Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
WCS MMSTC Renewable Energy Institute gets Governor Granholm's GREEN-STAMP of Approval!
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's call for a sharp increase in renewable energy production in Michigan is a real economic development opportunity, according to those in the industry.
"I think the renewable energy industry has been trying to grow and develop on its own, and with the support now of the governor, and as we are able to offer incentives, the public will come along," said Jennifer Alvarado, executive director of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. "This is the strategy that the industry needs. I think the state will attract new businesses, especially those in large wind projects and those selling solar panels."
There should also be growth in renewable energy installation and maintenance companies.
The State of the State Address called on goals for 1,000 schools to reduce energy use and supplement electricity use with options like solar and wind electricity.
“By bringing renewable energy systems to our schools, we create an opportunity to educate an entire community and students about alternative energy options,” added Alvarado.
State officials already passed legislation last year that 10 percent of the state's electricity sold must come from renewable sources.
Tuesday, Granholm called for a “45 by '20” plan, for Michigan to pursue a 45 percent reduction in fossil fuel use for generating electricity by the year 2020. NextEnergy, the state's alternative energy accelerator, said Wednesday that Michigan spends $2 billion a year importing coal from other states and that coal supplies Michigan with 80 percent of the its electricity currently.
Rodger A. Kershner, an attorney at Howard & Howard in Royal Oak with a long practice in the energy industry, said that plan amounts to "a backwards way" of boosting that 10 percent of renewable power to 20 percent by 2020. Kershner said that with a new nuclear plant for Detroit Edison and a sharp increase in wind power, the 45 percent could be reached -- and in so doing, renewables boosted to 20 percent.
Will Granholm get the plan approved? "I don't know," Kershner said. "Industry won't like it. Republicans won't like it. But she has dressed it up in a 'This is the way out of our financial woes' clothing, and it is exciting."
Fellow Howard & Howard attorney Jon D. Kreucher said there's also movement toward a serious energy efficiency effort in state schools, and schools "seem to be pretty high value targets in terms of driving down demand by increasing efficiency."
NextEnergy released a statement Wednesday supporting Granholm’s proposal.
THINK: EduWood Digital Learning Studios!
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
Monday, February 2, 2009
EDUCATION Going Green?
New Jersey Group Backs Brighton Firm's School Wind Energy Plan
The New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability has signed a letter to President Barack Obama endorsing the Project EverGreen Schools program being promoted by Partners Green, a Brighton wind energy group.
Partners Green launched a petition that seeks a national energy policy consistent with President Obama's plan for renewable energy and education at our nation's schools. Partners Green has asked all parties to sign on to its “Letter to President Obama” before delivering the letter on Feb. 26.
“We welcome the opportunity to join Partners Green effort to raise awareness of this important issue and to inform our 47 New Jersey member higher education institutions," said John Cusack, executive director for the New Jersey partnership, adding that its membership "believes that the Project EverGreen Schools program effort should be an important and key part of the economic stimulus package of the new administration. The program meets higher education's need for renewable energy to reduce energy price volatility and reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions, creates clean sustainable jobs for the economy and our school's graduates, and helps colleges and universities fulfill their educational mission by having examples of renewable energy projects on their campuses for hands-on teaching purposes."
Project EverGreen involves installing vertical-axis wind turbines at school sites, both to produce green power and as a living energy laboratory on which students can work.
Said Kevin Cook, president of the Partners Green board: “The NJHEPS endorsement, along with many others across the country, of our 'Say Yes to Green Schools' petition and 'Letter to President Obama' is leading a groundswell of support for the Project EverGreen Schoold program."
For more information, contact Cusack at jcusack@njheps.org or visit www.cleangreenenergyllc.com.