Displaying items by tag: energy

Clean energy and housing advocates in Michigan are working to spend down an increasing amount of weatherization funds with a shrinking pool of contractors at their disposal. 

The global energy transition that is underway to combat the worst effects of climate change can be encapsulated along roughly 125 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.

GRAND RAPIDS — CMS Energy and Spectrum Health West Michigan are partnering on a new solar energy project that will help meet the power needs at a planned 80-bed subacute rehabilitation center on the city’s northeast side.

The planned May 31 closure date of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Van Buren County is now in limbo after federal officials last week issued guidance on a new $6 billion program to save operating U.S. nuclear plant.

Michigan’s two major electric utilities that jointly own the Ludington Pumped Hydro Storage power plant along Lake Michigan claim the contractor hired for a $500 million upgrade of the facility has “delivered defective work” and is failing to meet contractual deadlines.

COVERT — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state energy regulators now see a path to keep the Palisades Power Plant in Van Buren County open beyond its scheduled May 31 closing date in hopes of preserving hundreds of jobs and a major clean energy resource.

COVERT — The owner of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Southwest Michigan disclosed last week that 184 jobs will be eliminated soon after the plant permanently closes on May 31.

Major automakers, craft breweries and an outdoor recreation resort are among Michigan companies calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to finalize a statewide climate action plan that includes a carbon neutral target by 2050.

KENTWOOD — Certified B Corp and food producer The GFB: The Gluten Free Bar is now participating in a Consumers Energy program to offset its Kentwood production facility’s electricity usage entirely with renewable energy.

Michigan is seeking more than $30 million in federal funding to accelerate the cleanup of hundreds of abandoned oil and gas wells across the state.

BOYNE CITY — Michigan’s largest member-owned electric utility is poised for new leadership as Shaun Lamp prepares to take over as president and CEO of Great Lakes Energy on March 19.

WALKER — Meijer Inc. has signed a 15-year contract to purchase output from a large-scale solar project in Texas under an agreement that will offset the retailer’s carbon emissions.

Consumers Energy announced plans today that it will issue 200 rebates over the next two years to help offset the cost for site hosts to install electric vehicle charging stations.

JACKSON — Consumers Energy plans to provide 200 rebates for electric vehicle charging stations in its Lower Peninsula service territory over the next two years.

DETROIT — DTE Energy is planning to scale up its voluntary renewable energy program because of growing demand from businesses and residents seeking to offset their electricity usage with clean energy sources.

GRAND RAPIDS — The city of Grand Rapids has joined 32 other state and local governments across the country in the National Building Performance Standard Coalition that the Biden administration rolled out on Jan. 22.

Legislation signed into law late last year by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer aims to speed up the process for building certain electric transmission lines in Michigan, which a major operator says is crucial in helping to facilitate the clean energy transition.

An oil and gas pipeline expert testifying in a permitting case involving Enbridge’s Line 5 says state energy staffers are downplaying the risk of a potentially catastrophic explosion within a proposed tunnel that would carry oil and propane beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

Roughly a week after lawmakers passed a $1 billion program to incentivize major advanced automotive projects in Michigan, state energy regulators followed suit today by approving special electricity rates to support such industrial projects.

While major utilities often garner headlines as power generators and providers, electric transmission companies are often behind the scenes as the critical infrastructure that moves power to customers.

A little more than a year after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Enbridge to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, the state retreated on its key lawsuit seeking to close the twin pipelines.

Major investor-owned utilities Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are seeking expedited approval from state regulators to create new economic development electricity rates aimed at attracting major manufacturing projects.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive setting priorities for millions of dollars Michigan is poised to receive under the federal infrastructure bill for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Michigan’s two largest investor-owned utilities seek to play a more active role in economic development — particularly in luring advanced manufacturing facilities to the state — with plans to offer new electricity rates for large expansion projects.

Advanced automotive battery suppliers are considering a pair of West Michigan cities for new or expanded manufacturing facilities, MiBiz has learned. 

GRAND RAPIDS — City officials will leverage more than $1.4 million in state grant funding to buy 12 new diesel- and compressed natural gas-powered fleet vehicles as part of a climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

GRAND RAPIDS — Increasing corporate concerns over climate change and growing energy management awareness is fueling growth for Foresight Management. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Fuel distributor Crystal Flash Inc. is expanding its service territory in the Midwest following the acquisition of an Illinois-based fuel and propane provider.

The state Legislature has been active in recent weeks on energy bills being championed by West Michigan lawmakers. 

A coalition of energy businesses and clean energy advocates is calling for a $600 million investment of federal pandemic relief funding into clean transportation initiatives.