Living in a Detroit neighborhood devastated by vacant lots and abandoned eyesores, my chief dilemma is the same one shared by my neighbors: Do I leave the city I love, or do I stay?

Gov. Rick Snyder has launched a series of public discussions regarding energy policy in Michigan. The first of those seven meetings took place Feb. 14 in Lansing. A day later, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) released its annual report on renewable energy. The report found that Michigan is well on its way to meeting the renewable energy standard of 10% by 2015, and the price of renewable energy continues to fall.

Think of clean renewable energy, and wind turbines and solar panels usually come to mind before energy efficiency. But a Northern Michigan firm has harnessed the growing efficiency market to score national recognition as one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.