Posted: Wednesday, 21 April 2010 10:43AM Granholm Touts Offshore Wind Power, Turbine Manufacturing | ||
Well over 300 people packed the Michgian Wind Energy Conference Tuesday and Wednesday at Detroit's Cobo Center to hear keynotes and panel discussion on the growth of clean, renewable wind power in the state. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was the Wednesday keynoter, saying Michigan wants to lead the wind industry in manufacturing of wind turbine hubs and blades -- not just in generating electricity from Great Lakes breezes though that's important too. "Michigan is going to be the place that solves the problems," Granholm said. "That's what we have done in the past for the auto industry and others, and it's what we're going to do for the clean energy industry as well ... We are positioned to make this happen. Announcements are coming on a daily basis now. We know that offshore wind requires the largest of turbines, and we intend to make those turbines here in Michigan and ship them elsewhere." Granholm mentioned an Eaton Rapids company, Dowding, now dooing business as Astraeus Energy, that has figured out a way to manufacture a complete wind turbine hub in four hours, vs. more than 20 hours for the current industry standard. She mentioned several other companies that have received federal stimulus grants to retool automotive production for renewable energy use. And she said Dow Chemical Co. is working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to make low-cost carbon fiber for wind turbine blades. Granholm also mentioned Michigan's huge untapped offshore wind resources, with favored sites in southwest Michigan off Berrien County, in the Saginaw Bay area and in southern Lake Huron, and in northern Lake Michigan off the southern coast of the Upper Peninsula. She said care would be taken to avoid conflict with marine wildlife, tourism and shipping. Granholm also said more Michigan manufacturers would soon be eligible for federal stimulus grants to retool for renewables production. "Despite the challenges we have been through as a state, and you can't wave a magic wand and have it happen overnight, but we have laid the foundation for a strong economy" in renewables, Granholm said. The Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association, Michigan's largest nonprofit renewable energy association, sponsored the two-day event. They gave Granholm a renewable energy leadership award that they said would be named after Granholm in the years going forward. GLREA president Howard Edelson said Michigan is now home to more than 100 companies in the wind energy sector, and that number continues to grow. Edelson praised Granholm for helping to attract more than $2 billion in solar energy investment in the state since 2008 and 12,500 solar energy jobs. He also said a Granholm executive order has reduced state government energy use 23 percent, saving $60 million. Following Granholm's speech, Detroit Edison president Steven Kurmas spoke on the utility's renewable energy efforts, including more wind power to comply with a state mandate of 10 percent renewables by 2015. Kurman initially misspoke and said the standard required 15 percent renewables, and then corrected himself and joked thathe "wouldn't mind" seeing that mandate boosted to 15 percent, drawing laughs and a smattering of applause -- as well as a joke from GLREA officials that there would soon be a Google alert on the news. Later, Orjiakor Isiogu, chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission, spoke of the state's manufacturing expertise as a key to growth in renewables. He spoke of the "Windspire experience," the decision of Nevada-based Mariah Power to begin building its Windspire vertical-axis wind turbines at the Manistee plant of Sterling Heights-based MasTech. "We know how to build things and build them well," Isiogu said. "We are seeing the beginnings of a wind revolution here in Michgian. It's not just large wind farms. Small wind is increasingly important in our Great Lakes state." | ||
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Friday, April 23, 2010
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