Final Meeting of the Community Energy Advisory Group?

by James H. Woods and Staff

Holland, Mich.-Last Tuesday night (September 25, 2012), the Community Energy Advisory Group (CEAG) of Holland met for what may be the last time, at Holland New Tech High School. The group has supported the Community Energy Plan that was recently adopted by Holland's City Council. The group's biggest achievement, and most important role, has been educating residents of Holland about the energy plan, and not allowing the city or its residents "to ignore it," according to Don Triezenberg, one of the founding members of the CEAG.

The Community Energy Plan was the work of Peter Garforth, of Garforth International, an energy consulting firm. It is a 40 year plan created to turn Holland into a world-class, energy efficient city. The pillars of the plan are energy efficiency, stable energy supply, efficient power generation, and a cleaner environment.

It was an informal meeting attended by various interested individuals from the community. Roughly a dozen people attended. The agenda contained three segments: a discussion of the the committees that the city has created to push the Community Energy Plan forward, an open discussion of current energy issues, and a closing that reflected on the work of the CEAG over the last two years.

As City Council recently approved the Community Energy Plan, it was decided that implementation should be broken out by emphasis areas from the plan itself. Action teams that will oversee implementation of the plan are: Home Energy Retrofit, Citywide District Heating, Industrial Services, Building Energy Labeling, Electrical Generation, and Community Education and Outreach. The CEAG heard brief summaries of the meeting plans for each of these groups. Due to the creation of the action teams, it was deemed perhaps unnecessary for the CEAG to meet in the future, as it is likely that action teams will take over much of the work that the CEAG has done in the past.

James Clift, Policy Director of the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) attended the meeting. He was there to speak about the 25% by 2025 ballot initiative for the November election. The initiative seeks to change Michigan's current law, forcing state utility companies to use 25% renewable power generation by the year 2025. According to Mr. Clift, fossil fuel prices are rising, and renewable energy prices will be declining in the future. The MEC is advocating to pass the ballot initiative for the purpose of creating "more jobs, stable utility rates, and a cleaner environment."

Mr. Clift cited a report by MSU that estimated that about 30,000 jobs would be created in construction if the ballot initiative passes. The report estimated an additional 43,000 jobs would be necessary for ongoing operations of renewable energy generation agencies.

It is estimated that Michigan spends $1.5 Billion dollars per year on coal for electric generation. An additional $1.5 Billion dollars per year is also incurred in health related costs and damages from the impact of coal and natural gas power generation. 

Current poll numbers show Michigan voters in favor of the ballot initiative by a significant margin.

Coley Brown, a member of the CEAG, led an activity at the end of the meeting that sought to recognize and reflect on some of the achievements of the group over the last two years.