If you have known me for any amount of time, you know that I could be a Google poster child. I use pretty much all of their services, have recommended and deployed some of them as corporate solutions, and am quick to recommend Google anything for a solution. I really do think they have some wonderful technologies and ideas.

That is one of the reasons this article at WorldChanging.com caught my eye, especially with regards to Michigan. Google has a strong presence in Ann Arbor, no doubt (at least partially) to keep their eyes open for more PhD’s coming out of the University of Michigan.

Both GE and Google have the financial ability to lobby for renewable energy policy changes on a level that mere mortals will never reach. But the exciting thing to me is the pairing of the two at what they do best, which GE actually mentions in the article.

“Smart grids also provide consumers with advanced information about their electricity usage, which encourages energy efficiency. “We make the gadgets, smart meters, and people like Google could make the software,” said GE chief executive officer Jeff Immelt at a Google technology conference where the partnership was announced.”

I am wondering if T. Boone Pickens will mention anything about this when he is in Ann Arbor this week. I have to believe there will be people from Google there.

According to Reuters, time is running out for Congress to get its act together and extend the tax credits for renewable energy. How the House can fund its ideas and the Senate can’t is beyond me, other than it’s not a genuine priority.

This snippet near the end of the new article really caught my eye.

“If Congress does not act to extend the renewable energy incentives, which expire at the end of the year, the solar industry alone would lose 39,000 jobs in 2009, according to a Solar Energy Industries Association spokeswoman.”

Turn this around for a minute. What if the news could read like this:

“39,000 jobs were created in 2009 alone as renewable energy incentives spawned a new era of innovation in America’s journey to energy independence.”

Wake up, Congress! We need these incentives to stay in place!

Cleantechnica.com has an excellent blog post that describes the EPA’s release of a Google Earth mashup of potential sites for renewable energy sources to be built. The author does a good job describing what the map means.

There are many locations in Michigan that have potential. Of particular interest to me personally is the site in Kalamazoo that my grandfather worked at when it was a paper mill. It has long been shut down, but in his day, it was a thriving paper factory that employed a lot of people with decent wages for the day. Back then, they did not consider the long term effects of what they were doing. I think it would be an awesome thing for these sites, once a source of sustained pollution, to be transformed into renewable energy sites. The potential for green collar jobs at these sites will only help our economy and help us create our own energy.

While not comprehensive by any measure, this article from news-journalonline.com gives a summary of each candidate’s enerfy view.

One thing that I do not see addressed is the individual’s opportunity to address the use of renewable energy. A (hopefull( well thought out blog post on this topic is forthcoming as I percolate those thoughts!

I came across this map at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It shows the hot spots for wind energy opportunity in Michigan. Click the map to enlarge it.

There is no doubt that the Pickens Plan is gaining momentum nationally and here in the state of Michigan. I am excited to see that T. Boone Pickens is coming to our great state to talk about his plan and energy independence.

As much as it is an environmental issue, I see our current state of affairs both an economic crisis and economic opportunity. If there is any state economy that can benefit from renewable energy and create green collar jobs, it is our Great Lake State.

Here are the details: Oct. 1, 5:00 pm (doors open to the public at 4:30 pm). The event is being held at the Power Center at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. The Power Center is at 121 Fletcher, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2017.

At the time of this writing, the latest version of this is basically dead. Even so, this article at SeekingAlpha.com has some interesting information in it.

I love this snippet from the Michigan Business Review (via mlive.com) when Thomas Friedman spoke at Eastern Michigan University this past week.

“They all have the same solution: abundant, cheap, clean, reliable electrons,” Friedman said. He added that the country’s slogan shouldn’t be “drill, baby, drill,” but “invent, baby, invent.”

This is exactly what I think! We have one of the greatest seasons of innovation knocking at our door. I hope we are wise enough to go for it.

Thomas Friedman wrote “The World is Flat” and has a new book out, “”Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - And How It Can Renew America”.

In case you missed it, Both John McCain and Barack Obama answered the same questions from Discover Magazine regarding the environment, including renewable energy.

One of the questions references the auto industry and their agreement to help out during World War II, even if it took “persuading”. With the auto industry in shambles here in Michigan, I think this points out the opportuntity we have to be a leader in renewable energy innovation.