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Welcome to the weekly newsletter of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC), the business voice for advanced energy in Michigan. Here’s what’s new this week:
Michigan EIBC and Clean Fuels Michigan Writes Letter to State Legislature on Clean and Advanced Mobility
On March 11, Michigan EIBC, in partnership with Clean Fuels Michigan, sent a letter to state policymakers regarding the Strategic Outreach and Attractive Reserve (SOAR) fund, future road funding, and the growth of Michigan’s clean mobility and energy industries. The letter’s purpose was to highlight the implications of policy decisions on Michigan’s efforts to maintain competitiveness in the automotive industry and to support the transition to clean mobility.
Discussions are currently taking place in the legislature regarding adjustments to SOAR funding, the state budget, road user charges, and vehicle registration fees. These policies have been and will continue to be important to establishing Michigan as a leader in the evolving automotive industry. The SOAR Fund has played a significant role in attracting private investments to advance clean transportation initiatives in Michigan. To date, this funding has approached nearly $2.1 billion, supporting various projects, creating jobs, and expanding the automotive sector within the state.
Additionally, the state budget, road user charges, and vehicle registration fees have served as important funding sources for road maintenance and improvements. In the letter, Michigan EIBC and Clean Fuels Michigan urged the legislature to consider changes to SOAR funding that would enhance accountability and maximize economic benefits for the state. The letter also encouraged the legislature to ensure that any changes to road funding mechanisms are equitable solutions that do not disproportionately affect low-income drivers or penalize owners of more efficient, lower-emission vehicles.
Michigan EIBC and Clean Fuels Michigan are prepared to collaborate with policymakers to create effective strategies that will help Michigan compete in the clean mobility sector, establish fair and forward-thinking road funding solutions, and support the autonomy of Michiganders to choose the vehicles that best suit their needs.
Michigan EIBC’s Justin Carpenter Speaks at Nuclear Day Event in Lansing
On March 6, the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum held its Nuclear Day event at the House Office Building in Lansing. Michigan EIBC Director of Policy Justin Carpenter moderated a panel on industry evolution and growth in the nuclear sector with Dr. Patrick White, research director of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, and Kelly Trice, president of Holtec International.
The day was focused on a number of speakers illustrating the utility and current operation of nuclear power, and the near-future usage of small modular reactors to meet growing demand on the grid.
Register for 13th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference
Join us for our most popular event of the year! Register now for Michigan EIBC’s annual conference, to be held in East Lansing on April 2. This year’s keynote speaker will be Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II.
You can find all of the event details on our conference website, including panel topics and speakers. Sponsorship opportunities are also available, you can review them here. The deadline for sponsors to be included in our conference program is March 11th, please contact Brianna (brianna@mieibc.org) for more information.
ANNOUNCING BREAKOUT PANEL
Closing the Loop: Developing a Cradle-to-Cradle Advanced Energy Ecosystem
Thank you to our sponsors!
TERAWATT 
MEGAWATT
KILOWATT
the WATT
Renewing Members
Enchanted Rock is a microgrid developer and operator over 780MW of dispatchable generation capacity deployed across Texas, California, Illinois, Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Our generation technology has been certified to meet the ultra-low California Air Resources Board Distributed Generation emissions levels, the cleanest reciprocating engine standard in the nation. When supplied by renewable natural gas, we provide net-zero or net-negative carbon operations for both customer resiliency and grid services. Our assets strengthen the grid and protect critical community services, like hospitals, water facilities, nursing homes, and grocery stores, and other critical infrastructure, including data centers, manufacturing, distribution and logistics.
Environmental Consulting Technology, Inc.
Founded in 1988, and comprised of nearly 200 scientists, engineers, and support staff, ECT has been ranked by Engineering News-Record among the top 200 environmental engineering firms in the country for each of the past 23 years. ECT provides multidisciplinary environmental consulting and engineering design solutions to market-leading clients throughout the United States and across four continents. ECT’s natural resource professionals have a long history of project and program management on large-scale renewable energy projects. ECT has worked in more than 20 states assisting clients with the due diligence, siting and development of renewable projects. Our team understands these challenges and is equipped to address and guide our clients through the process.
Ventower Industries is a leading North American steel fabricator currently specializing in wind turbine towers, marine foundation solutions, pressure vessels, welded storage tanks and the application of various coating systems.
Michigan Energy News
- The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners passes a resolution asking Consumers Energy to delay the retirement of the J.H. Campbell power plant.
- “Solar energy is emerging as a smart, low-cost solution for Michigan — one that drives economic growth, promotes energy independence and delivers critical infrastructure improvements to communities often overlooked by Lansing,” according to an op-ed published in the Detroit News.
- Consumers Energy purchases 800 acres in Oceana County for a future project.
National Energy News
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is rolling back a number of major environmental regulations affecting power plants.
- Other electric ratepayers may be overcharged for data centers, according to a new paper from the Harvard Electricity Law Initiative.
- A pilot from Chicago utility ComEd finds success for time-of-use rates in shifting customer behavior.
Job Board
Attention Michigan EIBC members: if you have a job announcement you would like in the newsletter, please send a paragraph describing the position and a link to apply to Matt Bandyk at matt@mieibc.org. Please include in the email a specific end date for the job posting.
Elevate
Director of Government Partnerships. Location: Chicago/Remote.
The Director of Government Partnerships manages federal and public sector funding opportunities to support a comprehensive development plan to diversify revenue streams, realize fundraising goals, and contribute to designing and implementing structures and systems. The Director of Government Partnerships leads Elevate’s strategy for public sector fundraising and oversees the development of government-funded proposals and programs in coordination with implementation teams and operations. This role partners with other Development Team members and colleagues across the organization to develop and achieve annual fundraising goals.
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Engineer 12 – Building Trade Industry Engineer. Location: Lansing.
As a recognized resource, this position serves as the Building Trade Industry Engineer for EGLE’s Energy Services, with responsibilities for supporting operations and maintenance activities within the public (state and municipal units of government and institutions) and commercial buildings’ sectors. These duties include, but are not limited to, grant management; interfacing with the public; providing in-depth engineering technical assistance for optimization of energy intensive building operating systems; developing strategies for reducing energy consumption in building; benchmarking building operations; technical advising on performance contracting; authoring technical reports; and serving as a technical resource to EGLE on building matters.
Michigan and National Energy Events
The 13th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Conference will be held at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing on April 2. Last call for tickets! Register here.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s (EGLE) MI Healthy Climate Conference is taking place April 22-23 at the Huntington Place in Detroit. Find out more here.
Opportunities
Join United Agrivoltaics Heartland Alliance in supporting small farmers entering the renewable energy workforce! The alliance is a fiscally-sponsored nonprofit charity seeking additional enthusiastic Board and Advisory Council members to champion and amplify our mission, participate in projects and outreach, and help us to fully launch planned & piloted programs in workforce development, small agribusiness development, and practical integration of conservation and farming on solar facilities all around the region! Apply for board or advisory roles here, and email Sam at info@uaheartland.org to join the March drop-in working group calls and learn more!The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has announced the first in a series of Requests for Proposals, offering $5 million in initial funding to support the deployment of non-public Level 2 alternating current electric vehicle charging stations at existing multifamily housing units. Individual grant awards are capped at $300,000, with applicants required to provide a minimum 30% match of the total requested funds if the project is outside an environmental justice community. Find the RFP here. Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis until all funds are allocated.
Michigan Clean Energy Leaders (MCEL), is seeking nominees for our next cohort. A fellowship program and network, MCEL convenes leaders to build relationships, share knowledge and skills, and nurture collaboration to accelerate Michigan’s clean energy transition. MCEL is seeking nominees — diverse in identity, background, geography and industry — who are in the first 10-15 years of a career in clean energy. Please visit micleanenergyleaders.com today to learn more and submit a nomination!
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has announced several new programs with funding available for energy-related projects, including the Agriculture and Rural Business Energy Incentive Program, the Small Manufacturers Retooling Program, the Grid Resiliency Program, the Water Energy Nexus Program and the Sponsorship Program.
The Electrification Coalition is calling on American businesses, trade associations, and workforce development organizations to urge the federal government to support the domestic EV manufacturing industry by maintaining clean vehicle tax policies and grants to continue to incentivize private investment. Read the letter here and fill out the form to add your organization as a signatory.
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) has an open, rolling solicitation seeking proposals for investment from project developers, sponsors, communities, private equity firms, financial intermediaries, co-lenders or others. Find out more information here.
The State of Michigan’s Michigan Infrastructure Office Technical Assistance Center has launched a website with information about how tax-exempt entities can take advantage of federal clean energy tax credits using elective pay.
The MPSC has released a request for proposals seeking applicants for $4.875 million in Renewable Energy and Electrification Infrastructure Enhancement and Development grants. The deadline is March 20, and you can find out more at the MPSC’s webpage for the program here.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program is accepting applications from agricultural producers and rural small businesses for grants and guaranteed loans There is an upcoming deadline on March 31. Find out more here.
Michigan EGLE is offering at least $320,000 in funding MI Solar Communities-MI Solar Access Program. Applications will be accepted through March 31 or when funding is expended, whichever comes first. Find the request for proposals for MI Solar Access here.
Michigan EGLE has released an RFP for grants from its Clean Energy Workforce Development Program. The application deadline is July 30.
Michigan State University’s Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE) is seeking a full-time Associate Professor (FT) to serve as the Director of the Institute of Public Utilities (IPU). Find out more about this position here.
The Michigan Public Service Commission has created a website tracking its progress implementing Public Acts 229, 231, 233, 234, and 235, passed on Nov. 8, 2023 and signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Nov. 28.
Rheaply, NextCycle Michigan and Michigan EGLE have launched the Michigan Materials Marketplace, which allows businesses to buy and sell excess materials so they can be reused instead of discarded.
Michigan EGLE is launching the Renewables Ready Communities Award (RRCA), which makes Michigan municipalities that have, on or after October 1, 2023, begun physically hosting and/or performing local permitting for any portion of an eligible renewable energy project eligible for awards of $5,000 per MW. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until funds are depleted and there is no specific deadline. More information on this opportunity can be found on the RRCA Webpage.