New NextEnergy CEO: Michigan must push ahead on alt energy despite economy

Michigan can't sleep on the alternative energy industry and one of Detroit's business leaders is making the call heard across the state.

Excerpt:

Michigan's hopes of creating a vibrant renewable energy industry have gyrated wildly over the last 12 months.

The state already boasts a growing solar energy industry, a strong core of research universities and a budding advanced battery sector.

But the dramatic fluctuation in oil prices, which caused gasoline prices to drop below $2 a gallon, and the global financial crisis have threatened to destabilize Michigan's rush to invest in alternative energy.

Still, Keith Cooley, the new CEO of Detroit-based economic development group NextEnergy, believes Michigan can't afford to push the pause button on alternative energy. He said the state would be rewarded if it pushes forward with efforts to spur solar energy projects, wind turbine production, advanced battery capabilities and other initiatives.

Although venture capitalists and other investors are pulling back on some clean energy projects, Cooley said Michigan's opportunity is now.

"All of us have to understand the cost of staying where we are from an energy security point of view, from a national security point of view, from a sustainability point of view," he said. "In the long run that's not the way to do business.

"We need to figure out how to make that leap in spite of the cost."

Read the rest of the Ann Arbor Business Review story here.