By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

DETROIT, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm gave the keynote address at this year’s wind energy conference and took the opportunity to announce over $15 million in new Recovery Act funding for the state to be directed towards renewable energy.
“We are not just content in Michigan to be making wind turbines,” Granholm said at the Cobo Center, located in downtown Detroit. “Michigan is going to be the place to solve the problems for the wind industry.”

One problem she touched on was the “reliability issue” of wind turbine gearboxes: she said that Merrill Tool and Machine of Merrill, Mich. is working on a solution.

Other Michigan-based companies she took note of included Dowding Industries of Eaton Rapids, Astraeus Wind Energy of Eaton Rapids, Energetx Composites of Holland and Dow Chemical of Midland. She said that Dow is working with Oakridge National Laboratories on alternative energy projects.

“Oakridge has established a presence in Michigan primarily because of wind,” Granholm said. “So many suppliers are jumping in.”

Granholm repeated her assertion that Michigan is well placed for the manufacture of wind turbines and said it’s cost-effective to have parts shipped from nearby rather than overseas.

She also stated Michigan has a friendly competition going with Ohio’s Gov. Strickland to see who can be first to have a wind turbine placed offshore in one of the Great Lakes.

In Lake Michigan Berrien, Delta and Mackinac counties are likely spots where wind turbines will be placed offshore, she said. For Lake Huron, Sanilac County is a prime location.

“We want to be the poster child of moving from the rustbelt to the greenbelt,” Granholm said. “We are excited and bullish on the next Michigan.”

Steven Kurmas, president and chief operating officer of Detroit Edison (DTE), also spoke at the event. He first spoke about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PEVs). He stated there will probably be 1 million PEVs on U.S. roads by 2015.

“The impact of plug-in electric vehicles could be huge,” he said. “It will be DTE’s challenge to meet the load demand.”

Kurmas broadened the discussion a bit by saying that nuclear energy will also continue to be crucial for the foreseeable future.
“We believe nuclear makes sense as part of a balanced portfolio,” he said.

He stated that DTE has already applied for a license for a possible Fermi 3 nuclear plant that would be sited next to the Fermi 2 nuclear plant in Monroe County, Mich.

Kurmas also took note of DTE’s biomass project.

“The biomass energy project has replaced 17 million barrels of oil since 1995,” he said.

Kurmas reiterated that most of DTE’s renewable energy portfolio will be in wind.

Other speakers at the conference, held on April 20-21, included Orjiakor Isiogu, Chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission, and Katherine Roek, an attorney at Stoel Rives’ Environmental Compliance group. Peter Clibbon, vice president of development at RES Canada, also gave a presentation.

Exhibitors at the event included Black & Veatch, an Ann Arbor-based engineering and management firm specializing in renewable energy projects, Barton Malow, a Southfield-based company specializing in energy projects construction, and the Michigan Wind Working Group, a division of the state’s Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Development; and others.

John Sarver, chairman of the Michigan Wind Working Group, attended the two day event.

“I think conferences like this accomplish a number of things, including energizing the participants,” Sarver said.
“The governor does a great job at this. It helps everyone, those new to wind energy and those who have been working in this area for a long time, to get the latest information and it provides a place for individuals to connect, which can lead to partnerships and ongoing relationships.”

Jennifer Alvarado, executive director of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Assoc., which organized the event, thought the conference went well.

“The conference was a huge success,” Alvarado said. “We have a lot of companies that are looking to work in the Great Lakes region. The workshops were really well attended.”

This is the second wind energy conference to be held in Detroit, but Alvarado said the association has been holding an annual wind energy conference since 2005.

Five companies have split the new Recovery Act funding, according to Sarver. The recipients are Astraeus Wind Energy, a maker of wind turbine blades; Energetx Composites, also a wind turbine blade maker; Loc Performance Products, to manufacture planetary gears and gearboxes; Luma Resources, to make products for the home photovoltaic market and Merrill Tool and Machine, to make wind turbine blades and system parts.