Source: The Great Lakes IT Report
Posted: Wednesday, 5 May 2009
by Matt Roush

The Engineering Society of Detroit and DTE Energy drew around 800 people to the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi Tuesday for their annual Energy Conference and Exhibition.

With the theme "Advancing Energy Efficiency and Productivity," the event featured a morning of specialized, highly technical energy presentations on everything from LED lighting to green roofs to solar power to more efficient uses in compressed air systems.

A luncheon keynote from Monica Martinez, one of the commissioners on the Michigan Public Service Commission, was a cheerleading session on the state's possibilities in renewable and alternative energy technologies.

Martinez said Michigan a century ago, even a couple of generations ago, was a hotbed of opportunity and innovation. "Do you see that today?" she asked the crowd, then responded to their silence: "That's my challenge to each and every one of you here today. You came here because energy is important to you and so central to our future. At the turn of the 20th Century, Michigan was changing everything and creating the middle class. We need to get that spark back."

Martinez said former President Jimmy Carter is often mocked for his thermostat-lowering, sweater-donning response to the 1970s energy crisis. But today we're right where he was afraid we'd be, in an economic crisis caused in part by energy issues.

She also said energy infrastructure will be a huge part of the federal government's stimulus package, which should help Michigan.

And she also said Michigan has major assets in better battery technologies and wind turbine manufacturing.