GLREA News "GLREA Annual Year End, Year Begin Meeting" will be held on zoom on
Saturday, December 3 beginning at 9:30 am. Members and anyone interested in learning more about GLREA are invited. The keynote speaker will be Professor Mark Jacobson of Stanford University
, a nationally known renewable energy advocate who has developed a Renewable Energy Transition Plan
for Michigan and every other state in the U.S. There will also be panel discussions on the Current State of Renewable Energy in Michigan, the new federal Inflation Reduction Act, and GLREA Program Activities. Tickets are $25 per person and you can deduct this from your taxes since GLREA is a non-profit. To purchase your ticket click on this link
https://www.2glrea.org/events and then click on the "For Information" and follow the directions.
Michigan News Grand Rapids City Officials have pursued plans for a large-scale solar project at the former Butterworth landfill for more than a decade. City officials now believe the project could be a "community solar" development in which city residents could subscribe to shares of the project's output. The MPSC approved a settlement agreement on July 27 that includes a new Consumers Energy "anchor tenant" pilot which will allow businesses and nonprofits to be a central tenant of a community solar program. This could be key in allowing the Butterworth project to move forward. The project could include 1.6 MW to feed into the city's downtown grid and a 2.5 MW community solar project.
More details Michigan DNR was presented with the Project of the Year award for its partnership with Utopian Power during the Michigan Energy Innovators Gala on Sept. 28. After careful planning and installation – making sure not to negatively affect the outdoor experience of visitors – solar arrays and electric vehicle charging stations were set up at several state properties.
More details Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Report has been submitted by the MPSC to state lawmakers. RNG is pipeline-quality biogas derived from the breakdown of organic matter from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, farm animal waste, crop residues or food waste. It is interchangeable with conventional natural gas. The study concludes that capturing RNG from existing waste streams can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly if it is derived from sources that create methane emissions.
Our Next Energy and Gotion have committed to opening electric vehicle battery plants in Michigan bringing the year's total gain to four. Business leaders say the move will give the state an edge in retaining auto manufacturing as the industry electrifies. The new plants, valued at $4 billion, will be located near Big Rapids and in western Wayne County. Previously announced projects by GM and LG Energy Solutions would be near Lansing and Holland. Collectively, the four projects could add about 7,300 new jobs and an estimated EV battery investment of $8.5 billion to the state.
More details Gov. Whitmer has signed a bill commissioning a feasibility study of increasing the amount of power generated from nuclear sources in Michigan. Michigan is home to DTE's Fermi 2 nuclear plant in Monroe County and American Electric Power's Donald C. Cook nuclear plant in Berrien County. Entergy's Palisades nuclear plant in Van Buren County closed this year after more than 50 years of operation. Whitmer is leading an effort to examine reopening the plant and placing it back into service. The state feasibility study will look at the environmental and economic effects of opening more nuclear power plants, consider possible locations for future nuclear facilities, and delve into safety criteria.
More details Beyond Michigan U.S. Department of Interior will hold the first-ever sale of offshore wind lease areas on the West Coast. A bidding process on Dec. 6 would determine which companies have the right to develop offshore wind farms in 5 areas off of the central and northern coasts of California, as
Reuters reports. The areas have winds that could generate 4.5 GW of energy. The Department has already leased many offshore areas on the East Coast.
Sunrun recently completed its first successful season running a residential Virtual Power Plant (VPP) in a wholesale capacity market, what it says is a first-of-its-kind in the country. In 2019, Sunrun won a bid into the Independent System Operator – New England, one of the largest wholesale electricity markets in the U.S., to participate in a VPP with its home solar and battery storage systems. Sunrun won against centralized fossil-fuel power plants. Sunrun reports that during the summer months of June through August, its New England VPP sent more than 1.8 GWh of energy to the grid.
More details Hydroelectricity output fell by 75 terrawatt-hours in Europe this year through September, more than the annual consumption of Greece, and fell 30% across China last month. In the US, generation is expected to fall to the lowest level in 6 years in September and October. Concern about the reliability of dams as the planet warms is compounding growing resistance to new hydropower projects in many countries. Hydropower is unlikely to keep its lead role in clean power for long. BloombergNEF expects an 18% increase in global hydropower capacity between now and 2050, compared to a more than 8-fold increase for solar and at least 3-fold rise in wind power.
More details General Motors will parlay the batteries originally meant for its electric cars into a new role as an all-purpose player on the electric grid. The automaker is establishing a new division, GM Energy, to compete with Tesla and others. The new enterprise, which also includes GM's fuel cell business, will include bi-directional charging (vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid), stationary storage, solar products, software applications, cloud management tools, microgrid solutions, hydrogen fuel cells and more.
More details Becoming a Member of GLREA GLREA encourages you to become a member. Members are the backbone of the organization and provide the ability to promote renewable energy and make needed changes in Michigan. Membership Dues are $30 per year and you can deduct them from your taxes because GLREA is a non-profit organization. To become a member just go to our website
https://www.2glrea.org/membership, then scroll down and click on the 'Become a GLREA Member' button.
This newsletter is free. If you would like to subscribe, send a note to
johnsarver3@gmail.com. Interested in getting information on energy programs and issues more frequently, visit our
Facebook page and "follow" us.