Editor’s Note: In mid-November, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm embarked on a nine-city tour, campaigning for Michigan to become a leader in the emerging alternative energy industry. Granholm visited with existing businesses that are involved in cutting-edge alternative energy work and discussed with them and others how she feels Michigan can foster further growth in the industry and create jobs doing so. Part of her tour included visiting the offices of Northern Express, where she sat down with our editorial team and answered questions on what role Michigan can play, and what needs to be done for Michigan to become a leader in the alternative energy industry. In future issues, we will look at Northern Michigan businesses that are a part of this cutting-edge industry.
By Rick Coates
W hile the re-election campaign ended over a year ago, Governor Jennifer Granholm finds herself still out on the campaign trail. Term limits will keep her from running again, at least for Governor - and being born in Canada, she is not eligible for the U.S. Presidency - so Granholm finds herself on a different type of campaign trail. Some may view it as a campaign for her gubernatorial legacy while others see it as a Governor who is committed to seeing Michigan get back on the right track. Granholm is campaigning for Michigan to become a leader in the alternative energy industry. She believes that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that led Michigan to become the one time automotive manufacturing capital of the world exists for it to become a leader in the rapidly growing field of alternative energy.
NE: Briefly explain your vision for an alternative energy industry in Michigan? Granholm: First, is the possibility of thousands of jobs for the Michigan citizens. It is very clear and very critical that our nation finds alternative sources of energy. Michigan is the state that put the world on wheels, and with some hard work I believe that we can be the state that revolutionizes the way we fuel our cars and power homes and businesses.
NE: Recently General Motors announced that they are making a 250 million dollar investment into an alternative energy facility in China. What is keeping them, or for that matter other businesses, from making that type of investment here in Michigan?
Granholm: It is really one basic thing. We have to change policy in this state for us to jump over 25 states by developing a robust Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). By having policies that require a certain percentage of our energy to come from renewable sources is important. To mandate this will open the doors to several businesses to come here because they know the risk will be acceptable because there will be a customer base.
NE: The Michigan economy is hurting, and everyone is looking for a quick fix; what is the time frame for the state to feel an economic impact from creating alternative energy initiatives?
Granholm: Not all of this is long term. Sure, we are looking for a long term and lasting impact to our economy, but there is an opportunity for an immediate impact. It starts with this change in policy; we need the RPS, and I need the legislature to act on this immediately. Once I have this RPS, I am able to take it and market Michigan to companies that would see that Michigan has a demand for investment in alternative energy sources. With this RPS in place, there would be companies willing to make those same kinds of investments that General Motors made in China, right here in Michigan.
NE: Why Michigan? What makes this state conducive for being a leader in alternative energy?
Granholm: I believe Michigan is uniquely positioned because we have what I like to refer to as the five “Ws” - wind, water, wood, waste, and a workforce. The biggest bang for our buck immediately will come from wind. The wind map of Michigan demonstrates that our state has the potential for being the third best wind producing state in the nation. The capacity right now that exists in Michigan is two-fold; besides the geographical setting we have for wind production itself, we also have the capacity for wind component manufacturing. We have lost a lot of manufacturing jobs, but we are positioned to get into the wind turbine component manufacturing industry that could result in 60,000 jobs. So wind is definitely the quickest way for Michigan to create an immediate impact on our economy.
NE: What about water?
Granholm: I don’t have a number yet for water, but we have completed four of our nine roundtable discussions with industry leaders in the state, and there has been much discussion about the currents of moving water to create energy. In August, I visited Sweden, where they have a goal to get 100% of their energy from renewable services. They have created the ability to draw currents from the ocean floor that feed into their electric grid. Sweden has created a huge boost to their economy with alternative energy, and in early 2008 we will have the first-ever Sweden-Michigan Alternative Energy Summit. Think about it; we are the only state completely surrounded by water. So the potential for a similar program exists here in Michigan, and no other state would have that niche.
NE: What about the potential of these other Ws?
Granholm: Certainly wood, or, as I like to refer to it, woody bio mass. Michigan has the largest footprint of publicly-owned forestland of any state in the country. We have sustainable forests here that have created a pulp and paper industry, and the byproducts from those industries, essentially the waste - another one of the Ws - can be converted into fuel for vehicles and also into electricity. In fact, we have a pilot project between a Swedish company and our largest pulp and paper company located in Escanaba. This nine month study is looking at whether we can create a “wood to wheels” program like they have in Sweden. It is called “black liquor gasification.” There is the potential that the woody bio mass industry and the waste industry, the landfills, could create 19,000 alternative energy jobs in this state. In fact, the woody bio mass could create 40% of the fuel that could go into our vehicles and 33% of our electricity for needs here in Michigan.
NE: In Northern Michigan, there has been some concern over the impact some of these initiatives might have on the tourism industry. For example the windmills are of concern from an aesthetic standpoint.
Granholm: Certainly, with any initiative, we don’t want to hurt any other economic sector, and tourism is part of that. The great thing about these wind turbines is that they can go anywhere. We don’t want them to be an eyesore; the technology even exists for them to go out in the middle of the Great Lakes. Of course the freighters would have to contend with them, but we have to find ways to accomplish these things. For example, we have our first windmill farm in the Thumb area, and the farmers there love them.
NE: Our workforce has been hit the hardest by changes and challenges to the automotive and manufacturing industries in Michigan. You have stated that our workforce is one of those W components that position Michigan for the alternative energy industry. Would you elaborate?
Granholm: We have this ready-made, proven workforce already in place here. Once I get this RPS and am able to go out and market Michigan to the world as a place for alternative energy investment opportunities, the fact that we have a workforce in place will be crucial. In addition to the five Ws, there are five Es. One of those is energy efficiency, and it has the potential to produce 11,000 jobs. Another E is the engine of the future, and we are better-equipped then any other state to produce this engine with the new fuel cells. Then there is ethanol, and we have the first cellulosic ethanol plant in the country coming here to Michigan.
NE: You mentioned Engines, Efficiency and Ethanol; what are the other two Es?
Granholm: Well, this one is certainly not unique to Michigan but I like to say the Earth because of the geothermal opportunities that exist. In Sweden and other European countries, they have geothermal heating where they are drawing heat from the earth’s core. In Michigan, we are fortunate to have an educational infrastructure that is willing to take the lead in researching opportunities and new technologies. So Education is the other E. In fact, right here at Northwestern Michigan College you have the Michigan Energy Demonstration Center that is involved in solar, wind, fuel cells, bio-fuels, green building technology. Michigan State University just received a 50 million dollar grant from the Energy Department to create the Great Lakes Research Bio Center. The University of Michigan is committed to creating the engine of the future. It is really exciting - we have all of this great stuff right here if we can just get the right policies in place.
NE: You keep mentioning “the right policies in place.” If that were to happen, do you have companies that have told you they are willing to make investments in Michigan similar to what General Motors has done in China?
Granholm: At all of these roundtable discussions, I have been approached by companies that want to come and invest in Michigan or grow in Michigan if we have a Renewable Portfolio Standard that creates some demand. What these companies are saying to me is, “Why would I want to come to Michigan when all of these states around you have an RPS and you don’t?” So this RPS is essentially the first step because it will create that demand. I am hoping the legislature will act before the end of the year.
NE: What would you say to chamber, business and community leaders in Northern Michigan as to the best approach for this region to take to get on the alternative energy industry opportunity bandwagon?
Granholm: First, encourage a bi-partisan consensus from your legislators here to sign onto an RPS that will allow us to market Michigan. Then we need funds to market Michigan. Clearly if people do not know we exist after we have the renewable energy policy infrastructure in place, then those policies are not going to work. Once we get the policy pieces in place, there is no stopping us; but we need those policies, and we need to market them. Look, one in four jobs between now and 2030 is going to be created in the alternative energy sector; certainly Michigan and even Northern Michigan can have a large part of this. When you look at the economic indicators in Michigan, like our unemployment rate, if those are not a call to action, I don’t know what is. As elected officials, we have a moral responsibility to move forward on this, to use alternative energy opportunities to diversify our economy for the people in Michigan.
NE: What about specifically here in Northern Michigan?
Granholm: I met with several people while visiting that are already on the cutting edge of this industry. There is a company in Traverse City that is developing a concept to take body heat and convert it into energy that could be used to power electronic devices like iPods and cell phones. Certainly these opportunities for an alternative energy industry exist statewide, and definitely right here in Northern Michigan.
Clean energy… now or later?
By Anne Stanton
In light of the call last week by Clean Energy Now, a coalition of environmental groups, to legislators to “stop the influx of more dirty coal plants and instead turn Michigan toward a clean energy future”, we e-mailed some pointed questions for Governor Granholm. Skip Pruss, her special advisor on renewable energy and environment, answered them on the governor’s behalf.
Q: Governor Granholm just signed an agreement with five other Midwestern governors to limit greenhouse gases, which was considered momentous and hopeful. But how will the governor explain to her colleagues that Michigan is presently entertaining seven coal plants with no caps on carbon dioxide emissions.
A: There appear to be seven parties that have, at some point, proposed new coal-fueled power plants in Michigan, including Northern Michigan University. Four of these plants have submitted permit applications. At this point it is uncertain which plant proposals will be pursued through the permitting process. The governor does not have the authority to prevent a party from filing applications for permits for coal-fueled plants. There is nothing in the MGA Resolutions that limit the number of coal plants regionally. It appears to be increasingly likely that new coal plants, should they be built anywhere, will be designed to facilitate the management of carbon dioxide.
Q: Does the governor agree with environmentalists that the state Constitution and the Michigan Environmental Protection Act compel the state to regulate carbon dioxide based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which declared that excessive amounts of carbon dioxide define as a pollutant?
A: Carbon dioxide has not been regarded as a pollutant, but we now know that it is a greenhouse gas that is the dominant contributor to global warming. The Michigan Climate Action Council, which is charged with developing Michigan’s climate action plan, will likely make recommendations on how carbon dioxide ought to be regulated in the future.
Q: An entrepreneur of Traverse City who is starting a windmill energy business said the industry could really use uniform regulations in each township. Is the governor willing to provide political leadership in helping this initiative succeed?
A: The governor supports siting policies that respect the interests and property rights of both citizens and wind-power developers. There needs to be ongoing discussions and work with the Legislature to identify the best mechanisms to advance the development of wind-power while being sensitive to community preferences. We are reasonably confident that now that we have actual wind farm development citizens can view and evaluate, public demand for clean, pollution-free energy will increase.
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