Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office

12/16/2016

Gov. Rick Snyder 'fired up,' plans to sign energy overhaul

Michigan lawmakers approve sweeping, bipartisan energy plan

He helped broker the deal that ultimately passed the House and Senate.

04/25/2016

Model D

We're super proud to be partnering with Soulerdardarity to bring streetlights back to Highland Park's neighborhoods!

When the gutting of Highland Park's lighting grid left residents in the dark four years ago, a grassroots group called Soulardarity sprang up to try to remedy the problem. Now, they're trying to forge an unprecedented partnership with Highland Park to light the entire city with solar power.

12/23/2015

Fixed charges, ‘bailouts’ and green tea: the Midwest Energy News 2015 year in review

Midwest Energy News shared their top ten most read stories of 2015, and our work helping cities intervene in the DTE rate case made the cut!

As 2015 draws to a close, here's our annual look at the year's biggest stories.

12/23/2015

DTE Energy building two solar sites planned to be largest in Michigan

A win for Michigan - rivaling Arizona! Now, for southeast Michigan...

DTE is billing the project as the largest utility-owned solar array east of the Mississippi River.

12/17/2015

Don't raise suburbs' cost on LED streetlights, DTE told

We are proud to have been the convening force for cities in this rate case. This ruling sets the stage for rich discussions with DTE Energy about how LED lighting technology can best benefit the environment and our communities!

12/17/2015

Cities successfully challenge DTE Energy over LED streetlight costs

Cities successfully challenge DTE Energy over LED streetlight costs!

A group of cities has successfully challenged DTE Energy’s plan to charge it more for LED streetlights. A coalition of cities took its case against DTE’s

12/17/2015

Michigan cities prevail in dispute with utilities over LED street lights

Congrats to the Michigan Street Lighting Coalition!

11/06/2015

Municipal Energy Commissions Network Regional Convening

If you're a southeast Michigan resident with an interest in energy and sustainability, appointed member of a city commission, municipal staff or elected official, please join us tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 6, at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, for the launch of our newest initiative: The Municipal Energy Commissions Network. See the Eventbrite for the details and the link to RSVP. Hope you can join us!

10/02/2015

Michigan Advanced Lighting Conference

LED streetlights, anyone?

09/07/2015

Rick Haglund: Forward thinking helped develop state's renewable energy strategy

Great leadership got us where we are, but we can't lose momentum. There's too much left to do in building a clean energy economy in Michigan. Let's hope the Legislature comes to understand this.

Former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm often is credited with pushing Michigan to become a leader in the development of renewable energy sources. But it was her predecessor and political polar opposite, Republican Gov. John Engler, who planted the seeds that...

08/06/2015

The City of Madison Heights has met it's energy reduction goal reduce the city’s use of nonrenewable energy by 25 percent by 2015. The idea — inspired by the Millennial Mayors Congress — added motion sensors to municipal buildings that turn off the lights when no one is around to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and save money. City Council approved the Energy Protocol, and now the city has now reached its goal. Congrats to Madison Heights!

06/26/2015

Home

The Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association (GLREA) annual Michigan Renewable Energy Fair is today and tomorrow at the Ingham County Fairgrounds. Visit glrea.org for more info!

GLREA

06/18/2015

Streetlight Modernization: Applied Lean Leads to Big Savings for Washington’s Small Cities

Emerging Local Government Leaders is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, July 8. Attend the webinar to learn from Washington State's experience with LED streetlights!

http://elgl.org/2015/06/17/webuiltthiscity-webinar-led-streetlights/

Streetlight modernization recently hit its stride in Washington State as individual cities recognized the strong business case. Small cities need the 55 percent savings more than anyone, but initial capitalization costs prevent rapid adoption. In 2013, the Washington State Transportation Improvement…

06/13/2015

Increasing Michigan's renewable energy portfolio is a no-risk strategy customers would embrace

We completely agree! Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature have a great opportunity to this year to help us take a big step forward. Let them know the energy bill needs aggressive standards for renewables and support for utilities and consumers to make this important transition.

Two national surveys from the University of Michigan have measured the public's level of concern about the environmental impacts of energy and their willingness to pay for cleaner energy.

06/08/2015

NREL + SolarCity: Maximizing Solar Power on Electrical Grids

See how NREL, the Energy Systems Integration Facility and a Hawaiian utility are building the smart grid of the future.

Learn how NREL is partnering with SolarCity to study how to better integrate rooftop solar onto the grid. The work includes collaboration with the Hawaiian E...

06/05/2015

Teaser - World Environment Day 2015 Official Video

Celebrate United Nations World Environment Day, today, June 5.

Teaser - World Environment Day 2015 Official Video

06/04/2015

Living experiments

Phillips' LED's light up the long nights in Sweden. A great example of how we can transform urban lighting!

Innovation doesn’t begin when you know the answer. It begins when you know people. When you listen to them. Work with them. Are challenged by – and challenge – their perspectives.

05/22/2015

Our annual meeting is underway! Communities from across the region are hearing from our fantastic speakers: Valerie Brader, deputy legal counsel and senior policy advisor to Governor Rick Snyder specializing in energy issues, and Saulius Mikalonis, energy & natural resources practice group leader for Plunkett & Cooney.

05/20/2015

Regional Energy Office 2015 Annual Meeting

We invite you to be our guest at the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office’s 3rd Annual Meeting this Friday, May 22. We will be gathering some of the brightest and most engaged minds to talk about the work being done in our region and across the state to move towards a goal of generating 25% of municipal energy from renewable sources by the year 2025.

We'll also share the latest achievements and ongoing work the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office is doing to help metro Detroit become a leader in sustainability. If you like what we’re doing (and we know you will!) we can talk to you about a no-cost Affiliate membership for your community.

The meeting is free—so spend the morning with us!

Join us this Friday, May 22!

Please mark your calendar for the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office’s 2015 Annual Meeting: Friday, May 22nd | 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. McNaughton-McKay Electric Company 1357 E. Lincoln Ave, Madison Heights, MI 48071 At our annual meeting we’ll be introducing our focus on renewables work over…

04/23/2015

Small cities remain fertile ground for efficiency projects | Midwest Energy News

Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office featured in the Midwest Energy News...along with our partners at Michigan Energy Options

An organization that helps cities arrange financing for energy efficiency projects says there is still a lot of "low-hanging fruit" to be found.

04/08/2015

2015 Annual Conference

On May 5, the Governor's Recycling Summit will highlight Michigan recycling priorities, share key data and trends about current recycling efforts, recognize stakeholders that are making progress, and show how the state of Michigan is applying its muscle to support the initiative.

If you register in the next few days, you can still receive the discounted rate! Learn more here:

2015 Conference Recycling Governor's Recycling Summit

04/02/2015

Three Things Cities Need in Our New Energy Policy | Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office

Governor Snyder recently delivered a special message on energy policy. Here's our take on it:

Governor Snyder recently delivered a special message to the Legislature on energy policy. Let's discuss!

03/28/2015

Careers | Warm Training Org.

Our friends at EcoWorks have formally launched the search for their next executive director. Know a talented environmental advocate ready to take on the world?

http://ecoworksdetroit.org/careers/

Careers Come work with us! EcoWorks is leading the way in energy efficiency, green building, sustainability, and the transformation of our communities. Take a look at our current openings (to the right) and apply now. Of special note: We are searching for our next Executive Director in Spring 2015.…

03/27/2015

Costa Rica is now running completely on renewable energy

"With a boost from geothermal, solar, and wind energy sources, the country doesn’t need an ounce of coal or petroleum to keep the lights on."

Thanks to some heavy rainfall this year, Costa Rica's hydropower plants alone are nearly generating enough electricity to power the country.

03/26/2015

Snyder faces challenges in boosting Michigan's energy efficiency, renewable energy

"Perhaps, Michigan can learn from Ohio’s example." And not miss out on millions of dollars in investment!

Great commentary from Saulius Mikalonis highlighting the surprising challenge energy issues face in a state that has broad public support for renewables and a burning need for the economic advantages they bring.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150325/BLOG103/150329906/snyder-faces-challenges-in-boosting-michigans-energy-efficiency?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1

Gov. Rick Snyder appears hopeful that Michigan can continue to build upon past successes regarding energy efficiency and energy alternatives, but he faces some headwinds, some of which are coming from his own party.

03/21/2015

Detroit street lights star in new TV commercial

Simultaneously jealous and proud of Detroit's effort to upgrade 65,000 streetlights to energy efficient LEDs. Some well-deserved stardom here!

http://www.freep.com/story/money/2015/03/20/citibank-street-lighting-commercial-detroit/25075323/

A New York bank is the latest Wall Street firm to advertise its role in assisting Detroit.

03/19/2015

Snyder creates agency focused on energy policy

Super excited to see our friend Valerie Brader heading up Michigan's energy strategy! Director Brader was instrumental in creating SEMREO before she joined the administration. As our attorney, she helped us craft this innovative approach to regional service provision. In Lansing, she's been a visionary leader on energy issues -- we couldn't think of a better person to shepherd us into a cleaner energy future!

Gov. Rick Snyder appointed deputy legal counsel Valerie Brader to head the new Michigan Agency for Energy to coordinate the state's energy policy decisions.

03/18/2015

Proposed DTE increase on LED streetlights leaves local cities split

Cities continue to question what DTE's rate changes mean for their bottom lines and environmental impacts. If your community has questions, contact us to learn more or join the MPSC rate case as an Intervenor.

GROSSE POINTES — A DTE Energy proposal that would raise rates for light-emitting diode streetlights has drawn criticism from a number of cities that have converted to the more energy-efficient light, but the response

03/13/2015

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder wants up to 40 percent clean energy by 2025

Here's a great idea: reducing our reliance on coal from 54% to 34% through a smart focus on renewables and efficiency. We're with you, Governor!

Michigan could get up to 40 percent of its energy from a combination of renewable energy and reducing energy waste, said Gov. Rick Snyder.

03/13/2015

5 things to watch as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder unveils energy policy

As the governor weighs in on energy today, we'll be listening for increased attention to energy efficiency measures and renewable energy generation. SEMREO communities have already saved more than $50M from these kinds of projects and we've barely touched the potential. Let's ramp it up, Governor!

Gov. Rick Snyder unveils his energy vision on Friday. Here are five things worth watching for.

02/05/2015

Ann Arbor responds to LED streetlight proposal: 'The rate changes don't make sense'

Street Lighting Consortium Director Rick Bunch weighs in on the DTE rate changes, standing up for Energy Office member communities and all cities that are working hard to save energy and tax dollars:

Ann Arbor officials made it clear Monday night they're opposed to DTE Energy's planned rate increases for energy-saving LED streetlights. The City Council voted unanimously in favor of intervening in the rate case that's before the Michigan Public Service Commission....

01/28/2015

The White House Wants To Upgrade 1.5 Million Light Poles

Read about the Department of Energy's efforts to upgrade our nation's streetlights—and look for a Regional Energy Office shout-out!

WASHINGTON -- The White House is planning to announce Friday an initiative to help convert 1.5 million light posts in the United States to more efficient technologies. The announcement will be made as part of the annual winter meeting of the U.S....

01/23/2015

Warren mayor concerned about DTE proposed rate changes for streetlights

We're proud to be leading the effort to upgrade all metro Detroit streetlights to LED by 2020! Upgrading technology is not always simple, but we're committed to helping our member communities lead the way on energy efficiency.

He wrote a letter to the Michigan Public Service Commission about his concerns

11/18/2014

MPSC - MPSC Becomes First State Energy Agency in the Nation to Make Energy Efficiency...

We might be a little PACE crazy over here, but we sure love seeing the Michigan Public Service Commission walking the talk on energy efficiency!

MI Public Service Commission | LARA -

11/18/2014

NextEnergy – November 19, 2014: Michigan Advanced Lighting Conference

Our partners at NextEnergy are hosting the Michigan Advanced Lighting Conference in Lansing, Wednesday, Nov. 19, in Lansing at the Capital. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about cool, new technologies in the advanced lighting field. Visit the website for more details:
http://www.nextenergy.org/malc/

Mark Roush Marketing consultant & principal, Experience Light, LLC & vice president, Illuminating Engineering Society (IES)The Fun (and Crazy) Evolution and Revolution in the Lighting Industry