GREEN POST!

Alternative energy summit offers hope for cleaner, greener state

Posted on 11/6/2007 2:44:07 PM Opportunities abound for Michiganders to save money and energy with existing alternative energy technologies. And many will also help boost Michigan's economy and employment. That was the word from a packed house Tuesday morning an an alternative energy summit sponsored by Glima Livingston, Automation Alley's trade association for technology professionals in Livingston County, and the Brighton Chamber of Commerce.The two organizations filled a room at the Crystal Gardens banquet center between Brighton and Howell for the event. NextEnergy title Mark Beyer opened the event by describing the state's efforts at promoting alternative and renewable energy technologies into commercial businesses. The job potential in the field is "huge, actually," Beyer said, "now that climate change has become pretty much a given in the fields of policymaking and public opinion. The global culture is embracing the need to be careful about our carbon output, conserve energy and use lighter weight nonpolluting materials." Virtually every industry, he said, can gain competitive advantage in the hearts and minds of consumers and partners by pushing a green agenda. Michigan has a need for the chemistry and technology professionals to solve battery and solar photovoltaic challenges. And, he said, the real estate and geological worlds will find new opportunities in wind farms and geothermal activity. He challenged those attending to look at what they do and study how to bend it toward renewable energy and energy efficiency. Next up: Rob Derksen of Whitmore Lake-based Michigan Energy Services, which provides geothermal heating and cooling systems. Geothermal heating uses the heat contained in groundwater -- which stays at 52 degres Fahrenheit year-around -- to both heat and cool a home. The only actual energy used is the electricity to pump water and transfer its heat or cooling power, depending on the season. Derksen used his own house as an example of the advantages of the system -- a 2,800 square foot home in Saline with a complete 2,800-square-foot walkout basement. He says he heats and cools that space for about $800 a year, vs. $2,100 a year for natural gas and $3,400 a year wtih propane. He said geothermal pays for itself when bundled into the mortgage on a new home, and on existing homes, payback is 3.6 years if you heat with propane, 7.3 years if you heat with natural gas. The event wrapped up with Larry C. Kauffman, principal program manager at DTE Energy, speaking about the utility's GreenCurrents alternative electricity program. More than 6,000 of DTE's two million ratepayers have signed up for the program so far. The program charges an extra 2 cents a kilowatt-hour to fund the development of renewable energy installations in Michigan. So far, the program has resulted in the building of three renewable energy plants in the state -- a wind farm in Michigan's Thumb, and two biopower plants that use the methane created by decomposing animal dung to generate power. Kauffman referred to the latter plants as "remooable energy," drawing a groan or two. Kauffman said renewable energy creates economic growth, mostly in rural areas, and also helps in energy independence. He said renewables are still more expensive than fossil fuel, but that the gap is narrowing. Michigan generates just 3 percent of its energy from renewable energy, vs. 6 percent nationally. However, that's about to change -- Kauffman said DTE is proposing 300 new megawatts of wind power. Michigan has the most wind power generation potential of any state east of the Mississippi, and is 14th nationally. He also praised solar power for heating water, saying those systems offer seven to 10 year paybacks. That's not true with photovoltaics, which remain prohibitively expensive (but are terrific technology, he added).