LARA - Michigan Community Partnerships Help Citizens, Businesses Save Through Energy Efficiency

Michigan Community Partnerships Help Citizens, Businesses Save Through Energy Efficiency

Contact: Mario L. Morrow 517-373-9280

Agency: Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

December 4, 2008 - Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG) announced today that five grants were awarded to launch Rebuild Michigan community partnerships to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy use in commercial buildings. Additionally, DLEG announced three grant awards for energy workshops, seminars and tours for commercial and institutional building owners and managers and building service providers.

"Michigan is poised to be a national leader in new energy jobs and production and one key element of that leadership is reducing our energy usage through energy efficiency," said DLEG Energy Office Director R. Thomas Martin. "These grants will assist small businesses, schools and local government to identify energy cost saving opportunities in their buildings. The workshops, seminars and tours grants are designed to not only educate building owners and managers, but also developers, contractors and equipment suppliers on state-of-the-art energy efficiency design, techniques and equipment for new and existing buildings."

Grants were awarded to:

Clean Energy Coalition ($24,900) to form a new partnership in theYpsilanti area.
Delta Institute ($18,910) to form a new partnership in City of Wyandotte.
Ferris State University ($24,896) to form a new partnership in Big Rapids & Mecosta County.
Lake Superior State University ($8,607) to form a new partnership in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
Michigan Green ($24,900) to form a new partnership in Livingston County.
Northern Options ($10,000) to conduct workshops, seminars and tours in the U.P.
Urban Options ($10,000) to conduct workshops, seminars and tours in the Lansing area.
WARM Training Center ($10,000) to conduct workshops, seminars and tours in Wayne Co.

The Rebuild MI Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and administered by the DLEG Energy Office, which promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy development and use with Michigan residents, businesses and public institutions. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/energyoffice.

Contacts: Sean Reed, Clean Energy Coalition, (888) 818-0987, reed@cec-mi.org; Todd Parker, Delta Institute, (517) 482-8810, tparker@delta-institute.org; Thomas Crandell, Ferris State University, (231) 591-5813, crandelt@ferris.edu; Greg Zimmerman, Lake Superior State University, (906) 635-2470, gzimmerman@lssu.edu; Doug Russell, MI GREEN, (888) 473-5444; Jennifer Binkley-Power, Northern Options/Urban Options, (906) 226-1136; Robert Chapman, WARM Training Center, (313) 894-1030, bobchapman@warmtraining.org; Tim Shireman, Energy Office, (517) 241-6281, shiremant@michigan.gov; Tom Krupiarz, Energy Office (517) 241-6184, krupiarzt@michigan.gov.