October 29, 2007

Violent lunatics bent on the destruction of western civilization are one thing. Silent computer hackers who can whittle away at the nation's infrastructure are another.

Federal and industry experts say that the technology that allows utilities to run their operations is more vulnerable now than ever before. Because those networks are becoming increasingly standardized and linked to other centralized systems, they can be more easily breached and the resulting disturbances can be enormous.

DTE Energy and Ann Arbor's music venue The Ark Thursday announced a  partnership to promote renewable energy in Michigan.

November will be Green Energy month at The Ark. During the month, all electricity used at the concert venue will be offset by renewable power provided under DTE Energy's GreenCurrents renewable energy program.

Additionally, anyone who enrolls in GreenCurrents at The Ark in November will receive a free music CD or a ticket to an upcoming Ark performance.

Investor confidence in clean technologies is on the rise, according to the latest quarterly venture capital investment report from the Ann Arbor-based Cleantech Network.

Investment in cleantech reached an all-time high as venture capitalists in North America and Europe invested a record $1.74 billion in the third quarter.

This brings the year-to-date level of investment in cleantech to $3.64 billion, a 13 percent increase over the same period in 2006. Cleantech Network will discuss more details at Cleantech Forum XIV now under way in Toronto.

October 26, 2007

Electricity is the invisible commodity. But it's now in the limelight. Energy infrastructure has been labeled inadequate and ill-prepared to enable American businesses to compete in a global economy. While it may be an eye-opening idea, the difficulties in pushing ahead remain formidable.

A new report by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) discusses at length why the bulk power system is stretched thin and why it is operating closer to its limits than ever before. Its message is that the nation is still short generation and transmission. Improvements, no doubt, have occurred in some regions, but in others the problems are real and will ripple through their local economies.

DTE Energy has signed a long-term agreement with Michigan-based renewable energy company North American Biofuels LLC to provide power for the company's GreenCurrents renewable energy program.

Introduced earlier this year, GreenCurrents provides DTE Energy's 2.2 million electric customers the option of choosing environmentally friendly renewable energy for their homes and businesses.

October 24, 2007

Investors are eyeing Canadian oil sands. It may well turn out to be black gold. But it may also spell environmental troubles.

Nations around the world are demanding ever increasing amounts of oil. But supplies are shrinking and causing crude oil prices to rise to record levels. The phenomenon has forced major energy giants to set their sights on unconventional oil supplies and specifically reserves flush with oil sands. Estimates are that in a decade at least 3 million barrels a day could be derived from Canadian fields, sharply cutting into foreign exports.

Just what's in that biofuel you just put into your tank?  A Kettering University researcher is working to standardize the bio-fuel industry, which will help level the playing field in fuel economy for consumers.

Dr. Stacy Seeley, associate professor of chemistry, says more checks and balances are needed for bio-fuels.

"Industry needs to know what is being put in the tank, how it will impact a car and whether or not it will meet EPA standards," Seeley said.

So she and husband Dr. John Seeley, an associate professor of chemistry at Oakland University, have been developing new analytical methods for characterizing the composition of alternative (bio) fuels to facilitate standardization.