LANSING - The MPSC has encouraged Michigan's investor-owned electric utilities to propose pilot programs for integrating batteries and other energy storage devices that take electricity from the grid and store it for later use as the Commission works to implement the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order No. 841 of 2018 (Case No. U-21032). FERC's Order No. 841 seeks to
DETROIT - Electric vehicles were in the spotlight last week when former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, now US Energy Secretary, visited Southeast Michigan to support passage of the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act that passed the U.S. Senate today on a 69-30 vote. As part of the bill, President Biden wants to make electric
GRAND RAPIDS - West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, Kent County Essential Needs Taskforce and other partners are hosting a forum to discuss how the private and public sector are demonstrating leadership on climate change and community development. The event will highlight the opportunity for innovation and investment to advance the Michigan economy and improve environmental
NEW YORK - The newest climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that climate change is "unequivocally" caused by humans and warns that global temperatures are expected to reach a significant warming milestone in the next 20 years. The planet is expected to reach average temperatures that are 1.5 degrees warmer than
GRAND RAPIDS - West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum elected eight local professionals to its 16-member board of directors at its Annual Meeting last week. New board members include Amy Butler, Director of Sustainability at Michigan State University; Misti Stanton, Assistant Vice President and Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Mercantile Bank, Zachary Verhulst, founder and managing
CADILLAC—Officials of Consumers Energy, the state of Michigan, and the city of Cadillac last week dedicated the company’s third solar power plant, Cadillac Solar Gardens. Consumers Energy’s Clean Energy Plan proposes using nearly 8,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2040, ending the use of coal by 2025, achieving net zero carbon emissions and saving customers
GRAND RAPIDS - West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum and Lakeshore Sustainability Forum will welcome back professionals from across the region for a joint event on August 9 highlighting major sustainability initiatives underway on the Lakeshore. Featured speakers include Marty Gerencer, Executive Director of West Michigan Food Processing Association, Wendy Ogilvie, Director of Environmental Programs for
CHICAGO – A survey of 78 Michigan cities, villages and other jurisdictions along the Great Lakes shows that coastal damage from climate change will cost at least $260 million over the next five years, with shoreline communities having already spent $151 million over the past two years. These figures only represent a fraction of the
ANN ARBOR, MI — Ann Arbor is advancing plans for a 24-megawatt solar farm in Pittsfield Township under a “community solar” model allowing community members to buy into it to support renewable energy. City Council voted unanimously this week to OK a development agreement with the township for the huge installation at the City’s Wheeler
DETROIT – Repela Tech LLC, a Detroit-based sustainability tech startup from Wayne State University, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II grant totaling $993,788 for research and development on a patent-pending (WSU Tech ID 20-1601), first-of-a-kind, safe antifouling marine coating. The project, “STTR Phase II: The Next Generation of
