April 23, 2004
The Muskegon Chronicle
By Dave Alexander

The new Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center lies less than a mile down the Muskegon Lake shoreline from Consumers Energy's coal-burning B.C. Cobb plant.

One looks to the future; the other is rooted in the past.

But according to those gathered to dedicate the high-tech research facility Thursday, new energy sources are likely just to supplement, not replace, the old ones -- at least for now.

"Renewable sources of power are not going to usurp coal power plants," said Gary Nowakowski, a renewable energy team leader for the U.S. Department of Energy's Chicago office, who attended Thursday's event. "But they will complement the power grid, giving us a more reliable and energy-efficient system."

Grand Valley State University dedicated its second research facility on Muskegon Lake Thursday afternoon -- Earth Day -- with more than 150 business, government and educational leaders present. GVSU also has the Lake Michigan Center, a Muskegon research facility dedicated to the region's water resources.

University President Mark Murray promised the energy center would serve students and faculty, create jobs, work on problems such as farm waste and demonstrate a clean, self-efficient energy system.

"This center is going to bring people from around the nation and around the world to Muskegon," Murray said. "This is a center that will attract national attention."

At its heart, the energy center demonstrates "distributive power." The 25,000-square-foot "office building of the future" -- designed and constructed by Workstage, a division of Steelcase Inc. of Grand Rapids -- has a self-contained power plant that can operate independent of the electrical grid or generate surplus "green power" to be exported to the grid system.

Distributive power is made in small quantities where it is needed, in contrast to huge power plants now in operation. GVSU's energy center in the Edison Landing business park relies on a fuel cell, solar panel roof and high-tech storage batteries.

"This facility is working while we sit here," said the center's executive director, Imad Mahawili. "GVSU has dared to create the mental image of a 21st Century energy future. We can export or import energy, as we need today.
"This is the dawning of energy distribution."

The federal government provided a $125,000 grant to the $7 million energy center. Key was a $3 million technology grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission, the state's utility regulators, for the fuel cell, solar panels and battery system.

"GVSU has provided us a front-row view of the energy revolution that is playing itself out," Public Service Commissioner Bob Nelson said. "This facility plays such a key role in the long-term economic health of this state and nation."

Not only was Thursday's VIP dedication ceremony a time for GVSU to show off its latest research institution, but also a time for Muskegon officials to bask in the glow of GVSU's accomplishment. Instrumental in making the GVSU energy center possible was a state-sponsored high-tech SmartZone won by the city of Muskegon and Muskegon Area First, a local economic development agency.

The Community Foundation for Muskegon County and the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce played supporting roles in creating the SmartZone and developing the energy center.

"Our community is proud to be home to two GVSU research centers," Muskegon Mayor Steve Warmington said. "We look forward to positive results coming from this center."

Mahawili and his staff now have the three energy devices working and will begin to write the software programs to integrate them for their most efficient use. The center also will begin a program on alternative energy technology with Muskegon Community College to train students on the operation and maintenance of alternative energy devices.

The energy center has space in which startup energy and technology firms can work with GVSU staff and students to build new companies. The first tenant of the center is Freedom Power, a company that integrates wind, solar, and fuel cells with advanced technologies.

The center also is beginning to work on a few specific research and development projects. Foremost is a "bio-mass" project in which farm waste will be used to produce methane to power either a microturbine or a fuel cell. The first such plant is being targeted for the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System.

© 2004 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission