Environmental Policy

Consumers Energy broke ground on its third wind energy project, Cross Winds Energy Park II in Tuscola County’s Columbia Township.Michigan’s largest energy provider is working with lead contractor White Construction, which has started building access roads and will begin constructing concrete foundations within two weeks for the 19 new turbines that will be 499 feet tall and generate up to 44 megawatts. White Construction was the contractor for Consumers Energy’s Lake Winds Energy Park near Ludington, Mich.

How the competition will play out is still unclear. What is evident is that the state perceived as the winner in this race will likely become a regional hub for energy storage, attracting investment and jobs, while leaving the other state in its shadow. This puts policy makers in the hot seat.

Public-private partnerships (P3s) are most commonly known for funding large-scale water infrastructure projects that a utility can’t support through traditional funding. However, other key attributes in the P3 model are often overlooked. In a P3, the private entity may provide the capital, but the true benefits go well beyond financing alone.

The company uses hundreds of billions of gallons of water each year, the vast majority related to producing power at its electric generating plants. But in 2016, Consumers Energy reduced water intensity — gallons used per megawatt-hour of electricity produced — by 17 percent at its electric generating plants. The energy provider is aiming for a 20 percent reduction by 2018. Reaching that goal would save more than 100 million gallons of water per year.

For more than 90 years, Caterpillar’s business has been about building better — better lives, better communities and, ultimately, a better world.

Ignacio Rodriguez, director for power sector and energy reforms at Tetra Tech, was part of a Tetra Tech delegation that attended the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ignacio shared insights as part of a panel discussion of the importance of the regulator as an independent entity. All opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own.

Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby highlights examples of how we’re building better through natural infrastructure, circular economy practices and energy access, as well as our sustainability practices within the company.

Consumers Energy employees are taking part in volunteer efforts this spring to support environmental stewardship and sustainability throughout Michigan. Lansing’s Fenner Nature Center is one of the beneficiaries, thanks to employee Scott McPhail. McPhail, an engineer with Consumers Energy in Jackson, has been an active volunteer at the Fenner Nature Center for more than two years and also serves on the organization’s board of directors.

While consensus on climate action has long been elusive, companies from diverse sectors of the economy have stepped up and pledged to protect the standards of the Paris Agreement as the U.S. administration withdraws.

Customer education, infrastructure modernization and the use of data analytics will be key tools to overcoming the water industry’s perennial challenges posed by aging infrastructure, according to Black & Veatch's 2017 Strategic Directions: Water Industry Report. A combination of investment and new business process approaches will also be critical to closing the gap between costs and consumer expectation.