Grand Valley State University is part of an initiative to bring
renewable energy technology to income-qualified households and
programs that serve income-eligible individuals in Muskegon and Oceana counties.
Muskegon Oceana Community Action Partnership, Inc. (MOCAP) was
awarded a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy
through a Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) grant. It
allows several Michigan contractors to install one or more systems at
residential and income-eligible group care facilities. Installations
may include hybrid domestic hot water, solar domestic hot water, solar
hot air and solar photovoltaic systems in single and multi-family
units. Grand Valley’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center
provides technical assistance and serves as a resource for the project.
The initiative was celebrated at an event hosted by MAREC on November 28. Fred Keller, CEO of Cascade Engineering, and Christina Scarpino, director of development for Every Woman’s Place, were among the speakers.
There are four, large multi-family projects underway that will
benefit 150 people, and about one third of approximately 50
residential projects have begun, said Kim Walton, program coordinator
at MAREC and technical advisor for the project. “All the money saved
by these installations will go directly back into the community,” she said.
“This project places renewable energy systems with people in
Michigan who haven’t had access to this technology in the past, and
those people are often the ones who can benefit from it the most,”
said Arn Boezaart, director of MAREC. “We are proud to be part of this initiative.”
Walton said the single and multi-family units selected were
income-qualified, were deemed energy efficient or underwent
weatherization for energy efficiency before the renewable energy
technologies were installed. The project will be completed by March
31.
