inception. Relaying news on these topics while educating consumers and students as well as property owners and managers helps to expand the business relationships of the companies and organizations represented on our website and in our client base. Our goal has always been to help you stay informed and connected to the Tri-County areas local businesses, governments, non-profits, and educators, allowing them a platform to promote the positives and resources of Metro-Detroit. It’s been the key factor to our longevity and cheerleading style.
The Michigan Cannabis Industrial Marketplace will collaborate with Cann10 North America on a 5000 sq. ft. Pavilion dedicated to showcasing the latest Technology, Research, and Equipment in the Medical Cannabis Industry. The pavilion will focus on the emerging targeted medical cannabis market, and will be inside the upcoming MICannabis.com Expo on February 26th & 27th in Birch Run, Michigan.
Over 130 persons attended the GLREA Annual Meeting on Dec. 8 in Ypsilanti. Dave Strenski started the day talking about his approach to educating people on solar in Ypsilanti (hear presentation & see slides at:https://youtu.be/dUybW_Xo8gU). Julie Baldwin, MPSC, discussed the distributed energy tariff that DTE has proposed. Ken Zebarah of Harvest Energy moderated the afternoon panel session of Charles Gould, Dave Shiflett, Teresa Hatcher and Jim Harrison, all experts in their field of energy. The meeting finished up with a presentation and discussion by Patti Poppe, CEO of Consumers Energy. She shared how she is transitioning Consumers from a traditional utility to one that embraces renewable energy.
Feel what it’s like to ride on rugged terrain right on the auto show floor or climb through a netted bridge high above vehicles below. NAIAS has a long list of family-friendly activities for all ages, in addition to 750 vehicles on display and, of course, delicious snacks to enjoy. There will be special appearances by celebrity athletes and plenty of selfie ops. The fun runs from today through Sunday, Jan. 27.