News Roundup
News Roundup for Feb. 26
THREE SWEET SPOTS
Jennifer Granholm
Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan is praising Dow Chemical Company’s investments in wind, solar and battery storage technology. Granholm stopped by the company’s Midland, Mich., headquarters Feb 25 to talk about job creation and tax breaks. “You are in three sweet spots now that we are going after alternative energy,” said Granholm, who praised the company as a “poster child” for diversifying Michigan’s economy. The state has approved more than $103 million in tax credits for Dow’s solar and advanced battery storage programs.
WAL-MART EYES EMISSIONS
Wal-Mart is working with suppliers to reduce carbon emissions in sourcing, manufacturing, transportation and product disposal. The company wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its supply chain by 20 million metric tons by the end of 2015, said Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke. Reaching the goal will cut energy use and lower costs even as the company continues store expansion, said Duke. “We need to get ready for a world where energy will only be more expensive.”
DEERE WIND
The world’s largest manufacturer of farm machinery has invested more than $1 billion in its wind energy unit since 2005. Now, Deere and Company has asked Goldman Sachs Group to help determine whether its wind operations are a good fit in its portfolio. Moline, Ill.-based Deere finances, develops and owns its own wind projects. The company now has 34 projects with a combined capacity of 706 megawatts. “We should review whether investments in wind energy are the most optimal use of the company’s resources,” said Ken Golden, a Deere spokesman.
SAFETY CONCERN
Federal investigators looking into the explosion of a Middletown, Conn., power plant are calling for suspension of high-pressure natural gas purges at power plants and other industrial sites. “This practice is inherently unsafe,” said Donald Holmstrom, the lead investigator of the Chemical Safety Review Board. While the cause of the Feb 7 incident at the Kleen Energy plant, which killed six and injured 26, investigators said more than 400,000 cubic feet of natural gas was vented from an auxiliary boiler through temporary pipes ten minutes before the explosion occurred. The panel is expected to recommend improved procedures.
—Based on news and wire reports
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