HOUGHTON - Support for solar energy is vast. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, 79 percent of Americans want the US to put more emphasis on developing solar power. Most of the same people, unfortunately, can’t afford to install solar energy systems in their homes. Even after federal tax credits, installing solar panels to cover
SOUTHFIELD - Thirty students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn have been sharing three battery-electric Ford Focus cars for the past three weeks as part of a long-term study that will help shape the future of vehicle sharing. The experiment was crafted by auto supplier Denso and NextEnergy, a Detroit-based accelerator of advanced energy and mobility
LANSING - Energy experts have dubbed 2016 as solar power’s breakthrough year, with an expected increase of 119 percent. Much of this increase has to do with the sharply falling installation costs. Being a clean, renewable, and low-cost energy source, it’s no surprise solar is becoming so popular. Here’s how your small business can reap
LANSING - Utility providers met a combined average of 121 percent of their electric energy savings targets and 117 percent of their natural gas energy savings targets in 2015, the Public Service Commission's latest report on utility energy optimization programs released Wednesday shows. The combined savings targets account for 1 percent of retail sales for
ANN ARBOR - SF Motors has chosen the Ann Arbor region for its U.S. electric vehicle research and development operations. The Chinese company will invest more than $10.7 million in the project, which will create 150 new jobs, after getting a $1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. SF Motors is a subsidiary of
LANSING - Passing a long-term energy policy remains a goal for both Democrats and Republicans in the House, and members are expected to study the proposal passed by the Senate and determine how much support it has when the Legislature returns for lame duck next month. House Minority Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), who has
ANN ARBOR - A national survey of consumer attitudes towards plug-in electric vehicles suggests that people would prefer control to convenience in many charging scenarios, and also that renewable energy sources are an important component. The survey, released Thursday by researchers Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, includes
LONDON - If leading scientists writing in one of the most respected academic journals are right, planet Earth could be on course for global warming of more than seven degrees Celsius within a lifetime. And that, according to one of the world’s most renowned climatologists, could be “game over.” Scientists have long tried to work
HOUGHTON - Michigan Technological University has received $2.8 million from the US Department of Energy to develop next-generation control systems for light-duty hybrid electric vehicles. Tech is one of three Michigan recipients of a total of $8.5 million in new grants from DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Nationwide, 10 projects received $32 million in funding
LANSING - State Sen. Mike Nofs, chair of the Senate Energy and Technology Committee, has conceded that in order to get Democrats on board with his energy policy proposal, there will be an increased renewable energy standard of 15 percent by 2021, which would put Michigan ahead of some states in the Midwest but well
