NextEnergy gets $3.6 million defense grant
NextEnergy, Michigan’s alternative and renewable energy technology and business accelerator, located in Detroit’s TechTown, is receiving a $3.6 million research and development grant from the Defense Logistics Agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. Under this grant, NextEnergy will further the development of the Advanced Mobile Microgrid with its Michigan partners and develop a fuel cell auxiliary power unit with the University of Michigan Transportation Energy Center. Key supporters of this initiative include United States Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, and U.S. Reps. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, John Conyers, Candice Miller and John Dingell.

Granholm calls for more alternative energy development
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's State of the State Address Tuesday night offered several proposals to boost the alternative energy industry in Michigan. She said the state's "winds, water, woods and workforce" can combine to make Michigan "the alternative energy capital of the Midwest." Granholm called for the state Legislature to pass a "renewable portfolio standard," mandating that 10 percent of Michigan's energy must come from renewable sources by 2015, and 25 percent by 2025. She also backed producing 25 percent of transportation fuel from renewable sources by 2025. A white paper presented with the address said the state will use targeted recruitment tools to aggressively recruit high-growth alternative energy business globally. She also proposed four "Centers of Excellence" where bio-energy companies and university faculty will team to research, develop, and commercialize new products from biomass and waste materials.

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NextEnergy lab gets first step toward biodiesel standards
A technical subcommittee of ASTM International, the standards organization, has approved a standard for biodiesel blend vehicle fuels from 6 to 20 percent biodiesel. The work is recognition of two years of work at the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory, located in Detroit’s NextEnergy Center. This step precedes final ASTM D2 committee review, which is expected to approve the biodiesel standard in summer of 2008. The 20 percent bio content of B20 is a significant increase from the 5 percent biodiesel B5 fuel currently on the market, and further reduces reliance on petroleum to operate cars and trucks. More at www.nextenergy.org, http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/bio_fuel, or www.astm.org.

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Analyst says renewable energy delay could cost state $300 million
Kicking the energy efficiency and renewable energy issue into 2009 unresolved would cost state ratepayers a combined $300 million over time while putting another year of distance between Michigan and the nearly 25 states that have already passed legislation on this front, an environmental consultant told Lansing's MIRS news service this month. Martin Kushler, a former Public Service Commission official hired by environmentalists to help sell the energy issue in the Legislature, said the cost of energy efficiency programs may be three cents on the dollar, but the cost of a new power plant to pay for Michigan's projected increased energy use is as much as 10 cents on the dollar. Without energy efficiency programs and renewable energy guideposts to give utility companies something to shoot for, Michigan will need to import more coal, oil and natural gas to feed the state's growing energy needs, Kushler said.

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Alt-fuel search tops auto exec concerns: KPMG survey
Automotive industry executives have identified finding alternative fuel sources as the No. 1 trend facing the industry and are focused on producing low cost cars and hybrids to meet consumer demand, according to an annual global survey by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm. In the KPMG survey, based on interviews with 113 senior executives at vehicle manufacturers and suppliers worldwide, auto execs said quality (86 percent) and fuel efficiency (84 percent) are the two key factors for consumers in making a purchase in the next five years. Other top consumer criteria are safety (70 percent) and affordability (69 percent). The execs also feel that car buyers will want vehicles using alternative fuel sources, which has jumped considerably in importance from KPMG's survey a year ago (65 percent versus 53 percent). More at www.us.kpmg.com.

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DTE to buy power from Thumb wind farm
Detroit-based DTE Energy has signed an agreement with Cadillac-based Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc. to provide wind energy supply for the company's GreenCurrents renewable energy program. Introduced last April, GreenCurrents provides DTE Energy's 2.2 million electric customers the option of choosing environmentally-friendly renewable energy for their homes and businesses. Under a one-year agreement -- with option for two additional years -- Wolverine will provide DTE Energy with renewable energy credits from the Harvest Wind Farm located in Michigan's Thumb. In addition to its contract with DTE Energy, Wolverine also will provide renewable energy from the Harvest Wind Farm to its member companies. More at www.greencurrents.com.

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Auto X Prize exhibits at NAIAS
The Automotive X Prize had a booth in the big hallway at Cobo Center for the North American International Auto Show to further its goal of awarding a prize of at least $10 million to the first company to design a practical, fun-to-drive 100-mpg automobile. "What we want to do is raise our visibility," said Donald J. Foley, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based effort. "We would like to get an OEM on board to use our competition to showcase their new technologies. We hope our presence here will prompt them to take us a little more seriously." More at http://auto.xprize.org.

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Energy firm gets $1.2 million from feds for fuel cell power storage tech
BluWav Systems LLC, the Rochester Hills-based hybrid electric technology company, said this month it had received a $1.2 million congressional earmark to accelerate the company's research and development activities into energy storage systems. The funding allows BluWav to develop energy storage systems that are optimal for integration with fuel cell-based power generation. The system will take advantage of the unique attributes of fuel cell start, run, and shut down sequences, provide a vehicle with an electric-only range compatible with a majority of commuter drive cycles, and focus on energy absorption through regenerative braking by incorporating electric drives using the latest BluWav brushless DC motor technology.

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Supply chain software now totes up carbon
Ann Arbor-based LLamasoft Inc., a developer of supply chain network design software, announced the addition of greenhouse gas emissions modeling and optimization capabilities to its Supply Chain Guru software. Employing Guru’s greenhouse gas modeling empowers companies to reduce their impact on the environment and improve their “green” credentials. It provides them with the ability to calculate their GHG footprint, to determine where their GHG emissions can be reduced, and to incorporate carbon offset purchases into their cost and footprint calculations. More at www.llamasoft.com.

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Hybrids center stage at North American International Auto Show
Everybody but everybody wants to be green at the North American International Auto Show. The show floor was littered with fuel cell, alternative-fuel, electric and other exotic planet-friendly drive trains. The biggest hybrid value? Easily the Saturn Vue Green Line, a decent-sized SUV that stickers at $24,795 and promises 32 mpg on the highway. Chevrolet was also displaying a hybrid version of its hot new Malibu sedan, which is scheduled to hit the streets later this year. Chrysler LLC introduced its new Dodge Ram pickup -- and announced that a hybrid power train will be available in the 2010 model year. Last year, the company also announced that it would introduce a Cummins turbodiesel engine after 2009 for the Dodge Ram 1500. The engine will meet 50-state emissions standards, and will deliver a 30-percent fuel economy improvement.

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Venture Michigan makes two more investments
The Venture Michigan Fund announced financial commitments to two venture capital funds focused on early stage technology companies in Michigan. The amount of the investments was not disclosed. The funds selected to receive capital are RPM Ventures, an Ann Arbor fund focused on investing in software, semiconductors, advanced materials and alternative energy firms, and Chrysalis Ventures, a Louisville, Ky.-based venture fund involved in the health care, media, communications and business service industries. Officials said Chrysalis plans to open an office soon in Ann Arbor. Venture Michigan earlier committed funds to Arboretum Ventures, Ardesta Ventures, Nth Power and Venture Investors. More at www.venturemichiganfund.org.

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New figures show most hybrids save their owners considerable cash
Most hybrid vehicles now on the market save their owners money compared to the ownership cost of non-hybrid versions of the same vehicle, according to new figures from IntelliChoice.com, a Web site offering automotive ownership cost and value analysis. The figures were announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The survey examined hybrid and non-hybrid versions of the same vehicle for the model year 2007 and how each vehicle performed based on a projected "total cost of ownership" figure over five years or 70,000 miles. In addition to fuel costs, the survey factored in other major cost items that consumers often overlook when purchasing a vehicle.

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Encore energy shifts business, plans patent prosecutions
Brighton-based Encore Energy Systems Inc. said it's planning a move away from the contracting side of the geothermal energy business and focus instead on supplying engineered design systems using its patented technology. Encore also said it plans to more aggressively defend its patents on the use of so-called "grey water" -- defined as wastewater from sinks and tubs, but not toilets -- in geothermal systems. More at www.encorenergyinc.com.

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Uni-Solar sells 25 megawatts of solar panels
It's another big sale for Rochester Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. ECD subsidiary United Solar Ovonic LLC announced an agreement with South Korea's AirTec System Co. Ltd. for 25 megawatts of Uni-Solar photovoltaic thin film laminates. Under the the agreement, AirTec will take delivery of the Uni-Solar laminates during 2008 and 2009, mostly for medium- to large-scale ground-mounted solar power plants and large-scale rooftop and building- integrated applications in a number of recently awarded projects in South Korea.

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Hella touts CO2-saving technologies
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., the German automotive lighting and electronics supplier with its United States headquarters in Plymouth, announced it had developed a broad technology portfolio of series solutions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Hella's CO2 reducing lighting products include xenon headlamps and light emitting diodes, used in daytime running lights. Also included on the list were several control technologies. More at www.hella.com.

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