Solar Installers Sound Off on DTE, Consumers Programs

by Jim Dulzo | Apr 8, 2014 | Clean Energy

Five years ago, when DTE Energy and Consumers Energy launched small pilot programs offering premium rates to customers for power from their solar panels, Oak Electric and Four Elements Energy became very busy installing solar systems on homes and small businesses. But, in 2012, the roof fell in for rooftop solar in Michigan, when the utilities significantly changed their pilots. That happened, installers said, because DTE’s Solar Currents and Consumers’ Experimental Advanced Renewables Program (EARP) drastically cut their rates for new participants, citing sharply falling solar panel prices.

Building cities from the crowd up

by James Bruckbauer | Apr 5, 2014 | Resilient Communities

Fundrise allows average people to invest in property development even if they lack the credibility and capital of a wealthy developer. For northern Michigan, it’s a tool that offers a fascinating new process for rebuilding our area’s village centers and reinvesting in Traverse City’s emerging neighborhoods like Eighth Street, 14th Street, and Garfield Avenue.

The Regional Rider – Spring Cleaning Edition

by James Bruckbauer | Mar 25, 2014 | Resilient Communities

Last month’s Buses Without Borders event was a huge success! We heard terrific presentations from Vance Edwards, Kirk Steudle, Roger Millar, and Jay Flint. They talked about how reliable and efficient transit, when marketed well, can become a huge boost for tourist-based rural areas like ours.

DTE, Consumers Weigh In on Expanding Rooftop Solar

by Jim Dulzo | Mar 21, 2014 | Clean Energy

Representatives of Michigan’s two largest utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, made their first presentation to the state’s solar work group, and expressed little enthusiasm for expanding the use of customer-generated, jobs-producing, clean solar energy.