Posts Tagged ‘Michigan’
Great Lakes offshore projects stall as political winds shift
>> Greenwire
An offshore wind farm in Denmark. (Photo by Kim Hansen via Creative Commons)
© 2012 E&E Publishing, LLC
Reprinted with permission
By Lawrence Hurley
LANSING, Mich. — Nursing a coffee in a café just yards from the Michigan Capitol, Stanley “Skip” Pruss allowed himself to mourn political changes that have slowed state development of wind farms in the Great Lakes.
Under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), a clean energy advocate, Michigan made progress with Pruss — then director of the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth — playing a key role.
The Great Lakes Wind Council that he helped set up went as far as to produce draft legislation that would set up a regulatory framework for an offshore wind sector.
Now, Pruss is outside looking in.
In January 2011, Granholm left office after two terms and was replaced by Rick Snyder (R). With all eyes focused on economic recovery, offshore wind took a back seat. Outspoken public opposition in some quarters and the costs and engineering challenges associated with such projects haven’t helped.
It is a story that helps explain why there are no offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes, despite estimates that the lakes could generate up to 700 gigawatts of electricity. Even 1 gigawatt of offshore wind could power 300,000 homes and potentially avoid 2.7 metric tons of carbon emissions, according to the Obama administration.
It’s not just Michigan that has yet to open a clear regulatory pathway for offshore wind. Other Great Lakes states — not to mention Ottawa and Quebec in Canada — are in a similar situation.
Aside from a change in the political and economic climate, the states must find a way to issue permits for projects that have never been done before.
Even the Obama administration’s recent announcement that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with states to streamline federal regulations to free up wind developers is unlikely to have a huge impact in the short term, people involved in the issue in Michigan agree.
“It’s frustrating. It’s disappointing,” Pruss said. “But I remain optimistic.”
New framework
In October 2010, offshore wind energy in Michigan appeared to have considerable momentum.
It was then that the state wind council issued its 70-page report outlining what was needed to kick-start offshore wind energy on the portions of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior and Lake Huron that are under the state’s jurisdiction.
As Pruss, who chaired the council, recalled, the consensus was that the existing permitting program “never envisioned the use of the bottomlands for offshore wind.”
The report recommended a legislative framework that would allow for the “most favorable” areas for leasing to be subject to public bids soon after the legislature took action.
Less than two years later, the report is languishing.
Snyder, while not overtly hostile to wind energy, has not exactly been a cheerleader for it either.
Although he signed the recent agreement with the Obama administration along with four other governors, he has also questioned the viability of offshore wind at present and said he would not support legislation that would clear a path for development.
“The technical and cost barriers to offshore wind are still very significant,” Snyder said in a statement. “We need the research efforts to bear more fruit before we redesign the regulatory framework we have in place. Our current system protects Michigan’s interests at this time.”
Pruss, who now works for 5 Lakes Energy, a clean energy consulting firm, concedes enthusiasm has waned.
“I think the administration is cognizant of Great Lakes issues as they pertain to wind energy,” he said. “They are mindful there is need for a new framework.”
As for the Legislature, it is “in two minds,” according to Pruss, in large part because of opposition from often well-heeled shoreline residents who do not like the idea of wind turbines ruining their views.
Icebreaker in Lake Erie
What’s happened in Michigan mirrors events in the other seven Great Lakes states.
From her corner office at the Great Lakes Commission, located incongruously in a suburban office park in Ann Arbor, Victoria Pebbles has a better perspective than most on obstacles facing offshore wind. All eight Great Lakes states are members of the commission, while Ottawa and Quebec both play a role too.
Pebbles is staff director of the commission’s “wind collaborative” that, as she put it during a recent interview, “assumes wind is going to happen,” but the coalition is not promoting it.
Currently, none of the eight states has enacted wind-specific legislation. All are tackling the same issues as Michigan, albeit in different ways. Ohio, for example, believes it can tailor existing regulations.
It is also the state that is “furthest along,” according to Pebbles.
The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., known as LEEDCo, is planning a 20- to 30-megawatt pilot project, consisting of five to seven turbines, 7 miles offshore from Cleveland. But even that is only at the planning stage.
There is a reason why the Ohio project is called “Icebreaker.”
LEEDCo started with a pilot project in hopes of gradually winning public confidence, spokesman Donny Davis said.
“We are looking at this as a small initial demonstration project, as a means to building the industry in Ohio,” he said in an interview.
The small scale of the proposal also helps navigate the state bureaucracy. When it comes to seeking permits, the process will be fluid. Davis uses phrases like “open dialogue” and “collaborate approach” when describing how LEEDCo plans to proceed.
Icebreaker is the guinea pig that will help not just future developers but also state bureaucrats as they figure out how wind farms differ from other types of projects that require offshore leasing, Davis said.
Even if Icebreaker is more likely to happen than other projects in the Great Lakes, Davis says it is suffering from the same problems faced by similar efforts in Michigan, exacerbated by the fact that natural gas, not offshore wind, is the top priority for Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R).
“It’s the same everywhere,” Davis said. “There hasn’t been a governor who is a table-pounder for offshore wind.”
‘Uncertain’
The Obama administration’s announcement last month of the memorandum of understanding seemed like an attempt to urge the states forward (Greenwire, March 30).
But its effect will be limited because the federal government does not have exclusive jurisdiction. Only with the cooperation of states is anything going to happen, and three states — Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin — didn’t sign the agreement.
Pebbles noted, however, the deal could help focus attention on what states need to do to because “it will expose where the gaps are and identify areas where legislation is needed.”
The states that did not sign “had no technical issues” with the agreement, Pebbles said. In the future, she added, “they can sign up, if they so desire.”
LEEDCo’s Davis downplayed that fact that Ohio did not sign the agreement, saying it only marks “preliminary discussions” and shouldn’t necessary hamper future growth.
Back in Lansing, Pruss still believes legislation will be needed to make Michigan a leader in the field.
In the meantime, the future remains cloudy.
Asked whether a wind developer could pursue a Michigan project right now, Pruss pursed his lips.
“It’s uncertain,” he said.
Enbridge plans to expand Michigan, Indiana pipeline
>> Reuters
Enbridge plans to spend $1.3 billion doubling the capacity of its Line 6B in Michigan and Indiana as refiners boost demand for inexpensive Canadian crude.
Editorial: Drill everywhere? Not so fast, legislators
>> Detroit Free Press
You think residents of high-end lakeside homes in Oakland County got a shock when they learned drilling rights in their neighborhood were going on the auction block? Well, stay tuned: It’s a shock that could arise almost anywhere in Michigan if a group of state lawmakers has its way.
Habitat homes achieve efficiency and affordability
A Habitat for Humanity chapter in North Carolina built this zero-energy house in 2005, thought to be the first of its kind in the state. (Photo by skrobotic via Creative Commons)
Volunteers last year helped East Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity build one of the state’s most energy-efficient homes.
The 1,100-square-foot ranch-style house in Princeton, Minnesota, includes a solar water heater, exterior insulation, and Energy Star appliances.
Altogether, those and other energy saving features are expected to help the single mother who bought the home save $769 annually on her utility bills.
Across the country, Habitat for Humanity is demonstrating that efficiency and affordability can go together. Its leaders are making the case that a little extra upfront investment in efficiency pays off in the long run.
“We can’t afford not to,” says Molly Berg, sustainable buildings specialist at Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota. “Small changes that we can make up front during the planning and construction process actually result in long-term, large changes in the abilities of a family to meet their basic needs.”
As energy efficiency advocates (including Fresh Energy, which publishes Midwest Energy News) press for tougher energy codes in Minnesota, Illinois and elsewhere, they’re pointing to affordable housing supporters such as Habitat to help make their case.
Bill Fay, executive director of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition, a program of the Alliance to Save Energy, said he began reaching out to low-income housing groups about five years ago in California.
“I was getting a little tired of the National Association of Home Builders trying to speak for low-income families,” says Fay.
A common argument made by home builders’ associations is that requiring them to build more efficient homes will put ownership out of reach for people with lower incomes.
But many Habitat for Humanity chapters have taken the opposite approach in recent years, putting more money into efficiency even during a severe recession.
All of the homes built since 2008 by Habitat for Humanity St. Louis have been LEED Platinum certified, and one project in 2010 achieve LEED Gold.
In Lansing, Michigan, officials and donors broke ground last week on the first of four green, energy efficient Habitat homes.
And in Iowa City, a chapter is getting ready to build its first net-zero-energy home, which will draw the little energy it needs from solar panels and solar water heaters.
Habitat is made up of scores of independent chapters around the country and world. The organization’s state and national offices support the local chapters, but doesn’t speak for them or set policy.
A survey sent to Minnesota chapters five years ago showed a desire for more resources on sustainable building, which led to a green building conference in 2008 and the hiring of a sustainable building specialist.
Several local chapters were already moving in the same direction, and Berg now helps coordinate training and other support around sustainable building in the state.
All but a few of Minnesota’s 33 chapters have since built homes that meet or exceed Energy Star for homes. The methods and materials being used include installing windows that transfer less heat, covering homes with exterior “blue board” insulation and spacing studs 24 inches apart instead of 16 inches, which creates fewer gaps in wall insulation.
The state office has been tracking Habitat homes’ energy use since the 2009-2010 heating season. The average monthly heating bill has been $110, compared to almost $170 for an average Minnesota home.
“Affiliates have seen the value and the continuous return on investment these things have for families that don’t make as much money a year,” says Berg.
That nearly $60 average monthly wintertime savings has a greater impact for families making 30 percent to 80 percent of median income, the target demographic for Habitat buyers.
There is an added upfront cost, which gets passed on to the home buyer (Habitat sells its homes at-cost with zero-interest loans to families that qualify).
“We have seen a little bit of an uptick [in costs],” says Matt Clark, Habitat’s national director for construction technologies, “but nothing that throws it way out of whack.”
Often its just a couple thousand dollars or less. In the Iowa City the solar and other improvements are expected to add about $15,000 for a home that would otherwise cost about $125,000 to build.
“My guess is that the extra item payback will be [in] 10 to 15 years, but the life of those [additions] will be over 20 years, so there’s actually a net gain there,” Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity Director Mark Patton told The Daily Iowan.
While many Habitat chapters are deciding efficiency is a worthwhile investment, they’ve been quiet in the arguments over state energy code updates.
For Clark and others in the organization, it’s less a political concern and more a practical one: “It just makes sense for us.”
GOP, Democratic consultants push for Michigan renewable bill
>> Associated Press
Two long-time combatants have joined forces to promote a measure that would require Michigan’s major utilities to get 25 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025.
Editorial: Weak oversight means more pipeline spills inevitable
>> Detroit Free Press
In the nearly two years since an oil pipeline ruptured near Marshall, Michigan, distressingly little has happened.
Michigan utility shareholders urged to support tougher renewable law
>> MLive.com
Consumers Energy shareholders are being asked to support a ballot proposal that would require the utility to have 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Report: Federal laws don’t protect Great Lakes from oil
>> The Associated Press
States should approve their own rules to protect the Great Lakes basin from oil pollution because federal laws inadequately address the problem, according to a new report written in response to a massive oil spill in southern Michigan.
Ford certifies first dealers to sell all-electric Ford Focus
>> CBS Detroit
The first Ford dealers have been certified to sell the company’s first all-electric car. Midwest drivers will have to wait, though. The 67 dealers are in California, New York and New Jersey.
Michigan officials sorting facts, exaggerations on smart meters
>> AnnArbor.com
A group of citizens in Ann Arbor, Mich., wants a moratorium on smart meters, citing potential health risks. Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje said he’s trying to separate “what is reality and what is exaggeration.”
