Earlier this week, the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth ("DELEG") announced that Genoa Township in Livingston County successfully installed five Windspire® wind/solar hybrid turbines.  The project and installation was funded by a state Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant project.

The Windspire® wind energy conversion turbine is manufactured in Manistee, Michigan with domestic materials. The turbines are capable of generating more power than the township hall requires, feeding power back to the electrical grid. When power is fed back to the grid, a net meter attached to the system spins backwards and reduces the town’s energy bill by the amount of energy generated. According to the Township, at an average wind speed of 12 mph, one turbine will produce 2000kWh of power which is 25% of the energy usage for an average home.

The state Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (“EECBG”) are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). Designed to aid smaller communities in developing and implementing energy efficient technologies and programs, these funds support various projects, such as the re-tooling of energy systems in older municipal buildings, installing light-emitting diode street lighting, creating or expanding community recycling programs, and installing small-scale renewable energy generating systems.  To date, DELEG has granted $17.6 million to 129 EECBG funded projects across the state.   

Information on current nationally-available ARRA and non-ARRA federal grant opportunities is available here.  The Clark Hill iGreenLaw Team can provide assistance throughout all stages of the funding process.  Please send us a message using the form in the right column for more information regarding iGreenLaw’s services.