Renewable Energy
Energizing the world

Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Solar Advantage
Saginaw County and the Great Lakes Bay Region is the focal point of Michigan’s new solar energy industry. We are a key factor in Michigan’s state of transformation – into a new era of prosperity and innovation. The resources, technology and motivation are here and ready for photovoltaic companies looking to jump-start their operations in the United States.

The Great Lakes Bay Region offers the benefits of a prime geographic location, a highly functional industrial base and an educated, trained workforce equipped for immediate placement. Here to help you locate and succeed is an alliance of the region’s three economic development corporations: the Great Lakes Bay Economic Development Partnership (GLBEDP). The Great Lakes Bay Region is equipped with a rich cache of manufacturing skills and expertise that enhances every capacity of solar business:

• Saginaw County is home to the largest producer of polycrystalline silicon in the world, which is the raw material for solar panels and electronics!
• One of the highest per-capita concentrations of Ph.D. professionals in the United States.
• Almost 20 percent of the region’s workforce has significant post-secondary education, including advanced degrees.
• Nearly 20 percent of the local workforce is employed in manufacturing, many with experience in electronics and precision automotive components. These fields and skill sets transfer directly to solar industry manufacturing.
  
  

Catch the Wind
At the start of 2008, U.S. wind energy capacity reached 16,970 megawatts (MW) after a record installation of 5,365 MW in 2007. Growth estimates by the American Wind Energy Association indicate that the U.S. could continue to add as much as 5,000 MW per year. Utility-scale wind power projects now under construction or under negotiation will add at least 5,000 megawatts of wind capacity in the U.S. by 2011. As public demand for clean energy grows, and as the cost of producing energy from the wind continues to decline, it is likely that wind energy will provide a growing portion of the nation's energy supply. Saginaw County and Michigan have great potential for wind energy production.

The wind energy industry includes not just power generation, but also the manufacturing of parts for wind turbines and structures and their assembly. Because of the large size of some of these components, geographic proximity to the final site location is a major advantage. Michigan provides a geographic concentration of competitive and cooperative companies and industries.

Saginaw County's Merrill Technologies Group (MTG), in partnership with Northern Power Systems, received a $3 million diversification grant through the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and the MEDC. The funds will be matched with $3 million from the company and will be used to construct prototypes and a pilot program, using permanent magnet generators and advanced direct-drive design technology. The expectation is that MTG will become a major supplier for Michigan-made wind turbines developed by Northern Power, an American wind turbine OEM. The turbine will consist of almost entirely American-made content and will be destined for U.S. markets. The project is expected to create between 75 and 125 jobs initially.

The company also recently purchased nearly $4.5 million in new equipment, primarily horizontal machining centers due to increased demand in the aerospace, wind and solar markets with assistance from the Saginaw Future Procurement Technical Assistance Center.