Expansion Management

Michigan's Green Machine

March 19, 2010

Things are moving in Michigan. ProNewables, a new company based in Kalamazoo teamed up with Kalamazoo Valley Community College to deploy the Green Machine throughout the Midwest to capture waste heat and turn it into energy.

The Green Machine, manufactured by the ElectraTherm, Inc. can produce power from a wide array of heat sources including industrial waste heat, engines, biomass and solar thermal installations.

http://www.electratherm.com/images/green_machine.jpg

Why Michigan? "The Midwest has the manufacturing facilities, the labor pool and the demand to apply the Green Machine abundantly to applications including stationary engines, boilers, geothermal and solar thermal sites," said Bill Olson, Vice President of Business Development at ElectraTherm.

Michigan's factories, power plants, paper and steel mills, food processing facilities and other heavy industry produce enough waste heat to power thousands of Green Machines, according to data in a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Where did the money come from? The Windquest Group, an investment management firm, teamed up with ProServices ., a specialized trades contractor. The resulting company will sell, install and maintain the Green Machine to support industry throughout Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Approximately two-thirds of the fuel burned to generate power in the United States, and up to half of industrial energy consumption is lost, according to a DOE Report.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko Blog | Senior Editor

Focus: Expansion Management & the Biotech & Life Sciences Industries

Email: [email protected]

Follow Adrienne on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Call: 216-931-9235

Senior Editor Adrienne Selko manages IndustryWeek’s Expansion Management, delivering ideas and information about how successful manufacturers leverage location to gain competitive advantage. She explores the strategies behind why companies located their headquarters, research institutes, factories, warehouse and distribution centers and other facilities where they did, and how they benefit from the decision.

Adrienne is also the editorial coordinator of the IndustryWeek Expansion Management Roundtable events, which unites economic development professionals to network and discuss the latest trends in site location.

As well, Adrienne tells the stories of successful companies in the biotechnology and life sciences industries.

In the past, Adrienne has managed IndustryWeek’s award-winning website, overseeing eNewletters, webinars, and contributed content. Before joining the staff, Adrienne was managing editor of corporate publications at a large regional financial institution. She also ran a public relations and marketing company that published a best-selling healthcare book.

Adrienne received a bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Michigan and is especially interested in wellness and natural health.