Energy

Toyota: hybrids best ‘green’ car for some time

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(MI) Booth Newspapers – A Toyota executive overseeing research said Thursday a battery breakthrough is needed for electric vehicles to become mainstream, and hybrids will remain the best “green” car choice for some time. His comments came just hours after the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Toyota’s Prius hybrid was the No. 1 selling vehicle in Japan for May, clinching the top spot for the first time-even though the latest model had been on sale for only half the month. More

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Up North utilities are giving more of their attention to renewable energy

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – In downtown L’Anse in the Upper Peninsula, a dormant 50-year-old coal plant smokestack is operating again. Instead of coal, the L’Anse Warden Electric Co. plant creates electricity and steam by burning biomass, such as old railroad ties, recycled tires and sawmill waste. The biomass plant is the first such plant to open in Michigan since the state passed a requirement for renewable energy last fall. More

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Homeowner finds it’s not easy being green

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – Daniel Hall said he wanted to put solar collection panels on the roof of his Canton home as a green way to generate hot water and cut his utility bill for his 3,600-square-foot home. The township gave him the permits, but the Pheasant View Homeowners’ Association turned down his project, saying that it wouldn’t be aesthetically compatible with the rest of the neighborhood. He can’t install the panels without the association’s approval because the township requires it. More

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Granholm, Pickens will talk green at Mackinac

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(MI) The Detroit News –  Gov. Jennifer Granholm will join forces with energy industry guru T. Boone Pickens today to talk about the future of Michigan’s burgeoning alternative energy sector. The duo will open today’s events at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference with a discussion of state efforts to increase alternative energy use, as well as the retooling of some former auto concerns to help meet the industry’s needs. Pickens made a splash during last year’s election season by touting his “Pickens Plan” for energy, which advocates a reduction in the nation’s dependence on foreign oil by increasing use of natural gas for transportation and heavy investment in wind energy, especially throughout the middle of the United States. More

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House energy bill will increase green jobs

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(MI) The Detroit News – While Michigan struggles with a 12 percent unemployment rate — one of the highest in the nation — great strides are being taken to retrain our work force for the green jobs of the future and get us back to work. And these efforts will have lasting impacts on the quality of our land, air and water. Driving investment in clean energy technologies will create tens of thousands of high-paying American jobs — jobs that can’t be outsourced. And we need those jobs now more than ever. Michigan’s recently released Green Jobs Report shows we already have 109,067 green jobs.

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Naperville: Proposed fuel depot will use yard waste to fuel fleet

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(IL) Chicago Tribune – Naperville fleet vehicles may soon run on residents’ yard clippings under an innovative plan to produce renewable energy. U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert has requested a $4 million earmark from the U.S. Department of Energy to pay for a “green fuels depot” in Naperville that would use biomass to make electricity, hydrogen and ethanol. “It basically wrings energy out of what otherwise would be wasted biological materials,” City Councilman Robert Fieseler said. “I think people will embrace this because it just makes sense.” More

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With Billions at Stake, Trying to Expand the Meaning of ‘Renewable Energy’

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(NY) The New York Times – The definition of renewable energy seems clear cut: The sun continues to shine, so solar energy is renewable. The wind continues to blow, so wind turbines churn out renewable power. But industries are now pushing to have a growing number of other technologies categorized as renewable – or at least as environmentally advantageous. They include nuclear power plants and the burning of garbage and even the waste from coal mines. More

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In the hot seat: Solar-powered bathroom going up along Bay County Railtrail

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(MI) Bay City Times – Anyone who’s ever stepped into a portable toilet knows what it’s like inside on a hot day. Local leaders are turning to solar power to freshen things up in Bay County’s Bangor Township. A 10-by-12 foot block building is being constructed along the Railtrail system along Patterson Avenue, in front of the Bay County Wastewater Treatment Plant.  More