Growth Industries
Michigan Wind Energy
To begin your engagement with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) for alternative/renewable energy projects please fill out our automated questionnaire.
Whether your business is providing wind energy or supplying providers, Michigan has a lot of advantages.
At the start of 2008, U.S. wind energy capacity reached 16,970 megawatts (MW) after a record installation of 5,365 MW in 2007. Growth estimates by the American Wind Energy Association indicate that the U.S. could continue to add as much as 5,000 MW per year. Utility-scale wind power projects now under construction or under negotiation will add at least 5,000 megawatts of wind capacity in the U.S. by 2011. As public demand for clean energy grows, and as the cost of producing energy from the wind continues to decline, it is likely that wind energy will provide a growing portion of the nation's energy supply.
The wind energy industry includes not just power generation, but also the manufacturing of parts for wind turbines and structures and their assembly. Because of the large size of some of these components, geographic proximity to the final site location is a major advantage. Michigan provides a geographic concentration of competitive and cooperative companies and industries that are interconnected by the markets they serve and the products they produce, as well as the suppliers, trade associations and educational institutions.
Michigan Wind Energy Updates
Michigan has recently passed a Renewable Portfolio Standard which mandates that 10% of Michigan's electricity needs come from renewable sources by 2015 and 25% by 2025. A 10% by 2015 RPS would generate a demand for approximately 1,250 new wind turbines over the next seven years.
Backed by the 21st Century Jobs Fund, NextEnergy is leading and coordinating a state Wind Manufacturing Working Group. These activities include educational updates and work shops on the wind supply chain, production requirements and specifications and opportunities to directly interact and meet with leading wind OEMs. The Michigan Wind Working Group consists of state departments, utilities, companies and other interested parties that meet monthly to exchange information, discuss collaboration and projects, increase consumer awareness and identify barriers and opportunities.
The Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing of Alternative & Renewable Energy Technologies (CAMARET) is a five-university effort focusing on centralizing manufacturing research expertise related to wind product design and materials, manufacturing processes, systems and supply chain.
To begin your engagement with the MEDC for alternative/renewable energy projects please fill out our automated questionnaire.
In May, the state of Michigan formed a partnership with the government of Navarra, Spain to work collaboratively with leading industry experts, including the Michigan-based wind turbine manufacturer Energetx Composites, to develop green technology.
In April, MSF approved a Center of Energy Excellence designation and $6 million in funding for Astraeus Wind Energy, a cooperative venture between MAG Automation Systems (Port Huron and Sterling Heights) and Dowding Machining (Eaton Rapids) and in collaboration with ORNL and Dow Chemical Company.
Ground was broken this spring for a 115,000-square-foot plant on 38 acres at the Port of Monroe for production of steel wind turbine towers.
Grand Rapids plastic injection-molding firm has become an alternative energy pioneer.
Michigan blows Indiana away in luring Danotek's wind turbine-parts project.
Ann Arbor Wind Power Company Attracts $200,000 in Pre-Seed Venture Capital Funding
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