For Friday, Aug. 3, 2018

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1 – Combined Heat and Power can be a significant part of Michigan’s future energy mix.

The Michigan Energy Office has issued a roadmap for the state. Officials say Combined Heat and Power, or CHP, is a proven technology that provides an efficient way to generate electricity and process heat in a single onsite system.

There are 88 CHP systems in Michigan, with an installed capacity of 3,500 MW. The state Energy Office report identifies the ideal level of additional CHP in Michigan for commercial and industrial customers as between 722 MW and 2,360 MW.

The report considered projects to be viable if the payback period was 10 years or less for the public and institutional sectors, and less than four years for the private sector.

Officials say the report was based on feedback from more than 100 individuals and organizations across the state, and is a valuable tool that can be used to drive the adoption and deployment of CHP in Michigan.

2- Michigan’s efforts in Geographic Information System technology have received national recognition.

The state’s Department of Natural Resources was recognized at a recent Esri User Conference, in San Diego, California.

Officials received an award for achievements in mapping and data analytics.

The DNR’s work is available online via an Open Data Portal on the DNR website.

The site includes data on trails, water, minerals, trees, wildlife and fish.

Officials say the tools have had a positive economic impact. They assisted decision-makers at a global producer of wood products in choosing to bring a state-of-the-art chipboard plant to Grayling, Michigan.

The $400 million plant is under construction and set to begin production in September, creating up to 210 new jobs.

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 9:30 a.m. Fridays in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Q-90.1 FM NPR. Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes