From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Focus on Energy, a statewide program that promotes energy efficiency, is in the midst of big changes: new management by an out-of-state corporation, suspension of a popular rebate program, and sharp funding cuts in the pending state budget.
Nearly 20 people already have lost their jobs, mostly in Madison, as a result of the management change.
Meanwhile, dozens of small Wisconsin businesses that specialize in setting up solar panels and wind turbines fear for their futures because of the slashed allocation and rebate removal.
“It’s a lot of economic activity and jobs in Wisconsin. It’s a lot of energy efficiency, as well,” said Keith Reopelle, policy director for Clean Wisconsin.
Focus on Energy was created in 2001 to provide education, resources and cash incentives to Wisconsin residents and businesses to increase the use of energy-efficient products and systems, from furnaces to solar panels to vending machines.
In the past 10 years, more than 91,000 businesses and more than 1.7 million residents used the program and saved $2.20 for every dollar spent, according to Focus data. . . .
Since taking over Focus on Energy on May 9, one of Shaw’s first decisions, with PSC support, was to suspend payments to businesses that install renewable-energy systems, as of June 30.
Contractors like Seventh Generation Energy Systems were stunned.“It’s pretty devastating,” said James Yockey, chief executive officer. “It probably took out six to 10 projects that we were looking to close ... for work in the fall and the coming spring.”
Several of the projects were wind turbines for farmers. “I think the incentives are decisive in people saying yes,” Yockey said . . . .
Program supporters have appealed to Gov. Scott Walker to veto the Focus budget cut, including a letter signed by 124 Wisconsin businesses. As of Friday, there was no word on his response. Walker is scheduled to sign the budget today.
“Cutting Focus on Energy will result in higher electricity bills and fewer jobs,” Randy Johnson, president of U.S. Lamp, a Green Bay energy-efficient lighting design company, said in the letter.
Seventh Generation’s Yockey said he hopes to avoid laying off any of his 16 employees by aiming his business at other states, and that could mean moving the company. “We prefer to be located in Madison but the bottom line is: we’ll see where the business takes us,” he said.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Public meeting on power line Wednesday
From an article in the Juneau County Star:
The company that wants to build an electrical transmission line from Middleton to north of La Crosse will host an open house meeting in Mauston for the public next week.
Plans by American Transmission Company for the Badger Coulee line, introduced in 2010, are moving into phase 2.
The company says Badger Coulee is needed to bring less expensive power from states to the west into the Upper Midwest and to improve the reliability of Wisconsin's electric transmission grid over the long term. "We're looking out 10, 20, 30, 40 years," said Sarah Justus, local relations manager for the company.
If the line is built, it would add about 75 cents a month to a $100 utility bill, Justus said.
The company has examined a broad swath from south-central to western Wisconsin and identified dozens of corridors to consider for the project, which will carry 345 kilovolts of electricity over 150 miles and will cost about $425 million.
Most of the possible routes for the line suggested by the company would cross the southwest corner of Juneau County along existing highways, including Interstate 90/94, U.S. Highway 12 and state highways 80, 82 and 58. . . .
The public open house is scheduled for 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, at Grayside Elementary School, 510 Grayside Ave., Mauston.
The company that wants to build an electrical transmission line from Middleton to north of La Crosse will host an open house meeting in Mauston for the public next week.
Plans by American Transmission Company for the Badger Coulee line, introduced in 2010, are moving into phase 2.
The company says Badger Coulee is needed to bring less expensive power from states to the west into the Upper Midwest and to improve the reliability of Wisconsin's electric transmission grid over the long term. "We're looking out 10, 20, 30, 40 years," said Sarah Justus, local relations manager for the company.
If the line is built, it would add about 75 cents a month to a $100 utility bill, Justus said.
The company has examined a broad swath from south-central to western Wisconsin and identified dozens of corridors to consider for the project, which will carry 345 kilovolts of electricity over 150 miles and will cost about $425 million.
Most of the possible routes for the line suggested by the company would cross the southwest corner of Juneau County along existing highways, including Interstate 90/94, U.S. Highway 12 and state highways 80, 82 and 58. . . .
The public open house is scheduled for 1 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, at Grayside Elementary School, 510 Grayside Ave., Mauston.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Legislators are exporting wind energy jobs and torpedoing all renewables
From a commentary by Jeff Anthony, American Wind Energy Association, on BizTimes.com:
The Wisconsin Assembly recently passed a bill that would enable hydroelectric power from Manitoba, Canada, to be shipped to Wisconsin to meet the state’s 2006 renewable energy law requiring 10 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy by the year 2015.
If enacted into law, the effect of the Manitoba Hydro Bill will be to ship jobs to Canada and reduce Wisconsin’s ability to meet its clean energy requirement by building more homegrown Wisconsin energy projects.
One of the bill’s sponsors, State Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere), was quoted saying, “This new law will keep electric bills from going up by making it more affordable for utilities to meet green energy mandates.”
Unfortunately, he was mistaken in assuming that other forms of “green energy” will raise electricity rates in the state. If he had gotten his facts straight, he would have found that wind energy costs are at near-record lows, and many utilities in the U.S. are reaping the benefits of lower electricity rates as wind energy expands on their systems. But the facts about wind energy costs, like many other facts, apparently weren’t relevant in the rush to pass this ill-conceived bill.
What Sen. Lasee failed to mention is that his bill will also have a significant impact on Wisconsin by sending good-paying jobs that would otherwise have been created in Wisconsin – to Canada instead.
Sen. Lasee and the other state legislators who voted for the bill would have the state import electricity from Canadian energy projects that use Canadian workers. Today, Wisconsin supports 2,000-3,000 workers in the wind energy industry alone, and the Manitoba Hydro Bill now threatens many of those jobs in Wisconsin.
This is just the latest example of legislative activities that are exporting good-paying, clean energy jobs out of Wisconsin. Why?
At the beginning of the year, another onerous bill was proposed to impose extreme requirements on where Wisconsin wind projects can be located. A few weeks, later a joint committee of the legislature voted to suspend Wind Siting Rules that had been developed through a collaborative, open, and fair process. This rule was suspended by the joint legislative committee on the very day that these far better new rules would have taken effect.
Combined, these actions have jeopardized approximately 700 megawatts of wind projects that were proposed in the state, resulting in the potential loss of $1.8 billion investments and 2 million construction job-hours. And guess what – those 2 million job-hours will not show up in Wisconsin, and will likely move to neighboring states.
So what will be the next step in the “Wisconsin Jobs Export Agenda”?
Well, another piece of anti-clean energy job legislation has emerged, Assembly Bill 146, which would significantly reduce the growth of renewable energy in the state. The Wisconsin clean energy law was originally created to incentivize new renewable energy development and increase fuel diversity. AB 146 would effectively remove that incentive.
The Wisconsin Assembly recently passed a bill that would enable hydroelectric power from Manitoba, Canada, to be shipped to Wisconsin to meet the state’s 2006 renewable energy law requiring 10 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy by the year 2015.
If enacted into law, the effect of the Manitoba Hydro Bill will be to ship jobs to Canada and reduce Wisconsin’s ability to meet its clean energy requirement by building more homegrown Wisconsin energy projects.
One of the bill’s sponsors, State Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere), was quoted saying, “This new law will keep electric bills from going up by making it more affordable for utilities to meet green energy mandates.”
Unfortunately, he was mistaken in assuming that other forms of “green energy” will raise electricity rates in the state. If he had gotten his facts straight, he would have found that wind energy costs are at near-record lows, and many utilities in the U.S. are reaping the benefits of lower electricity rates as wind energy expands on their systems. But the facts about wind energy costs, like many other facts, apparently weren’t relevant in the rush to pass this ill-conceived bill.
What Sen. Lasee failed to mention is that his bill will also have a significant impact on Wisconsin by sending good-paying jobs that would otherwise have been created in Wisconsin – to Canada instead.
Sen. Lasee and the other state legislators who voted for the bill would have the state import electricity from Canadian energy projects that use Canadian workers. Today, Wisconsin supports 2,000-3,000 workers in the wind energy industry alone, and the Manitoba Hydro Bill now threatens many of those jobs in Wisconsin.
This is just the latest example of legislative activities that are exporting good-paying, clean energy jobs out of Wisconsin. Why?
At the beginning of the year, another onerous bill was proposed to impose extreme requirements on where Wisconsin wind projects can be located. A few weeks, later a joint committee of the legislature voted to suspend Wind Siting Rules that had been developed through a collaborative, open, and fair process. This rule was suspended by the joint legislative committee on the very day that these far better new rules would have taken effect.
Combined, these actions have jeopardized approximately 700 megawatts of wind projects that were proposed in the state, resulting in the potential loss of $1.8 billion investments and 2 million construction job-hours. And guess what – those 2 million job-hours will not show up in Wisconsin, and will likely move to neighboring states.
So what will be the next step in the “Wisconsin Jobs Export Agenda”?
Well, another piece of anti-clean energy job legislation has emerged, Assembly Bill 146, which would significantly reduce the growth of renewable energy in the state. The Wisconsin clean energy law was originally created to incentivize new renewable energy development and increase fuel diversity. AB 146 would effectively remove that incentive.
Friday, June 24, 2011
120 businesses urge funding support for job creation through energy efficiency and renewable energy
From an article by Charles Davis in the Green Bay Press Gazette:
Thousands of future jobs are at stake if Gov. Scott Walker doesn't veto a provision in the state budget that limits funding for the Focus on Energy program, local business leaders said Wednesday.
"I see it being a real detriment to our business and our customers going forward if we don't have these funding increases," said Jeff Klonowski, regional manager of Kaukauna-based Energy Federation Inc., which supplies lighting fixtures, foam and weather-stripping materials to area contractors.
But supporters of the provision object to the amount of the funding increase, not the program.
"The Focus on Energy program certainly had a lot of benefits, but the huge increase in assessments that were put in place at the end of last year, we think, were too much, too soon," said Scott Manley, director of environmental and energy policy for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business lobby.
Walker received a letter Wednesday signed by more than 120 businesses asking that he veto that provision in the state budget bill. His office responded with a one-line statement: "We'll evaluate that provision and make any veto-related announcements once the decisions have been finalized."
The program
The statewide Focus on Energy program is funded by tax assessments on utility bills and provides grants to help homeowners and businesses pay for energy-efficient upgrades. It also helps pay for consultants to advise property owners on which type of upgrades would be practical and cost-effective. Each year, utility companies contribute 1.2 percent of revenue — about $100 million total — to the program.
The state Public Service Commission proposed in December raising the utility bill assessments from $94 million in 2010 to $256 million by 2014.
The proposal calls for utilities to increase their contributions to $120 million this year. That amount is fixed even if Walker does not veto the provision. However, assessments would drop to around $100 million in 2012, instead of the initial proposed increase of $160 million for that year.
Image by Clean Wisconsin
Thursday, June 23, 2011
State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates; “Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support
Two articles from Catching Wind, a newsletter published by RENEW Wisconsin with funding from a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy:
State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates
At the urging of Wisconsin utilities, several lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow a renewable energy credit (REC) to be banked indefinitely. If adopted, this measure (AB146) would constitute the most devastating legislative assault yet on the state’s renewable energy marketplace, which is already reeling from the suspension of the statewide wind siting rule this March and the loosening of renewable energy definitions to allow Wisconsin utilities to count electricity generated from large Canadian hydro projects toward their renewable energy requirements.
“Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support
Public support for wind energy development has held strong against the attacks launched by Governor Walker and the Legislature’s new Republican majority, according to a poll conducted between April 11 and April 18 by the St. Norbert College Survey Center for Wisconsin Public Radio.
Asked whether Wisconsin should "increase, decrease or continue with the same amount" of energy supply from various sources, 77% favored increasing wind power, the highest of any option (60% favored increasing hydropower, 54% biomass, 39% natural gas, 27% nuclear, and 19% coal).
State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates
At the urging of Wisconsin utilities, several lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow a renewable energy credit (REC) to be banked indefinitely. If adopted, this measure (AB146) would constitute the most devastating legislative assault yet on the state’s renewable energy marketplace, which is already reeling from the suspension of the statewide wind siting rule this March and the loosening of renewable energy definitions to allow Wisconsin utilities to count electricity generated from large Canadian hydro projects toward their renewable energy requirements.
“Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support
Public support for wind energy development has held strong against the attacks launched by Governor Walker and the Legislature’s new Republican majority, according to a poll conducted between April 11 and April 18 by the St. Norbert College Survey Center for Wisconsin Public Radio.
Asked whether Wisconsin should "increase, decrease or continue with the same amount" of energy supply from various sources, 77% favored increasing wind power, the highest of any option (60% favored increasing hydropower, 54% biomass, 39% natural gas, 27% nuclear, and 19% coal).
Friday, June 10, 2011
Genoa nuclear waste set to move to dry casks
From an article by Chris Hubbuch in the Winona Daily News:
Dairyland Power will begin removing spent fuel from its Genoa, Wis., nuclear plant and encasing it in steel and concrete casks later this spring, nearly a quarter century after the plant ceased operations.
Though the federal government has no immediate plans to take possession of the radioactive waste, the move to store it temporarily on site should cut by two-thirds the power cooperative's cost to staff the plant and speed up the decommissioning process, expected to take another seven years and bring decommissioning costs to an estimated $79 million.
It's a scenario that Dairyland's founders couldn't have envisioned in 1941, when they banded together to create a network to provide reliable electric power to rural Wisconsin.
But those founders were thinking about the future, said Dairyland president William Berg, who encouraged some 700 delegates of Dairyland's members to continue building value during his address at the cooperative's 70th annual meeting Wednesday.
That means building a system with the capacity to meet future needs while preserving the environment and embracing renewable energy sources when the future of coal - the basis for most of today's power - is in question.
Dairyland now generates about 11 percent of its electricity with renewables such as wind, hydro and biomass-fueled generators. Berg said the company is on track to meet its goal of 25 percent by 2025.
Dairyland Power will begin removing spent fuel from its Genoa, Wis., nuclear plant and encasing it in steel and concrete casks later this spring, nearly a quarter century after the plant ceased operations.
Though the federal government has no immediate plans to take possession of the radioactive waste, the move to store it temporarily on site should cut by two-thirds the power cooperative's cost to staff the plant and speed up the decommissioning process, expected to take another seven years and bring decommissioning costs to an estimated $79 million.
It's a scenario that Dairyland's founders couldn't have envisioned in 1941, when they banded together to create a network to provide reliable electric power to rural Wisconsin.
But those founders were thinking about the future, said Dairyland president William Berg, who encouraged some 700 delegates of Dairyland's members to continue building value during his address at the cooperative's 70th annual meeting Wednesday.
That means building a system with the capacity to meet future needs while preserving the environment and embracing renewable energy sources when the future of coal - the basis for most of today's power - is in question.
Dairyland now generates about 11 percent of its electricity with renewables such as wind, hydro and biomass-fueled generators. Berg said the company is on track to meet its goal of 25 percent by 2025.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Epic Systems, Verona, reaches for the sun
1,300 solar panels rise above a parking lost at Epic Systems in Verona, WI.From an article by Tom Conent in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Verona - By the end of the year, the largest solar project yet built in Wisconsin will take shape in the rolling countryside that Epic Systems calls home.
And by the middle of next year, the new solar "farm" will double in size again.
Clearly, Epic, a fast-growing provider of sought-after health care software that's hiring 1,000 people just this year, doesn't embrace small projects.
It's more cost-effective to build a big renewable energy project than to come back later and expand it, said Bruce Richards, director of facilities and engineering.
And it fits in with a green vision espoused by company founder and chief executive Judith Faulkner.
"We were in a meeting, and I was discussing the payback on a particular project, thinking she might have some concerns," said Bruce Richards, director of facilities and engineering at Epic. "But she didn't hesitate. She said, 'But once it's paid off, the energy is free, right?'"
Epic clearly has the financial wherewithal to undertake a green-energy investment that other firms might seek state dollars to help fund. Officials declined to disclose the cost of the project.
The company is a developer of health care IT software that helps hospitals move toward electronic medical records. Epic sales grew 27% in 2010. Revenue reached $825 million in 2010, compared with $76 million in 2001.
Focused on sustainability
Epic is an economic engine that's a Wisconsin outlier: A booming business that's about as far from the state's manufacturing heritage as you can get.
The company is moving to wean itself off fossil fuels in a big way.
Already, most buildings on the sprawling campus are heated and cooled with a ground-source heat pump system, which means the campus needs no natural gas for heating and no electricity for cooling in the summer.
About 1,300 solar panels were erected in recent months on a latticelike structure above an employee parking lot.
Faulkner picked the color of the lattice to match the deep blue light posts that dot downtown Verona, Richards said.
The remaining parking spaces are underground, to retain the pastoral feel of the campus. The result, Richards tells a visitor walking between buildings across the complex, "You're walking on a green roof right now."
Richards says the driver of the green campus and move for energy self-reliance comes from a vision of doing right by the planet.
"Sustainability, that's really what it's all about," he said. "We're looking for 100-year sustainability here. Everything we do in design and put in, that's what we're looking to do."
Monday, June 6, 2011
Now online: Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly
The Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly, the newsletter of RENEW Wisconsin, features these article:
Siting Rule Suspension Rocks Wind Industry
In a move that sent shock waves through the wind industry in Wisconsin, a joint legislative panel voted on March 1 to suspend the wind siting rule promulgated by the Public Service Commission in December 2010.
Community Biogas Project Fires Up
Home to 400 dairy farms, Dane County recently dedicated a community-scale manure-to-methane generating system designed to reduce nutrient runoff into the Yahara Lakes.
Insty Prints: Mpower ChaMpion
But if I can help other businesses make some of the harder choices by being more vocal, then I’m willing to help.
Manitoba Hydro: A Washout?
On behalf of our members and the many businesses and individuals who support the continued expansion of Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace, RENEW Wisconsin is here to express opposition to AB 114 (and its companion SB 81), and urges the Legislature not to pass this bill.
Verona Firm Begins Work on “Epic” PV
With the commissioning of its 1,300-module solar electric canopy spanning its parking deck, Epic Systems joins an elite group of Wisconsin companies embracing on-site energy capture to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. At 360 kilowatts (kW), Epic’s new photovoltaic system is the largest solar array in Dane County and the third largest in Wisconsin.
Calendar of Renewable and Energy Efficiency Events
June 17-19, 2001 The Energy Fair. Custer, WI. The nation’s premier sustainable energy education event. Three days of workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits highlighting renewable energy and sustainable living. For details see www.midwestrenew.org.
July 8-10, 2011 EcoFair360. Elkhorn, WI. Join hundreds of exhibitors and presenters and thousands of attendees who will Make Green Happen for three days of education, exploration and inspiration. For details see www.ecofair360.org.
July 16, 2011 Western Wisconsin Sustainability Fair. Menomonie, WI, Dunn County Fair Grounds. Exhibitors from business, government, and non-profi t groups, speakers, workshops, music, energy effi cient vehicles, a photo contest, and a tour of the Cedar Falls Dam. See http://sustainabledunn.org for more information.
July 30, 2011 8th Annual Kickapoo Country Fair. LaFarge, WI. The Midwest’s Largest Organic Food and Sustainability Festival. Food, music, bike and farm tours, cooking demonstrations, theater, kids’ activities, dancing. More information at www.kickappoocountryfair.org.
October 1, 2011 Solar Tour of Homes and Businesses. All across Wisconsin. Owners open their doors to let people see how renewable energy is practical, reliable, and affordable in today’s economy. The homes and businesses often include other energy efficiency and renewable technologies. For details see http://nationalsolartour.org.
October 26, 2011 Wisconsin’s Solar Decade Conference. Milwaukee, WI. Now in its seventh year, the Wisconsin
Solar Decade Conference is your opportunity to see fi rsthand the latest developments in the world of solar energy. For details see www.solardecade.com.
Siting Rule Suspension Rocks Wind Industry
In a move that sent shock waves through the wind industry in Wisconsin, a joint legislative panel voted on March 1 to suspend the wind siting rule promulgated by the Public Service Commission in December 2010.
Community Biogas Project Fires Up
Home to 400 dairy farms, Dane County recently dedicated a community-scale manure-to-methane generating system designed to reduce nutrient runoff into the Yahara Lakes.
Insty Prints: Mpower ChaMpion
But if I can help other businesses make some of the harder choices by being more vocal, then I’m willing to help.
Manitoba Hydro: A Washout?
On behalf of our members and the many businesses and individuals who support the continued expansion of Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace, RENEW Wisconsin is here to express opposition to AB 114 (and its companion SB 81), and urges the Legislature not to pass this bill.
Verona Firm Begins Work on “Epic” PV
With the commissioning of its 1,300-module solar electric canopy spanning its parking deck, Epic Systems joins an elite group of Wisconsin companies embracing on-site energy capture to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. At 360 kilowatts (kW), Epic’s new photovoltaic system is the largest solar array in Dane County and the third largest in Wisconsin.
Calendar of Renewable and Energy Efficiency Events
June 17-19, 2001 The Energy Fair. Custer, WI. The nation’s premier sustainable energy education event. Three days of workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits highlighting renewable energy and sustainable living. For details see www.midwestrenew.org.
July 8-10, 2011 EcoFair360. Elkhorn, WI. Join hundreds of exhibitors and presenters and thousands of attendees who will Make Green Happen for three days of education, exploration and inspiration. For details see www.ecofair360.org.
July 16, 2011 Western Wisconsin Sustainability Fair. Menomonie, WI, Dunn County Fair Grounds. Exhibitors from business, government, and non-profi t groups, speakers, workshops, music, energy effi cient vehicles, a photo contest, and a tour of the Cedar Falls Dam. See http://sustainabledunn.org for more information.
July 30, 2011 8th Annual Kickapoo Country Fair. LaFarge, WI. The Midwest’s Largest Organic Food and Sustainability Festival. Food, music, bike and farm tours, cooking demonstrations, theater, kids’ activities, dancing. More information at www.kickappoocountryfair.org.
October 1, 2011 Solar Tour of Homes and Businesses. All across Wisconsin. Owners open their doors to let people see how renewable energy is practical, reliable, and affordable in today’s economy. The homes and businesses often include other energy efficiency and renewable technologies. For details see http://nationalsolartour.org.
October 26, 2011 Wisconsin’s Solar Decade Conference. Milwaukee, WI. Now in its seventh year, the Wisconsin
Solar Decade Conference is your opportunity to see fi rsthand the latest developments in the world of solar energy. For details see www.solardecade.com.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Green garbage: State recognizes county’s landfill energy initiative
From an article by Betsy Bloom in the La Crosse Tribune:
It is “the most gorgeous landfill in the state of Wisconsin,” La Crosse County Solid Waste Director Hank Koch says. He could be considered a bit biased.
But state Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp didn’t disagree after seeing the site Wednesday.
“I never imagined I could be so impressed with a landfill operation,” Stepp later said.
With wind ruffling the tall grass on the surrounding hillsides, Stepp on Wednesday recognized the 300-acre complex as the first publicly owned landfill admitted to the state’s Green Tier program.
The ceremony also included a groundbreaking on the estimated $4 million gas-to-energy partnership that will pipe landfill methane about 1.6 miles to provide virtually all the heat and electrical needs at Gundersen Lutheran’s Onalaska clinic.
Contractor McHugh Excavating and Plumbing of Onalaska is expected to begin work next week, and the gas could begin flowing as early as October, officials said Wednesday.
“The happiest day is going to be when they turn that flare off,” Koch said, referring to the flame now burning off the landfill gas.
While the gas-to-energy arrangement isn’t unique, the partnership with a health care system is, said Jeff Rich, Gundersen’s executive director of efficiency improvements.
“This is just a win-win-win for everybody,” the entire community included, Rich said.
It is “the most gorgeous landfill in the state of Wisconsin,” La Crosse County Solid Waste Director Hank Koch says. He could be considered a bit biased.
But state Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp didn’t disagree after seeing the site Wednesday.
“I never imagined I could be so impressed with a landfill operation,” Stepp later said.
With wind ruffling the tall grass on the surrounding hillsides, Stepp on Wednesday recognized the 300-acre complex as the first publicly owned landfill admitted to the state’s Green Tier program.
The ceremony also included a groundbreaking on the estimated $4 million gas-to-energy partnership that will pipe landfill methane about 1.6 miles to provide virtually all the heat and electrical needs at Gundersen Lutheran’s Onalaska clinic.
Contractor McHugh Excavating and Plumbing of Onalaska is expected to begin work next week, and the gas could begin flowing as early as October, officials said Wednesday.
“The happiest day is going to be when they turn that flare off,” Koch said, referring to the flame now burning off the landfill gas.
While the gas-to-energy arrangement isn’t unique, the partnership with a health care system is, said Jeff Rich, Gundersen’s executive director of efficiency improvements.
“This is just a win-win-win for everybody,” the entire community included, Rich said.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
New ATC transmission line project surges ahead
From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:
About 40,000 homes and businesses from Middleton to north of La Crosse are getting letters this week from American Transmission Co. telling them a powerful electrical transmission line could be built within 3,000 feet — or about half a mile — and inviting them to public meetings later this month.
Plans for the so-called Badger Coulee line, introduced in 2010, are moving into phase 2. ATC has taken the broad swath from south-central to western Wisconsin and identified dozens of corridors to consider for the project, which will carry 345 kilovolts of electricity over 150 miles and will cost about $425 million.
• In Dane County, the line could run north from the town of Middleton or it could skirt the west edge of Waunakee and go through DeForest’s north side, then head up Highway 12, Interstate 39 or Highway 51.
• It could run along the edge of communities such as Prairie du Sac, Lodi, Poynette, Portage, West Baraboo, Elroy or Viroqua. It also could travel through Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells or Mauston.
• Richland County will be spared.
The area being studied has been expanded north into Trempealeau and Jackson counties. That’s because the Badger Coulee line might meet up with CapX2020, a 700-mile series of mostly 345-kilovolt lines stretching from the Dakotas. CapX2020 proposes to cross into Wisconsin at Alma, in Buffalo County.
About 40,000 homes and businesses from Middleton to north of La Crosse are getting letters this week from American Transmission Co. telling them a powerful electrical transmission line could be built within 3,000 feet — or about half a mile — and inviting them to public meetings later this month.
Plans for the so-called Badger Coulee line, introduced in 2010, are moving into phase 2. ATC has taken the broad swath from south-central to western Wisconsin and identified dozens of corridors to consider for the project, which will carry 345 kilovolts of electricity over 150 miles and will cost about $425 million.
• In Dane County, the line could run north from the town of Middleton or it could skirt the west edge of Waunakee and go through DeForest’s north side, then head up Highway 12, Interstate 39 or Highway 51.
• It could run along the edge of communities such as Prairie du Sac, Lodi, Poynette, Portage, West Baraboo, Elroy or Viroqua. It also could travel through Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells or Mauston.
• Richland County will be spared.
The area being studied has been expanded north into Trempealeau and Jackson counties. That’s because the Badger Coulee line might meet up with CapX2020, a 700-mile series of mostly 345-kilovolt lines stretching from the Dakotas. CapX2020 proposes to cross into Wisconsin at Alma, in Buffalo County.
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