Focus on renewable energy

Alternative and renewable energy technologies took center stage at Grand Valley this week, with a visit from Gov. Jennifer Granholm to a demonstration project in Ravenna and a summit that brought together members of the regional business community.

Granholm visited the $2.7 million manure-to-electricity plant at the den Dulk dairy farm in Ravenna on March 10. The plant was built in partnership with Grand Valley’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon. Granholm has been touring alternative energy sites in the state as she promotes a proposal to establish a requirement for 10 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by the year 2015.

Granholm addressed reporters during her visit and said: "There is a jobs opportunity with this and it has links to education as we need to train the technicians to take care of these technologies."

On Tuesday, more than 200 people gathered in DeVos Center and Kennedy Hall for the Alternative and Renewable Energy Summit. The summit’s goal was to energize and assist West Michigan companies to fully understand the market opportunities of alternative and renewable energy for the region’s economy.

Among the attendees were members of the manufacturing community, technology developers, supply chain providers, and executive managers. The event was 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 included the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, NextEnergy, The Right Place, Inc. and the West Michigan Strategic Alliance.