Governor Granholm was in the Brighton area yesterday to visit with local citizens and share her vision of what we should be doing as a state to diversify our economy and create new jobs and investment. Alternative energy played a big part in the conversation – from the Livingston Daily -

“If we make a commitment as a state to get 10 percent of our energy, and that’s a small amount, from renewable sources by 2015 … we would have created a demand here for that type of energy,” Granholm said. “Then, the job suppliers will come.”

Michigan is already among the top four states in the country for wind turbine production, she noted, adding that companies in alternative and renewable energy are looking for an existing infrastructure to suit their needs.

“They want a state that has empty factories that they can come in and convert to manufacture these huge wind turbines,” the governor said. “They want a state that has an available wind manufacturing work force.”

The governor also addressed the issue of rising energy costs and the consequences of not taking action.

“We know electric rates are going up anyway because the price of coal is going up, the cost of natural energy is going up. If we do nothing, it’s going to cost consumers far more,” Granholm said.

“This entire package, this four-bill package, will actually save consumers $5 billion over the next decade because of the energy-efficiency rate.”

In another video, Livingston Educational Services Agency Superintendent Scott Menzel talked with the governor about school funding issues and partnering with the state to develop alternative energy programs for high school students. You can watch that video clip here.

A representative from the Brighton solar energy company The Green Panel concurred with the idea that alternative energy should be the direction for Michigan’s economic future.

A local green company, The Green Panel Inc. of Brighton, had three representatives at the appearance Wednesday. They talked about their young, small company, which engineers, furnishes and installs solar panels.

“I think (her message) was encouraging,” said 24-year-old Sarah Holt of Brighton Township, who graduated this spring from Northern Michigan University with an earth sciences major. “I think (renewable energy) is truly the direction the state, as well as the U.S., needs to be going.”

The governor also brought the same message to Holland on Tuesday, encouraging business leaders there to get involved in wind energy.

She said Holland’s position on the shoreline is great for generating wind power and its manufacturing base could be good for building wind turbines.

“That’s your whole niche,” she said in an interview with The Sentinel. “Why not have you guys be the leaders? Why not capitalize on the demand?”

Governor Granholm will speak on June 27th at the Michigan Energy Fair at the Manistee County Fairgrounds. Allan O’Shea, fair co-chairman, talks about Granholm’s appearance and also about the incredible interest in alternative energy technologies in this podcast from MiTech News.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.