MUSKEGON, Mich. - The Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC), a project designed to lead research into alternative and renewable energy solutions, has been announced by Grand Valley State University and Workstage LLC, a real estate development and design build firm. The 26,000-square-foot facility in Muskegon, Mich., is believed to be the first commercial building to receive 100 percent of its energy needs from alternative sources.
Fifty million consumers learned how vulnerable the U.S. power grid is during the 2003 power blackout. The Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center aims to research and demonstrate alternative energy solutions that would avoid such widespread outages. Designed and constructed by Workstage, the facility will produce its own energy through photovoltaics, a fuel cell, and a nickel metal hydride battery storage system. As a result, MAREC will ultimately not rely on the U.S. power grid. The building will serve as a model for property management and facilities personnel concerned with protecting their buildings from future blackouts.