Alternative Energy summit aims to help region's economy

A gathering of area business leaders at Grand Valley State University is aimed at helping West Michigan capitalize on the burgeoning alternative and renewable energy business opportunities in the region.

The university is hosting an Alternative and Renewable Energy Summit March 11. The focus of the summit is to energize and assist the West Michigan manufacturing community, technology developers, current and future supply chain providers, and executive managers, to fully understand the market opportunities of alternative and renewable energy for West Michigan’s economy.

The event is a collaboration between the Seidman College of Business, the Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing, and the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center. Other partners include the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, NextEnergy, The Right Place, Inc. and the West Michigan Strategic Alliance.

“This is another important opportunity for Grand Valley to continue its support of this great community,” said Seidman College of Business Dean James Williams. “The university hopes to provide leadership in developing business, engineering and computing, and energy entrepreneurship skills and innovation necessary to promote alternative and renewable energy opportunities for West Michigan. These kinds of community collaborations are critical.”

The summit comes on the heels of a gathering of a coalition of community stakeholders at Grand Valley’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in December to discuss a new study on the alternative energy industry. That study shows that West Michigan could capture $800 million of new investment and create 4,250 new jobs in the alternative energy sector over a five-year period.

The Right Place and the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, along with other partners, commissioned the study to assess the potential economic benefits to the region resulting from the growth occurring in the alternative and renewable energy sector.

An analysis conducted by Rich Polich of Energy Options and Solutions consulting group found that West Michigan has the leadership, assets and collaborative partners required to develop an alternative energy cluster. Polich also found that West Michigan has the regional manufacturing supply chain expertise and capacity required of a nationally and internationally competitive alternative energy cluster with an estimated national market value of $160 billion over the next 10 years. The industry is expected to create over 850,000 new jobs during this same period of time.

The cost of the March 11 event is $125 for the first representative from each company, and $75 for each additional attendee. For more information, contact Norman Christopher, director of the Sustainability Initiative at Grand Valley State University, at (616) 331-7461 or [email protected]. Information about the summit is available at www.gvsu.edu/energysummit .