WMU gets a million dollars towards going green

WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A funding boost from the government hopes to power new green job creation in West Michigan.

Congressman Fred Upton brought the good news to Western Michigan University Monday morning.

The funding centers on the alternative energy industry and the aim is to create work as new green technologies are put to use in West Michigan.

For years, students at WMU have been focused on green technology and green energy, and now Congressman Fred Upton is trying to help that cause and create jobs.

"The money is gold and it is in the bank," said Upton, "and it will really help WMU."

Anyone could use a cool million dollars, which is exactly what WMU received on Monday morning, and with WMU's green team assembled, it was clear that going green would now be that much easier.

"I've been trying to do it without the million dollars for six years," said Professor John Patten lead green tech researcher at WMU. "It's an uphill battle, there's little pockets of opportunity, we've been able to do small projects and small benefits and changes, but really, the million dollars is significant funding."

"The work that we do here should be a benefit and immediate service, sooner, faster, the quicker we can get there to partner with business and other sectors, that's in the interest of everyone," said WMU President John Dunn.

WMU is looking to go green in a big way, but how does the million in funding translate to jobs?

The money is aimed to get the university working with companies, for instance partnering with manufacturers to green their processes, cutting their costs, and helping them retain jobs. At the same time, the money will also go towards studying green tech, like wind-power, to make it affordable.

"Our goals would be to drive down the costs of technologies so that everybody in this room and the students can afford this technology and lead to greater sales and greater jobs," said Prof. Patten.

Of course, West Michigan already has a green future. Allegan County has been identified by Michigan's Public Service Commission as an area ripe for wind technology. Grand Valley State University is also planning to head out onto Lake Michigan to see if wind power would be viable on the great lakes.

"We have to look at being more diverse," said Congressman Upton, "it can't just be focused on autos, and one of the niches that I think can really make us, put us in a much better position, is to look at green technology."

Green technology has also become more of a priority in Michigan since the governor announced the goal of having a portion of Michigan's energy come from renewable sources by 2015, with an even greater percentage by 2020.