Grand Valley State University alternative energy center attracts another energy startup to Muskegon

Brighton-based McKenzie Bay International launched 12 years ago as a mining company, then made the switch in 2004 to alternative energy. The company eventually ran out of money and a major wind turbine project stalled, but President and CEO Kevin Cook says the firm has not only rebounded but has re-launched as an alternative and renewable energy "research and development visionary."

McKenzie Bay is the newest tenant of Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC), at 200 Viridian Dr., Muskegon. MAREC is a cutting-edge facility created to advance innovations in alternative energy; it dedicates a portion of its 25,000 square feet as an incubator for energy startups.

The firm moved into the alternative energy arena with the development of the Windstor Wind Turbine, a three-bladed commercial turbine that rotates on a vertical access and can pick up the breeze from any angle, Cook says.

"The turbine prototype is installed at Pioneer Bluff Apartments in Ishpeming (Mich.) and has been built over a five-year period," Cook says. "When the project stalled, Clean Green Energy bought the turbine and they now own it. We are contracted with them to continue its development and they'll manufacture it. An important point is that we received a grant from the Department of Energy to develop it."

Other MAREC tenants are Energy Partners, LLC, Logical Lighting Systems, LLC. and Smart Vision Lights.

"MAREC has multiple spaces for conferences and meetings, a place we can bring our shareholders," Cook says. "We'll be able to collaborate with the other tenants here. I'm excited to see what could happen in the next year or so."

Cook says McKenzie Bay is also working on development of Ethereal Logic, a wireless lighting system that could control multiple electrical systems within a building, including HVAC and security.

Source: Kevin Cook, McKenzie Bay International
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor