JACKSON, MI—More than 2,000 bats could have a new home at Consumers Energy hydro power plants thanks to collaboration between the utility, General Motors and a Boy Scout from Clarkston, MI. Using scrap Chevrolet Volt battery covers donated by GM, 16-year-old Matthew Netherland and some helpers built 30 bat boxes in a few months.

By some estimates, approximately 40 years’ worth of mineable copper resources remains worldwide. At the same time, global consumption is growing, driven particularly by infrastructure-related demand for wiring in emerging markets.