Displaying items tagged: energy

BOYNE CITY — A northwestern Michigan electric cooperative and internet provider has secured a $262.8 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build and improve 438 miles of electric grid infrastructure and 2,420 miles of fiber network.

A Chicago-based environmental law group is launching a new initiative this year to work with Michigan utilities and local governments on potentially repurposing closed or soon-to-retire coal plants with public amenities and renewable energy generation.

LANSING — State regulators have approved an agreement between Consumers Energy and more than a dozen interest groups that will open a solar energy program to potentially thousands more homeowners and businesses.

A Midwest environmental law group is launching a “major new” initiative this year to work with utilities, municipalities and conservation groups to study the potential reuse of Michigan coal plants as public parkland as well as renewable energy production.

CLARE — A mid-Michigan energy storage manufacturer is raising $50 million in capital to scale up production of its lead-acid battery technology, which executives say will be crucial to accompany growing amounts of intermittent renewable energy generation.

BATTLE CREEK — Davis Oil Co., a convenience store operator with 21 locations in West Michigan, has sold to Lawrenceville, Ga.-based Majors Management LLC. 

Two months ago, a group of environmental and clean energy groups issued a report examining how well Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s climate change action plan would actually meet its target of statewide net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Michigan’s second-largest electric utility is studying the potential to repurpose two soon-to-close coal plants with clean energy such as solar and battery storage.

HOLLAND — An equity investment from United Airlines Ventures could allow a startup advanced battery company to ramp up production in Holland via a partnership with automotive battery supplier Clarios International Inc. 

COVERT TWP. — While the recent denial of funding to reopen the Palisades nuclear power plant handicaps Michigan’s short-term emission-reduction goals, the state’s top energy regulator says new federal laws will create additional clean energy opportunities.

Michigan’s two largest investor-owned utilities say tax credit provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act will speed up their investments in solar, wind and battery storage and could lead them to owning more facilities that earn a return on those investments.

SHOREHAM — Southwest Michigan automation manufacturer Eagle Technologies Group will add 100 jobs by 2024 and is leasing additional engineering and manufacturing space near St. Joseph to accommodate recent growth.

KENTWOOD — Contract medical device manufacturer Autocam Medical Devices LLC is embracing a suite of clean energy products at its new 120,000-square-foot Kentwood headquarters, including a large solar installation and energy efficiency technologies.

The global transition to electric vehicles and low-carbon transportation is well underway and creating a high-stakes competition among countries, and even states, to capture the associated manufacturing jobs.

The advanced transportation sector is driving Michigan’s clean energy job growth that has experienced steady increases after a pandemic-related downturn. 

A state board has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in tax exemptions and performance-based grants to help lure two large battery manufacturing projects that promise more than 4,000 jobs and nearly $4 billion in investment.

A long-discussed plan for a large solar project at the former Butterworth landfill in Grand Rapids could be moving forward under a recent settlement agreement approved by state energy regulators.

GRAND RAPIDS — A recent settlement agreement approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission could finally create a viable path forward for a long-discussed solar project on a Grand Rapids brownfield.

Hope College is partnering with local officials to determine Ottawa County’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure needs in the coming years as automakers and utilities forecast increased vehicle adoption.

Over the past few years, corporate demand for cleaner energy to power their operations has directly led to the development of large-scale wind and solar projects across Michigan.

COVERT TWP. — The odds of a Southwest Michigan nuclear plant coming back to life after recently closing have improved as the owner pursues targeted federal funding for distressed nuclear facilities.

Dana Lowell and his co-founders at Lilypad Labs Inc. have set out to change the way we think about accessing water — an abundant resource in West Michigan that at times can be out of reach for some.

The wind and solar industries could fully replace the number of lost jobs at U.S. coal-fired power plants that are expected to close to meet emission-reduction targets, a recent University of Michigan study has found.

Legislation similar to bills that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed in 2020 involving the taxation of commercial solar energy developments was reintroduced this summer with changes to gain broader support from local governments.

Multiple highway corridors through West Michigan would land high-speed electric vehicle charging stations in the coming years under a plan submitted last week for federal infrastructure funding.

PORT SHELDON TWP. — Consumers Energy’s recently approved plan to shut down the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Ottawa County in 2025 has caused a breach of contract dispute between the utility and another electricity provider.

Katherine Peretick was appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission in 2021 for a term that expires in 2027. In that time, Michigan and other states are transitioning through a crucial moment for the energy and utility industries as hulking, centralized fossil fuel plants are displaced by clean energy technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

COVERT TWP. — Southwest Michigan economic development officials are hoping to lure new employers to the region to help offset the job losses from the retirement of the Palisades nuclear power plant along Lake Michigan.

Michigan energy regulators have reopened a case involving Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline and the company’s request to build an underground tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac, calling for more information on the line’s current and future safety.

Michigan added more energy-sector jobs than any other state in 2021, boosted primarily by the automotive industry and growing attention to hybrid and electric vehicle models.