The state of Michigan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the nation of Denmark's Ministry of Climate and Energy to explore development and share experiences in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green job creation, according to the Michigan governor's office. "Thanks to our investments 20 years ago, Denmark today has a thriving clean-tech industry that account for about 10 percent of our total exports and is a major source of employment -- in urban centers as well as in rural areas," says Connie Hedegaard, Denmark's Minister for Climate and Energy. "Through pragmatic policy, we turned crisis into opportunity -- and the Midwest region in the U.S. can do the same." In one of the first initiatives of the MoU, the Embassy of Denmark will sponsor a group of business leaders and scientists from Michigan who will travel to Denmark to study the country's energy technologies and policies.