WARREN - Two days after using her State of the State address to declare that Michigan "can be the alternative energy capital of North America," Gov. Jennifer Granholm chose the Detroit Electrical JATC Training Center in Warren to illustrate her point.

During an hour-long tour of the training center, Granholm said her visit was intended to highlight "the good, consistent, high-paying jobs that currently exist in energy-related fields" - and the potential jobs that could be available if Michigan builds on our "blockbuster potential" in the alternative energy area.

"Why alternative energy?" Granholm asked in her Jan. 29 State of the State address. "Because to borrow a line from Wayne Gretzky - if you want to win, 'don't skate to where the puck is - skate to where the puck is going.' " The puck, she added, "is going to alternative energy."

The training center, sponsored jointly by IBEW Local 58 and the Southeastern Michigan Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, skated in the direction of alternative energy in 2006. That's when the facility unveiled a solar array and wind turbine to provide real-world model for educating journeymen and apprentices. The photo-voltaic array on the roof of the training center can produce 18 kw DC and is interactive with the utility. A stand-alone wind turbine can produce 6.0 kw at peak and provides power in conjunction with a battery bank.

Such training is important, Granholm said, for a state that needs to move away from reliance on manufacturing into areas of job growth. The federal government is helping to move growth into alternative energy by providing tax breaks for the use of those new technologies.

Now, Granholm said she will ask the State Legislature to pass legislation setting an ambitious alternative energy goal for Michigan - to produce a minimum of 10 percent of our state's electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015.

This "renewable portfolio standard," is seen by Granholm as a "market-based tool" to attract diversified, clean, low-carbon energy generation. She said if state lawmakers adopt the legislation, the state's two largest utilities - Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison - have pledged to begin to invest nearly $6 billion on Michigan's energy infrastructure.

"Gov. Granholm's visit highlights some of the points she made in the State of the State address," said IBEW Local 58 Business Manager Joe Abdoo. "We let her know that we have the capacity at our training center and at other IBEW training centers through the state to meet the needs of the industry, in alternative energy and in the entire electrical spectrum."

Clyde Jones, owner of Centerline Electric and chairman of the Local 58-NECA Joint Apprenticeship Training Center, said Michigan is just starting to put up windmills -there are 32 up in the Thumb region alone. His company has put in a bid on the construction of more windmills in the area.

"There's a growing interest in wind energy, especially," Jones said. "It has to be cost-effective, and with the federal government getting involved with tax breaks, that's

Training Director Gary Polulak said the facility intends to have a sufficient number of workers trained and ready, if and when the industry needs them. "A lot of people refer to this as the IBEW Local 58 Training Center, but we're in this together with our NECA contractors," he said. "Alternative energy is going to be a growing area, and hopefully will provide our members with employment down the road. But when it comes to marketing our training for alternative energy when it comes time to bid the work, our members and our contractors have to realize that the focus has to be on promoting our contractors in this area."

THE USE OF A SOLAR PANEL at the Detroit Electrical JATC Training Center in Warren is explained by instructor Tom Bowes to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, during her visit on Jan. 31. Apprentices and staff are looking on.