Clean Update

Nanoparticles Could Usher In Age Of Invisibility Cloaks

ANN ARBOR - The science fiction of invisibility cloaking devices may become science fact after University of Michigan researchers announced this week they have developed a new technique that peppers metallic nanoparticles into semiconductors. The advance also could boost the efficiency of LED lighting by about 50 percent. It's the first technique that can inexpensively

By |2017-07-20T07:02:47-04:00July 19th, 2017|Clean Update|

Top U.S. Solar Car Team Goes Small To Win Big In 2017

ANN ARBOR—The sun-powered vehicle that the University of Michigan’s top-ranked Solar Car Team will race in a global contest this fall is the smallest and most aerodynamic that any U-M team has ever built. The long, skinny, single-fairing car is named Novum—Latin for “new thing.” For a week in October, a 17-member race crew will

By |2017-07-14T10:25:04-04:00July 14th, 2017|Clean Update|

Summer Forecast – Another Algal Bloom To Foul Lake Erie

ANN ARBOR - Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water, University of Michigan researchers and their business partners predict that western Lake Erie will again experience a significant harmful algal bloom this summer, approaching the record bloom of 2015. The Lake Erie forecast was released Thursday by the National Oceanic

By |2017-07-13T17:35:49-04:00July 13th, 2017|Clean Update|

Amid Regulatory Shakeup, Cautious Optimism Emerges Among Small Power Plant Operators

JACKSON - Small, independently owned power plants across Michigan are locked in a battle with Jackson-based Consumers Energy over what may very well decide their fate. In a rate case before the Michigan Public Service Commission that’s expected to be settled in mid July, state regulators are setting a new course for how these independently owned facilities

By |2017-07-12T19:24:46-04:00July 12th, 2017|Clean Update|

New Report: Rooftop Solar Provides Benefits To Michigan’s Electric Grid

LANSING – Utility customers with rooftop solar systems, known as solar distributed generation (DG), are providing economic support to Michigan’s electric grid and should not be overcharged to support it. That is among the findings of an analysis by the Institute for Energy Innovation, “Solar Energy in Michigan: The Economic Impact of Distributed Generation (DG)

By |2017-07-07T13:30:12-04:00July 7th, 2017|Clean Update, ESD|

Climate Policy: Americans Want States To Pick Up Federal Slack

ANN ARBOR - A majority of Americans across the political spectrum believe states are responsible for addressing climate change in the absence of federal policy, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers. The National Surveys on Energy and Environment track public opinion on climate change and energy policy. This update gives a

By |2017-06-21T20:17:59-04:00June 21st, 2017|Clean Update|

Most Drivers Could Go Electric Within 10 Years

ANN ARBOR - Electric and hybrid electric vehicles are in the fast lane to wider adoption, according to a new study by University of Michigan researchers, that contends most drivers could go electric within the next decade. The researchers analyzed the present status of electric vehicles in the U.S., their life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and

By |2017-06-21T16:55:05-04:00June 21st, 2017|Clean Update|

Michigan Clean Energy Fair This Weekend In Traverse City

ROYAL OAK - The Michigan Clean Energy Conference & Fair will be held in Traverse City June 23 - 25. And new Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association Executive Director John Freeman provides all the details in this M2 TechCast Update. The Friday afternoon session on June 23 will take place at the State Theater, 233

By |2017-06-20T20:42:27-04:00June 20th, 2017|Clean Update, M2 TechCast, New Products / Contracts, Podcasts|

New Technology Uses Sunlight To Turn Salt Water Into Fresh Drinking Water

HOUSTON – A federally funded research effort to revolutionize water treatment has yielded an off-grid technology that uses energy from sunlight alone to turn salt water into fresh drinking water. The desalination system, which uses a combination of membrane distillation technology and light-harvesting nanophotonics, is the first major innovation from the Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water

By |2017-06-19T21:07:53-04:00June 19th, 2017|Clean Update|

Michigan Democrats To Introduce 50 Percent Renewable Energy Standard

LANSING - Legislative Democrats said Thursday they are introducing legislation to more than triple the percentage of electricity utilities generate from renewable sources to 50 percent by 2035, as well as double the energy efficiency standard to 2 percent starting in 2022. The move comes months after the Legislature passed, and Governor Rick Snyder signed,

By |2017-06-16T11:10:04-04:00June 16th, 2017|Clean Update, Politics|