Uploaded March 2014 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Renewable energy in Michigan has recently received a lot of attention. Beginning with the Renewable Energy Portfolio in 2008, the state has gone from less than four percent of total electricity generated to the ten percent that is mandated for 2015. What happens after this? Will Michigan continue to increase its capacity for renewable energy production, or will the state linger with its existing capacity? Douglas Jester will help explain the economic, market, technological, and political forces that will shape Michigan's future energy production.
Douglas Jester is a principal at 5 Lakes Energy, a strategy and policy consulting firm offering services to the public and private sector respecting clean energy, environment and economic development. Prior to joining 5 Lakes Energy, Douglas served as Senior Energy Policy Advisor to the Director of the State of Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth. An experienced executive, Douglas has also served as Chief Information and Technology officer for the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, as Director of Government Application Solutions for MCI, and as Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Board of Automated License Systems, Inc., and as Mayor of the City of East Lansing, Michigan.
Douglas was educated at New Mexico State University, Virginia Tech, the University of British Columbia, and Michigan State University with major fields of study including Mathematics and Computer Science, Fine Arts, Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Statistics and Operations Research, Animal Resource Ecology, and Environmental Economics.
As an active member of his community, he has coached soccer, served as board member and President of his neighborhood association, co-founder of East Lansing Community Unity, and board member of the East Lansing Housing and Neighborhood Services Corporation. His involvement in East Lansing city government has been as a member of the Environment Commission, member of the Transportation Commission, member of City Council, and Mayor. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Downtown Development Authority and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, member of the Lansing Regional Smart Zone Board, and Chair of the Downtown Management Board. He is an active member of the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action.
5lakesenergy.com
Recorded by Local Future's Aaron Wissner at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute during the 2014 Sustainability Conference, March 15, 2014.
Renewable energy in Michigan has recently received a lot of attention. Beginning with the Renewable Energy Portfolio in 2008, the state has gone from less than four percent of total electricity generated to the ten percent that is mandated for 2015. What happens after this? Will Michigan continue to increase its capacity for renewable energy production, or will the state linger with its existing capacity? Douglas Jester will help explain the economic, market, technological, and political forces that will shape Michigan's future energy production.
Douglas Jester is a principal at 5 Lakes Energy, a strategy and policy consulting firm offering services to the public and private sector respecting clean energy, environment and economic development. Prior to joining 5 Lakes Energy, Douglas served as Senior Energy Policy Advisor to the Director of the State of Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth. An experienced executive, Douglas has also served as Chief Information and Technology officer for the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, as Director of Government Application Solutions for MCI, and as Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Board of Automated License Systems, Inc., and as Mayor of the City of East Lansing, Michigan.
Douglas was educated at New Mexico State University, Virginia Tech, the University of British Columbia, and Michigan State University with major fields of study including Mathematics and Computer Science, Fine Arts, Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Statistics and Operations Research, Animal Resource Ecology, and Environmental Economics.
As an active member of his community, he has coached soccer, served as board member and President of his neighborhood association, co-founder of East Lansing Community Unity, and board member of the East Lansing Housing and Neighborhood Services Corporation. His involvement in East Lansing city government has been as a member of the Environment Commission, member of the Transportation Commission, member of City Council, and Mayor. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Downtown Development Authority and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, member of the Lansing Regional Smart Zone Board, and Chair of the Downtown Management Board. He is an active member of the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action.
5lakesenergy.com
Recorded by Local Future's Aaron Wissner at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute during the 2014 Sustainability Conference, March 15, 2014.
