Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/tag/energy/)
An Ida lawmaker is leading the push to extend Michigan’s use of federal aid to help low-income households cover their heating costs. Co-sponsors include Escanaba, Hart and Battle Creek senators. The Trump Administration wants to eliminate the assistanc…
Some farmers are finding that leasing their land for solar power is more profitable than growing crops.
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By SAM CORDEN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Researchers working in wetlands in Michigan have a new approach to invasive plants. Instead of removing plants like phragmites and switchgrass, they harvest them. These plants are a threat to biodiversity, they say, but invasive plants can benefit farmers and even power homes. Scientists are working in the middle of the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge which has 10,000 acres of marshes, bogs, forest and farmland. Everywhere you look, there’s a hawk or a herring.
By SHRUTI SARIPALLI
Capital News Service
LANSING — Michigan can save money in the move towards clean energy by choosing
a path that limits the amount of carbon dioxide produced by power plants, says a new electric industry report. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a non-lobbying national research institute, reports that this is possible due to the expected closures of coal-based power plants in the next 15 years. By the year 2030, Michigan’s electric utilities have to cut emissions by almost 32 percent of their 2005 levels under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. The institute’s report explores two options to make that happen. The cheapest one is to limit the number of tons of carbon dioxide produced statewide each year, an option called the mass-based pathway, said David Young, project manager at the institute.
By COLLEEN OTTE
Capital News Service
LANSING — Michigan’s solar future is so bright that advocates say you might have to wear shades. Assuming all goes as planned, Michigan may soon see a solar project nearly 50 times larger than its largest existing installation. The state’s biggest solar project now operating is a 1.1 megawatt generator owned by DTE Energy in Ann Arbor, said John Sarver, president of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. “But there are much bigger projects planned, including 10 megawatts at Michigan State University and 20 megawatts with the Lansing Board of Water & Light,” Sarver said. DTE is constructing a 1.9-megawatt solar array that will be the largest in the state when it comes on line at the end of the year, said DTE communications specialist Vanessa Waters.
By YUEHAN LIU
Capital News Service
LANSING—Consumers Energy plans to hire more than 50 line workers to expand its electric line workforce next year to respond more effectively to emergencies. In addition, the company will hire up to 50 apprentice line workers annually for the next several years. “The goal is to hire more qualified workers to increase the workforce that responds to emergencies, enhances system reliability and restores electric service following storms,” Terry DeDoes, the public information director at Consumers Energy, said. According to DeDoes, the company currently has 700 line workers. Typically, line workers are on the job eight hours a day, and their work hours might increase during storms and other emergencies.
By COLLEEN OTTE
Capital News Service
LANSING –A new web application calculates the sources of energy used by people in Michigan and lets them adjust the mix on their screen to reflect their preferences. PicMyEnergyMix – developed by the Clean Energy Now Coalition, Engage Michigan and Resource Media – is still in the piloting stage, said Marissa Luna, Engage Michigan’s new media specialist. Developers hope to expand the app to more states, beyond Michigan and Colorado where it’s now available, and utility companies, she said. “It shows you the types of energy that are being used by your utility to power your home,” said Luna. In Michigan, DTE and Consumers Energy customers can see what powers their homes – whether it’s coal, natural gas or another resource – and the percentages of each.
By: MORGAN LINN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Great Lakes shipping has the potential to go green. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) could replace oil as the fuel of choice for the freshwater ships, according to a recent study published by the Transportation Research Board. But conversion costs, declining fuel prices and processing capacity are barriers. To examine the feasibility of conversion, researchers studied the S.S. Badger, a coal-burning ferry that runs across Lake Michigan between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. “It was a good platform for us to take a look at and model,” said Carol Wolosz, an author of the study and the executive director of the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute.