Michigan Solar & Wind Power Solutions

Michigan's Major Utilities are Paying You to go Solar! 06/04/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

In the last week the Michigan Public Services Commission passed both Consumers Energy's and DTE's programs to pay you to go solar.
The utility companies, by law, have to sell ten percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015.  This is a phased in program.  Each year the percentage increases.  They see the benefit that solar has that wind cannot.

Utility Company Incentives - A Real Game Changer 05/02/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

Whether the green you see is from the environment or from the dollar, these incentives make solar a smart investment.  Consumers Energy and DTE's respective programs seem like they are getting better in the MPSC hearings.  Some people were worried that the MPSC would not approve the programs as submitted; they didn't think they would strengthen them! 
Also on the horizon is an additional 11% electric rate hike that is suppose to kick in July. If we equate in an average annual 6% rate hike (it has been at least double that the last couple of years) it brings your return on investment to below ten years.  This is on a system where the panels are warranted for twenty-five years.  Basically you will have many, many years of free power.  This power will be free when the prices are the highest.
Now is the time to become as energy efficient as possible, plan you solar array, and get ready for the incentives!

Consumers Energy Pushing for Feed-In-Tariff 02/27/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

If you are in the Consumers Energy electrical service area, this is great for you!  Consumers Energy has filed a petition with the Michigan Public Services Commission for a pilot Feed-In-Tariff program.  Feed-in-Tariff's are programs that allowed Germany (who receives less sun, on an annual bases, then Michigan) to exceed their goal of 20% renewable energy by 2020.  The plan calls for a twelve year contract, between you and them, where they are obligated to pay you, for your solar generated.  In 2009, for residential, the rate is .65 cents a kwh. This is 500% more then you are paying them for it.  In 2010 and beyond it is .525 cents a kwh, for residential.  The commercial rates are .45 cents (2009) and .375 cents a kwh (2010).  The pilot program has been criticized for being small and limited, but it is still a game changer. 

With the utility companies required to sell 10% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015, it will be interesting to see if this program gets expanded and to see whether DTE gets involved. 

Utility Companies Are Starting To Buy REC (Renewable Energy Credits) From You, The Producers! 02/15/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

In order to meet the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, Michigan's Electrical Utility Companies are starting to solicit offers to buy your 'Renewable Energy Credits'.  So now you get 30% Federal Tax Credits, lower material costs because of increased production, offset higher electric rates (just went up 20% last month) and now you are able to sell the credit to the utility company.  Here is a paragraph from 'Energy Tidbits',

Consumers Energy Company is requesting proposals for up to 17.4 MW and 130,000 MWh of renewable capacity, energy and renewable energy credits from small scale renewable energy systems (less than 5 MW of nameplate capacity), located within the Consumers Energy service area. This request is intended to fulfill a portion of the Company’s renewable energy requirements specified in Public Act 295.  All interested respondents are requested to submit a Notice of Intent no later than Feb. 5. Proposals are to be submitted no later than March 2. Consumers Energy intends to issue a second request for proposals in March for approximately 600,000 MWh per year of energy, capacity (250 MW) and RECs from additional smaller and larger scale systems.
http://www.consumersenergy.com/estavlpwr.nsf/RFPs?OpenView

Global Wind Capacity Beats All Records 02/15/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

World generating capacity is now over 27,000,000 kw.  Global capacity grew by 28.8% last year. This is a 36% increase over 2007.  The USA became # 1 in wind power generation!  New USA wind energy installations totaled 8,358,000 kw. This is an increase of 50% over all prior installations.

The $4,000.00 limit on the Federal Tax Credit for small wind installations has been removed in the recently passed stimulus package.  This year small wind (100 kw and less) will do even better.

Is Renewable Energy Overcoming Its Achilles Heel? 01/18/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

Opponents of RE have long stated there is only so far RE can take us since the power they produce is sporadic.  Solar electric will only produce during the day, and wind turbines are only producing when the wind is blowing.  What do you do when it has been overcast for days and the wind isn't blowing?  The science of energy storage systems has been the Achilles heel of the industry. 

Currently there are over a dozen different technologies working hard to fill this market need.  There is advanced lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, zinc-air, super-capacitors, and lead-carbon to name a few. A couple of these show very promising results.  One of the most promising is lead-carbon technology.  Check out this quote from an article by John Peterson, an expert in battery technologies;

 "A 10-fold improvement in the performance of any technology is by definition highly disruptive. The fact that lead-carbon achieved these disruptive performance gains using cheap and plentiful raw materials that are readily available from domestic sources and easily recyclable for use in new batteries using existing infrastructure is an absolute game changer; particularly when the closest comparable technology is based on expensive imported raw materials that are not easily recyclable for use in new batteries using existing infrastructure."

This technology uses the existing lead-acid technology adding carbon to the negative electrode.  This relatively simple change has increased the C-rate (ability of a battery to deliver its charge measures in time) of the lead-acid battery to four time the speed.  It is now comparable to a superconductor. 

For more information please read this recent article by John Peterson.  It is worth the time! - http://seekingalpha.com/article/115257-lead-carbon-a-game-changer-for-alternative-energy-storage?source=yahoo

Does the USA Really Need Detroit's Manufacturing Capacities? 12/20/2008

Posted by Mark Hagerty

The media has been full of articles asking if we should 'bail out' the automotive industries.  We have heard people state this is the twenty-first century, our growth is in the service sector not manufacturing.  We have heard the automotive industry is a dinosaur that is laden with outrageous legacy costs and it should be allowed to fail like all broken business models. Many have said that 'bailing out' the automotive industry goes against the fundamentals of a free market society. 

Some of these items may be true, but before we decide to let the industry die, let us consider a few things.  Can a nation defend itself without a manufacturing base?  In the Civil War the south had very little industry.  The north had the vast majority of the manufacturing capacity of the US.  Many in the south today refer to it as 'The War of Attrition'.  The British plan for a quick end to the Colonial Uprising was to sever the manufacturing head from the body.  They planned to do this by going up the Hudson River and joining up with forces coming down from the St Lawrence River.  This would have removed the manufacturing base from the rest of our fledgling country.  In World War II Detroit was the manufacturing base for us and our allies.  Without it we possibly could be reading this article in German.

- Detroit produced 80% of all our tanks and tank parts.  Detroit Tank Arsenal in one month produced 907 Sherman Tanks!

- Detroit produced 75% of all our aircraft and aircraft engines.  Willow Run Assembly at its peak was producing 231 B-24 Liberator Bombers a month.  Charles Lindburg refered to Willow Run Assembly as the "Grand Canyon of the mechanized world".

- Detroit produced 12,000,000,000 rounds of artillery shells.

- Detroit produced 6,000,000 machine guns and carbine rifles.

If one believes that the US has not always subsidized industries, that have a national security interest, then they need to study the US policies on oil.  This industry has been heavily subsidized from a military standpoint and a tax standpoint. 

From the author's perspective, the best scenario is one where Detroit manufacturing capacities continue.  They should continue turning out electric cars, wind turbines blades, wind turbine generators, wind turbine towers, fuel cells, energy storage systems, and the rest of their vehicle product assortments.  If, God forbid, we are caught in a major war at least we have the infrastructure to defend ourselves.

Imagine a world where the economic and industrial power house is a totalitarian quasi-communist country.  Now imagine this country having four times the population that we have, and not enough natural resources to sustain itself.  This is the world of the not too distant future.  This is not a world where I want to find ourselves without a manufacturing base.

The Key To Reducing CO2 Is In The Ocean. 12/07/2008

Posted by Mark Hagerty

Are deep ocean pumps our key to reducing our CO2?

Scientists at the University of Hawaii are taking 1000’ long deep ocean pumps and pumping nutrient rich deep ocean water towards the surface. The water comes from over 1000’ deep and is pumped towards the surface of an area of the ocean that was devoid of measurable quantities of diatom plankton. The diatom plankton thrives on CO2 in nutrient rich areas of the ocean.

As the waves rise and fall these pumps pump the water to the surface. These pumps are surprisingly simple. They consist of a one-way valve approximately a meter in diameter. The valve is connected to a 1000’ long flexible tube. This plankton can multiply to billions in very little time. They can consume thousands of tons of CO2. When they die, they fall to the bottom of the ocean, taking the CO2 with them. Pumps like these can someday be producing plankton blooms that can spread hundreds of miles.

Solar Tractor - The Community Farm of Ann Arbor 11/30/2008

Posted by Mark Hagerty

The Community Farm of Ann Arbor has taken an old Allis-Chalmers G Cultivating tractor and converted it to a modern solar tractor.  It has a 48vdc 100ah battery pack that is charged by a stationary array mounted on the barn.  At $4.00 a gallon for gasoline, this tractor used to consume $3.20 worth of gas an hour.  At .10 cents a kwh for electricity, it consumes 3.3 kwh of electricity an hour costing just .33 cents an hour to operate.
Visit - www.communityfarmofaa.org for more information.  Also checkout:
http://ev-america.com/ . This is the site that supplies all of the electrical components in one large kit! That’s the motor, controller, cables, cable ends, and even instructions.
http://www.niekampinc.com/index.htm/ . This is the company that supplies that “adaptor kit” to mount the motor to the tractor. YOU CAN NOT BUILD THIS ADAPTOR FOR AS CHEAP AS THEY WILL SELL IT TO YOU! The adaptor was a perfect fit to the transmission of the tractor and to the motor. The kit even includes the mounting bolts! 
http://www.flyingbeet.com/electricg/ . This was the original guy that did the conversion! Please read the whole site, and you’ll see that this is not hard.

USDA Farm Bill 9008 11/18/2008

Posted by Mark Hagerty

Are you a rural small business owner, as defined by the SBA?  Or are you a farmer who makes over 50% of your income from ag.?  If you answered yes to either of these questions, then the 30% federal tax credit is not the only incentive you have to go green!  The USDA Rural Development Division will shortly be accepting applications for 25% federal grants and up to 50% federally guaranteed loans.  This means you can get a loan for 50% of the system cost, and a grant for 25% of the cost.  So you come up with 25% down.  At the end of the year you receive a 30% credit of the system cost on your federal taxes. 

Contact us for details and for our assistance in getting your application in as soon as they start accepting them.