Southwest Wisconsin Renewable Energy

Organic Valley gets "solar windows"

2012-01-27T11:27:00.000-06:00

An article by Sharon Udasin in the Jerusalem Post:

Israel-based firm Pythagoras Solar has completed installing the world’s first “solar windows” that simultaneously generate electricity through solar power and also optimize the daylight coming through the windows, the company announced this week. The 20 windows were successfully integrated into the Organic Valley headquarters building in La Farge, Wisconsin. With the new windows, workers inside the building are able to turn off artificial lights during the daytime, as the windows bring diffused natural light, instead of glare, into the building, the company said.

“By adopting these innovative windows, we are also helping to pave the way for this technology, which has the merit to become a standard in the design and construction of net zero energy buildings,” said Cecil Wright, vice president of sustainability and local operations at Organic Valley, in a statement released by Pythagoras.

Only 20, not 200, years of coal; we have to move "so fast" to get to 100% renewables

2012-01-05T12:22:00.001-06:00

Leslie Glustrom is the featured speaker at RENEW's Energy Policy Summit, January 13, Madison. Read the report that she mentions about 11 minutes into the interview.

Register and get details about the Summit at the Summit Web page.

See who and what companies are coming to RENEW Energy Policy Summit

2012-01-03T20:10:00.002-06:00

It's 2012 and the world of energy is shifting fast. Will you be part of the conversation around the shape that will take in Wisconsin?

If you or your business plan to BUILD, BUY, or BE part of Wisconsin's renewable energy future, register NOW for RENEW's Energy Policy SUMMIT on Friday JANUARY 13th in Madison.

There are a LIMITED number of SPACES available for the RENEW Energy Policy Summit. REGISTER TODAY to make sure you have a seat in the room. Click here to register for the Summit.

Want to know who else will be at the Summit table? You can see which people and what companies are registered to participate in the RENEW Energy Policy Summit at the event home page Click here to see who's coming.

Set your clocks for 2012 and get to the table with RENEW Wisconsin.

RENEW Energy Policy Summit
Date: 1/13/2012 8:30 AM CST - 5:30 PM CST
Location: Pyle Center, UW-Madison Campus
702 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53703

For more informations and questions email Ed Blume.

Cashton community wind project under way

2011-12-16T14:15:00.003-06:00

An article by Danielle Endvick in The Country Today:

The turbine foundations have been built and basic infrastructure is in place for Wisconsin's first community wind project.

Cashton Greens Wind Farm, set to begin operation this spring near Highway 27 southwest of Cashton in Monroe County, is expected to generate nearly 5 megawatts of energy, enough to power 1,000 Cashton homes annually.

The $11 million renewable energy project is a collaborative effort of the Village of Cashton, Gundersen Lutheran Health System and Organic Valley, the nation's largest cooperative of organic farmers.

Cecil Wright, Organic Valley director of sustainability, said planning on the wind farm, which is being erected on land near the cooperative's distribution center, began in 2008.

"It's taken a lot of discussion and a lot of learning," he said.

The project is one of several Organic Valley has spearheaded in an effort to gain energy independence. Others included the use of biodiesel in its truck fleet, solar photovoltaic windows in its headquarters and solar hot water panels in its cheese packaging plant and cafe.

The cooperative also encourages energy efficiency for its members through an On-Farm Sustainability Program.

"Our farmers and board have always wanted us to be responsible and get involved in renewable energy," Wright said. "Climate change is real for us, there's no doubt about that. Our farmers get that, our organization gets it, our consumers get it."

Electricity generated from Cashton Green's two commercial-scale turbines will flow into the Cashton power grid. The village invested in the wind farm's infrastructure.

As developers and owners of Cashton Greens, Organic Valley and Gundersen will receive income per kilowatt hour generated. Through a renewable energy contract with the Upper Midwest Municipal Power Agency, the two companies will buy back energy to offset their footprints.

"We'll turn around and buy it back after it goes through the system," Wright said, "but the actual electrons will be used by the village."

The partner companies will benefit from renewable energy credits.

Wright said the wind farm will allow Organic Valley to hedge rising energy costs.

"As the price of electric goes up, our project revenue will go up with it," he said.

A pre-project performance study suggested a pay-off point of 20 years, he said.

"If the cost of electricity goes up, it should more than pay for itself in that time," he said.

A plan for independence

Cashton Greens is one step in a long-term plan to make Gundersen Lutheran energy independent by 2014.

Corey Zarecki, director of engineering and operations for Envision, Gundersen's renewable energy program, said the health care system has aggressively worked toward that goal since 2008.

"Within the first 18 months, we improved energy efficiency by 20 percent," he said.

Zarecki said Gundersen's interest in renewable energy was spurred by increasing utility costs.

In 2007, the system's energy costs were increasing at a rate of more than $350,000 per year.

"Those costs were translating as higher health care costs," Zarecki said. "We chose to do something about it."

The resulting renewable energy program has led to implementation of solar and biomass electric, a heat and power partnership with a local brewery, and an Onalaska landfill gas energy project that will be operational in 2012.

Gundersen is also tied to a similar wind farm site near Lewiston, Minn., that should be running by New Year's, Zarecki said.

"Our overall goal with Envision is to be both ‘green' and ‘green,' " he said. "We want to reduce the cost of health care while being green from the environmental perspective and the financial perspective."

Most Envision projects have had paybacks of five to 10 years, Zarecki said.

The health care provider is invested in improving the communities it serves, he said.

"If you think about a hospital, we've been the community for 100 years," he said, "and we hope to be in the community for longer than that, into the future."

With the wind farm and completion of recent solar projects, Wright said renewable energy will account for 10 percent of energy usage at the Organic Valley headquarters.

The wind farm will also serve as a living lab for students from the Western Technical College of La Crosse.

Wright and Zarecki said they hope Cashton Greens sets an example.

"Most wind projects are done by developers or utilities," Wright said. "It's a little more unusual for companies and a community to get together."

Michels Corporation, a Brownsville-based contractor will install the turbines.

The partners are anxious to see the turbines at work.

"The tower and blades will show up in February, and we'll begin installation in March," Wright said. "We're hoping to have things turning by May."

Coal Critic Coming to Madison to Speak on Effective Renewable Energy Advocacy, January 13, 2012

2011-12-08T14:00:00.000-06:00

For immediate release
December 7, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Leslie Glustrom, research director of Colorado-based Clean Energy Action, and an unwavering critic of utility reliance on coal for electricity generation, will be the featured speaker at RENEW Wisconsin’s Energy Policy Summit.

The Summit will be held on Friday, January 13, 2012, at the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Pyle Center located on the UW-Madison campus. Summit attendees will spend the day discussing and selecting renewable energy strategies that make sense in the current political environment in Wisconsin. More information on the Summit can be found on the RENEW Wisconsin website at http://www.renewwisconsin.org.

As research director, Glustrom authored in 2009 an extensively referenced report on U.S. coal supplies titled, “Coal—Cheap and Abundant—Or Is It? Why Americans Should Stop Assuming that the US has a 200-Year Supply of Coal,” available for free at http://www.cleanenergyaction.org.

Since 2009, Glustrom has traveled to numerous states helping them to understand the likely constraints on their coal supplies.
Glustrom’s on-going research illuminates a future in which coal prices will likely continue to escalate, driven by a combination of less accessible coal supplies, increasing demand from Asian countries, and rising diesel fuel costs for hauling coal to distant markets like Wisconsin.

Clean Energy Action is spearheading a campaign to shut down Colorado’s coal-fired power plants and replace them with locally generated renewable electricity.

“Leslie’s experiences with Clean Energy Action can help Wisconsin renewable energy advocates formulate effective strategies for 2012 and beyond,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison.

“Even though Colorado is a coal-producing state, it has adopted some of the most aggressive policies in the country for advancing renewable energy,” said Vickerman. “Colorado’s commitment to clean energy is driving its economy at a time when its coal output is diminishing. For example, Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines with four plants employing 1,700 people in Colorado, supplied 90 turbines this year to Wisconsin’s largest wind project, the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County.”

“Leslie will inspire us to reverse the retreat from renewables and retake the initiative going forward,” Vickerman said.

In Boulder, Glustrom was part of the team that led the successful 2010 and 2011 ballot initiatives allowing Boulder to move ahead with plans to municipalize and break away from the long term commitment to coal plants made by their incumbent utility, Xcel Energy.

-- END --

Iowa farmers find profits blowing in the wind

2011-12-02T15:20:00.002-06:00

From an article by Jim Offner in The Courier:

WATERLOO, Iowa --- Of the 480 acres Tim Hemphill owns and 1,200 he farms near Milford, he sets aside three for two wind-turbine towers.

In exchange for the small plot of land Hemphill would have devoted to his corn and soybean products, he collects $20,000 a year.

"It's worth it, even with high grain prices," Hemphill said. "When we put them up, corn was around $3 a bushel, and it has doubled since then, but it's still worth it."

"The check's always good," he said.

Hemphills's towers have been up for two years, and the checks will flow in quarterly for the run of a 30-year contract, he said.

Hemphill said he is but one of an increasing number of Iowa farmers who have watched wind towers go up on their acreages.

"There's quite a few farmers I know who have them," he said. "My neighbor has six of them and another with seven."

Hemphill said his motivation transcends finances, although he acknowledges the income certainly doesn't hurt.

"I think we need more green energy," he said. "People in California and the cities have brownouts. Besides, it's a good revenue source."

Solar energy makes gains, but policy puts future in question

2011-11-30T12:28:00.000-06:00

From an article by in the La Crosse Tribune:

When the sun shines, Al Schultz makes money. Specifically, the 32 photovoltaic panels on his roof turn the sun's rays into electricity that powers his home in Ebner Coulee. If he doesn't need the power, he sells it to Xcel Energy.

"There is a certain peace of mind," said the self-employed contractor. "It's kind of a nice thought to think all your power is paid for."

Schultz is one of a small but growing number of area homeowners who've taken advantage of new, cheaper solar technology, which coupled with state and federal incentives have brought residential solar electric systems within reach of more regular folks looking to lessen their dependence on fossil fuels, lower their utility bills and even make some money.

But changes on the horizon have cast a shadow over the solar industry's future in Wisconsin. . . .

"Right now it's out of reach for 90 percent of the home-owning population," said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit that promotes economically and environmentally sustainable energy in Wisconsin. . . .

Money from Focus on Energy is still available this year, but rebates will be frozen in January as FOE implements new formulas used to evaluate cost effectiveness and rebalances its portfolio of energy savings and renewables.

Program administrator William Haas said next year's renewable incentives won't be decided until early spring.

Solar advocates like Vickerman say the energy policy hierarchy, which values efficiency - use reduction - over renewables in terms of cost effectiveness, is misguided.

"However much efficiency is injected, it doesn't have any change in the resource mix," he said. "Diversifying resource mix has value."

Solar panels may reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but dollar for dollar, Haas said, high-efficiency lighting delivers better savings.

Dearing points out that his customers have already weatherized and bought high-efficiency appliances.

"Our customers call us after they've done the low-hanging fruit," he said. "We're expensive. This is big dollar stuff. This is the future."

Vickerman says the future of the solar industry depends on policy.

"If we proceed without any policy changes there won't be much happening," he said. "You'll see a number of solar installers go out of business."

Small projects have wind in their sails

2011-11-28T11:14:00.002-06:00

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Companies working toward energy independence

The stalled state of wind farm development in Wisconsin has led to little development activity for large wind farms.

But on a much smaller scale, wind projects are moving ahead as companies fulfill commitments to environmental and energy independence.

In western Wisconsin, Organic Valley Cooperative and Gundersen Lutheran Health System have broken ground on a two-turbine wind project that will generate enough power to offset the energy use for Organic Valley's corporate headquarters and distribution center, as well as meet 5% of Gundersen Lutheran's energy needs.

In southeastern Wisconsin, S.C. Johnson & Son has proposed building two or three turbines that would generate 1.5 megawatts of power each. If the plans proceed on schedule, the turbines would be erected next year.

The co-op and health care system project, Cashton Greens, calls for roads and foundations for the $9.9 million project to be completed this fall, with the turbines scheduled for installation in spring 2012, said Cecil Wright, Organic Valley's director of sustainability.

When completed, the turbines will generate about 12 million kilowatt-hours a year.

It's a boost to a brand that has the word "organic" in its name, but this is about more than conveying a green image, Wright said.

"One of the main reasons we did is that it'll help manage and fix our costs," Wright said. "We're not just doing it because it's a nice thing to do. The higher the price of electricity goes up, the better we'll do at paying off our project quicker, and that'll be a profit center for us," he said.

"In addition to providing renewable energy to Cashton and Organic Valley, the wind turbines will serve as a 'living lab' for research and education for students at Western Technical College," Wright said.

Windmills and more
At S.C. Johnson, the wind proposal is the latest in a string of distributed generation and renewable energy initiatives for the company, which uses landfill methane gas to generate energy for the factory. The Waxdale factory will be able to produce 100% of its electricity on-site, with 60% of it from renewable sources, said Christopher Beard, S.C. Johnson spokesman.

The reasons for the projects are many - everything from a desire for energy security to a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to energy use and a platform to showcase their brands as environmentally friendly.

"Both of those projects show that customers are demanding and making clean energy happen," said Lee Cullen, a Madison energy lawyer who has been working with clients in the wind-energy sector. "There's a groundswell of renewable energy production that's happening because people understand its importance."

Beard said the S.C. Johnson wind project "helps us address the fact that consumers are asking for products that are green and products that have been produced in a sustainable way. Manufacturing our products using on-site sustainable energy helps meet that consumer demand," Beard said.

Projects to erect wind turbines and solar panels needs to be complemented with efforts to slash energy waste from a company's buildings and production processes, said Tom Eggert, who runs the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council.

RENEW Wisconsin hosts Renewable Energy Policy Summit, Jan. 13, 2012

2011-11-25T12:57:00.001-06:00

REtaking Initiative - REframing Message REvitalizing Economy

8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Pyle Center, UW-Madison Campus

702 Langdon Street

Madison, WI 53703

Wisconsin's renewable energy marketplace is going through a tumultuous period. We need to chart a new course for 2012 to address the ongoing policy uncertainties and emerging marketplace realities.

RENEW WI invites stakeholders from around the state to join us in shaping the renewable energy community’s 2012 policy agenda.

If you want to build or buy any part of today's energy economy, this is a conversation you want to be part of. Join RENEW members, businesses, energy customers, and legislators to craft a robust policy platform for renewable energy in Wisconsin.

Breakout Groups will discuss strategies for:

Expanding Market Access for Customers and Generators;

Economics of Renewable Production;

Regulatory Environment for Renewable Production ;

How do we choose who we want to be customers of?

Summit Outcomes

Summit Statement for enacting an Energy Economy that works for Wisconsin, with RENEW Wisconsin facilitating working groups throughout 2012.

More information and registration at RENEW Wisconsin Renewable Energy Policy Summit.

Wisconsin regulators question CapX2020 power-line proposal

2011-11-18T10:12:00.000-06:00

From an article by Mary Juhl in the La Crosse Tribune:

WINONA, Minn. - The Wisconsin Public Service Commission isn't convinced the La Crosse-area population will increase enough to justify a proposed $450 million, 345-kilovolt transmission line.

The proposed CapX2020 line would extend about 150 miles from Hampton, Minn., to the La Crosse area, crossing the Mississippi River at Alma and ending at a new substation near Holmen. Construction would begin in 2013, with the line in service by 2015.

The Public Service Commission, a state regulatory agency, released a preliminary review of the project this week that questioned some CapX2020 projections.

"The applicants state that the growing demand for electricity in the La Crosse/Winona area would exceed the capabilities of the existing electrical system to deliver power reliably under contingency conditions," the agency stated in its report. "At this time, that conclusion is still being questioned."

CapX2020 officials have projected the demand for electricity in the Winona and La Crosse area to increase significantly over the next 20 years, by 1.7 percent annually. Referencing its own data, the Public Service Commission says that estimate is high because projected population growth has slowed.

RENEW applauds Organic Valley & Gundersen for first community wind project in Wisconsin

2011-11-17T12:45:00.001-06:00

A news release from RENEW:

Construction is now proceeding on the Cashton Greens Wind Project, Wisconsin’s first community wind project. Consisting of two 2.5 megawatt turbines, this innovative installation will serve two well-known western Wisconsin organizations – Organic Valley, La Farge, and Gundersen Health System, La Crosse. The two organizations are partnering in the development and ownership of this project.

“We at RENEW salute Organic Valley and Gundersen for demonstrating the viability of a large-scale wind turbine project in Wisconsin as a strategy for controlling their energy expenses and reducing their reliance on fossil fuels, said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison.

According to the two companies, the generated electricity will account for five percent of Gundersen’s energy independence goal and more than offset the electricity usage at both Organic Valley’s distribution center in Cashton and its headquarters facilities in La Farge.

“This is leadership by example at its finest. In this case, two economic linchpins in their region have joined forces to incorporate on-site renewable energy production into their base operations,” said Vickerman.

“Organic Valley and Gundersen join a group of farsighted Wisconsin businesses that are taking great strides toward energy independence and sustainability, among them Epic Systems (Verona), Johnson Controls (Milwaukee), and Montchevré, a goat cheese producer in Belmont.”

Erecting wind turbines using in-state contractors, in this case Michels Corporation (Brownsville), will generate jobs for workers and business for local suppliers and subcontractors.

This project was supported with incentives from Focus on Energy, the statewide energy efficiency and renewables program funded by Wisconsin’s utility ratepayers.

“Ironically, this project occurs at a time when our state government is back-pedaling on policies and incentives to boost renewable energy as a means of moving toward energy independence. In contrast to Wisconsin’s elected officials, leading Wisconsin companies certainly ʽget it’ when it comes to the economic and environmental values of renewable energy,” said Vickerman.

For more information about this project and its owners/developers visit Organic Valley’s news room at http://www.organicvalley.coop/newsroom.

Organic Valley and Gundersen Health System break ground on Cashton Greens Wind Farm

2011-11-16T15:05:00.001-06:00

From a news release from Organic Valley issued on November 14:

Organic Valley, the nation’s largest cooperative of organic farmers and a leading organic brand, and Gundersen Health System today announced construction has begun on the Cashton Greens Wind Farm, Wisconsin’s first community wind project. This collaborative project will feature two wind turbines expected to generate nearly 5 megawatts of energy for Cashton’s power grid—enough to power 1,000 homes each year. The energy produced will more than offset electricity used at Organic Valley’s Cashton Distribution Center and its La Farge headquarters facilities, and represents about five percent of Gundersen’s energy independence goal.

“Fostering strong, sustainable rural communities is key to who we are,” said George Siemon, founding farmer and C-E-I-E-I-O of Organic Valley. “We’re particularly proud to establish a long-term renewable energy source right here in the Cashton area, which is not only a sustainable solution for our community, but hopefully also an example for other communities.”

The Cashton Greens Wind Farm is the first commercial scale project of its kind in Wisconsin. Wind farms typically are owned by utility or wind development companies, but as developers and owners of the Cashton Greens Wind Farm, Organic Valley and Gundersen will receive income per kilowatt hour (kWh) generated. Organic Valley will buy back its portion of energy to offset its footprint through a renewable energy contract with the villages of Cashton and La Farge.

“Gundersen Health System is pleased to be entering into this partnership with Organic Valley,” says Jeff Rich, executive director, GL Envision, LLC. “The wind farm project is a great thing for our patients and for the community. By reducing our energy costs, we can eventually pass the savings on to our patients in the form of lower healthcare costs. In addition, the project creates local construction jobs and has a positive impact on the health of the environment, too. It is a win-win all around.”

Roads, foundations, the electrical collection system, and an operation and maintenance facility for the Cashton Greens Wind Farm will be completed this year, and the turbines are scheduled for installation in spring 2012 by Michels Corporation, a Brownsville, Wis.-based utility, engineering, design and construction contractor.

Gen. Wesley Clark on wind, veterans and energy security

2011-11-11T12:54:00.007-06:00

Jackson Co. farm gets USDA funds for biodigester project

2011-10-27T12:12:00.002-05:00

The USDA announced $1.8 million in a grant and loan for an electricity-generating manure digester at Heller Farms near Alma Center in Jackson County:

MERRILL, Wis., October 26, 2011 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is funding anaerobic digester projects in eight states to encourage renewable energy production, reduce energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and farm-based pollution. The announcement was made on the Secretary's behalf by Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager during a trip to Wisconsin.

"Through the efforts of the Obama Administration, the Rural Energy for America Program has helped rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers across the nation," Vilsack said. "Since its creation this program has assisted almost 9,600 small businesses, farmers and ranchers and created or saved an estimated 15,000 jobs. It also provides producers with new opportunities to diversify revenue and make American agriculture and rural small business more competitive."

Funding for the biodigesters is provided through the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and has created or saved an estimated 13.4 billion kWh of electricity and reduced almost 14.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the biodigesters announced today will be constructed on Heller Farms near Alma Center in Jackson County, Wis. It is expected to produce 3.3 million kW hours of renewable energy each year, enough to power 400 average Wisconsin homes per year. Digesters will also be constructed in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Iowa, Florida, Oregon, Ohio, and Vermont.

Today's announcement is in concert with an agreement signed by Secretary Vilsack in December, 2009. During climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Secretary signed a historic agreement to help U.S. dairy producers cut greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement between USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy calls for the parties to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms by 25 percent by 2020.

State urged to beef up clean energy policies to create jobs

2011-10-26T15:17:00.002-05:00

From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Two reports show Wisconsin has a significant renewable power industry, but with a stronger state commitment, it could be saving more energy and creating more jobs.

Wisconsin has more than 300 businesses involved in wind or solar energy, providing more than 12,000 jobs, according to a study by the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago.

It found 171 Wisconsin companies that either produce, sell or install wind power equipment or plan wind development.

Another 135 companies are part of the solar energy industry. For example, Cardinal Glass makes solar panels in Mazomanie; Helios recently opened a solar panel factory in Milwaukee.

"These are real jobs; these are real businesses. Many are existing businesses that are branching out into new product lines," said Howard Learner, the center's executive director.
Ten years ago, Wisconsin was considered a leader on renewal energy policy, so companies located here, Learner said. "That policy support has now been eroding, and neighboring states —Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan — now have much stronger renewable standards than Wisconsin does and are exceeding Wisconsin in terms of jobs," he added.

Meanwhile, at a news conference Tuesday, representatives of clean energy businesses made a pitch for more money for Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program, saying it will save energy, cut consumers' costs and create jobs.

In the 10 years since it was created, Focus programs have saved utility customers 6.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 6.8 months of the total residential power use in the state, says the report by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance in Chicago. It says the programs also have saved 278 therms of natural gas, or 1.8 years of statewide residential consumption.

Walker refuses to break wind siting deadlock

2011-10-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

From an article by Clay Barbour in the LaCrosse Tribune:

Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in potential economic development are stuck in limbo as officials continue to argue over new wind siting rules.

The new rules, more than a year in the making, were suspended earlier this year just before they were to go into effect. A legislative committee sent them back to the Public Service Commission, which was tasked with finding a compromise between both sides.

Now, some seven months later, PSC officials say they are no closer to a deal than when they started. Meanwhile, wind farm developers such as Midwest Wind Energy and Redwind Consulting are sitting on their hands, and their money.

“Right now, we just don’t have a path forward in Wisconsin,”said Tim Polz, vice president of Midwest Wind Energy, a company that suspended work earlier this year on a large wind farm in Calumet County. “The uncertainty is just too much now.”

Polz said Chicago-based Midwest already spent three years and about $1 million on the Calumet County project. In full, the company expected to spend upward of $200 million on the project, employ 150 to 200 construction workers for up to 18 months and five to eight people full time after that. . . .

Walker said he is aware of the stress caused by the delay but feels it is important any rules be fair to both sides, respecting property rights and the future of the wind industry.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, plans to introduce a bill Monday to call for a moratorium on wind turbines until the PSC receives a report from the Department of Health Services on possible health effects of wind farms.

“It is more important to fully vet, understand and communicate to the public the potential changes than the specific timing of when they are adopted and enacted.” Walker said. “It is important to note that whatever proposed changes are made, there are effects on a number of different areas of the economy.”

Farmers Union renewable energy tour, summer 2011

2011-10-05T13:28:00.003-05:00

Montfort wind farm marks 10th anniversary

2011-09-28T10:15:00.004-05:00

News release
Renew Wisconsin
September 27,2011

More information:
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

The Montfort Wind Energy Center, a popular attraction in western Iowa County along U.S. Highway 18, turned 10 years old this summer. The 30-megawatt (MW) project, which for many years was Wisconsin’s largest commercial wind energy installation, began generating electricity in 2001, and thus far has produced over 500,000 megawatt-hours of electricity. In a typical year, Montfort’s output serves more than 5,000 households.

The project’s 20 turbines are divided into two arrays. The main array, consisting of 17 turbines, runs along the southern side of U.S. 18 between Cobb and Montfort. The output from those 17 turbines is sold to Milwaukee-based We Energies. The other three turbines, located to the south of the main array, produce electricity under contract to Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin Power & Light subsidiary, whose service territory covers Iowa County.

Originally developed by Enron Wind, the Montfort project was purchased in 2001 by NextEra Energy Resources, a Juno Beach, Florida-based company. Residents of Cobb and Montfort have been strongly supportive of this project. “Montfort has a gas station called Windmill Mobil,” said Carol Anderson, a project landowner. “Most commonly, I hear people ask ‘When we’re going to get more’?” Just east of the Windmill Mobil, an informational kiosk on the project stands prominently in front of the Tower Junction restaurant, located directly across the highway from Montfort’s westernmost turbines.

Carol Anderson holds a map of Wisconsin to show a group the topography with the best wind resource for projects similar to the Montfort Wind Farm.

“People are also surprised at how quiet the turbines are,” Anderson said. “Some family members still live in our homestead only 2,000 feet from the turbines, and they don’t have any problems with noise or anything else.

This project has brought economic development to Iowa County,” Anderson said. “Conservation is a big value in this area. All of us appreciate the conservation aspects of the clean energy.” Montfort is not the first Wisconsin wind project to complete 10 years of continuous operation. Others include the Rosiere and Lincoln projects in Kewaunee County, totaling 31 turbines, and the two-turbine Byron project south of Fond du Lac along U.S. Highway 41.

“Wind generation is proving to be a reliable source of clean energy over the long haul,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization promoting Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace. “Furthermore, unlike coal-fired generators, wind projects will never need expensive retrofits to comply with federal clean air regulations because they don’t produce particulates, sulfur compounds or greenhouse gases.”

“Wisconsin utilities are now in the process of spending more than a billion dollars to clean up their older coal-fired power stations,” Vickerman said. “This is a considerable expense that utility ratepayers will fully absorb. By contrast, Montfort’s owner will never have to spend a dime on pollution control technology over its entire operating life.”

“When you add the cost of retrofitting older coal-fired units to the cost of supplying these generators with fuel transported from Wyoming, windpower is hands down the better economic choice,” Vickerman said.

In addition to Montfort, NextEra Energy Resources also owns and operates the 36-turbine, 54 MW Butler Ridge project near Iron Ridge in Dodge County. That project started commercial operations in 2009.

RENEW Analysis Shows Wisconsin Wind Farm Productivity Comparable to Iowa’s

2011-08-25T16:32:00.001-05:00

Immediate release
August 25, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Wind Farm Productivity Comparable to Iowa’s

Production figures from wind energy projects owned by Wisconsin utilities reveal that there is no significant difference between wind farms in Iowa and the Badger State, according to an analysis of utility annual reports performed by RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization advocating for public policies and private initiatives that advance renewable energy.

The most productive wind project last year was Wisconsin Public Service’s Crane Creek project in Howard County, Iowa, followed closely by Wisconsin Power and Light’s Cedar Ridge project in Fond du Lac County. (See table below.) The output from both projects in 2010 exceeded 30 percent of their rated capacity. Capacity factor is a measure of actual output relative to potential output if the turbine ran 100 percent of the time at full capacity.

“These figures suggest that the winds in Wisconsin can deliver significant quantities of clean energy to nearby users,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW. “This is especially true of the newer turbines with taller towers and longer blades.”
“Clearly Wisconsin ratepayers are getting their money’s worth from Wisconsin’s newest wind projects,” Vickerman said. “Moreover, the host communities reap considerable economic benefits in the form of payments to local governments and landowners.”

Differences in output between wind projects in the same region can be attributable to causes other than the wind resource itself. These can include shutdowns caused by grid congestion and operating restrictions aimed at minimizing impacts on wildlife and project neighbors.

“The evidence suggests that Cedar Ridge is a standout performer among Wisconsin wind projects, and every bit as productive as the projects in Iowa owned by Wisconsin utilities,” said Vickerman.

Click table to enlarge.

WP&L and WPS warn of higher rates because of pollution rules

2011-08-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

From an article by Tom Content published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on August 19:

Two state utilities said this week new federal pollution rules will lead to higher electricity costs come January.

Wisconsin Public Service Corp. of Green Bay said its residential customers can expect an increase of more than $4 a month next year, including about $2 linked to the new rules designed to limit air pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The utility said it would see higher costs of about $32.6 million in 2012 from the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule that was finalized recently by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That will result in rates going up by 6.8% instead of 3.4%, the utility said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month finalized stronger regulations for Wisconsin and 26 other states aimed at curbing air pollution from long-distance sources.

Environmental groups praised the new rule because it would reduce acid rain and air pollution as well as help curb health effects from dirty air linked to coal plants. The EPA projected the rule will save up to 34,000 lives a year and prevent more than 400,000 asthma attacks as well as 19,000 admissions to hospitals. . .

The new rule has been in development for several years but the first phase of compliance hits utilities in 2012. WPS said it won't have time to install pollution controls by next year at its plants, but will be able to comply by purchasing credits from other utilities that have cut emissions.

The utility also said it plans to operate its coal plants less next year than it otherwise would have, and will buy more power from the Midwest wholesale power market as a result, a move that it said is also a factor in higher costs for customers. . . .

On Thursday [August 18], Wisconsin Power & Light Co. [Alliant] of Madison said it would face an additional $9 million in costs linked to the air pollution rule. With the change, the utility is now seeking an increase in 2012 of $20 million, or 2%, utility finance manager Martin Seitz said in a filing with state regulators.

Todd Stuart, executive director of the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, criticized the increases, and he noted that large energy users like paper mills will see higher than average increases, compared with homeowners and small businesses. Paper mills served by WPS could see a 9% hike, he said. . . .

"Industry always cries wolf whenever EPA tries to reduce air pollution," said Katie Nekola, lawyer with the conservation group Clean Wisconsin. "The fact is, the new rule will affect old, inefficient, unnecessary coal plants that should have been shut down long ago. The continued operation of those old units is costing ratepayers money, but you don't hear industry complaining about that."

Area businesses get energy efficiency and renewable energy grants from USDA

2011-08-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

A story on WXOW, La Crosse:

Five area businesses are splitting more than $65,000 for renewable energy grants.

The money will help them install renewable energy systems or flex fuel pumps, and make energy efficiency improvements. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy for America Program.

USDA Rural Development State Director Colleen Landkamer says the funding helps reduce America's dependence of foreign energy and boosts the rural economy.

Here are the local recipients:

-Robert Lambert, Fountain City, $9,075 for energy efficiency

-Harriet Behar, Gays Mills, $15,121 for solar

-JDI Enterprises, Inc., Hillsboro, $3,019 for solar

-Golden Acres Grain Farms, LLC, West Salem, $17,315 for energy efficiency

-Corr Investments, LLC, Viroqua, $19,099 for solar

Outdated power plants killing fish

2011-08-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

From an article by Betsy Bloom in the La Crosse Tribune:

Outdated power plant cooling systems take a major toll on fish and other wildlife in the upper Mississippi River, according to a Sierra Club report released Thursday.

The report refers to the plants’ open-cycle cooling systems as“giant fish blenders” that also spew out heated water harmful to aquatic habitats.

The plants suck in millions of gallons of water each day from the river that is circulated to help cool equipment, then released back into the river, according to the report.

Larger fish can become trapped against screens at the mouths of intake pipes, while smaller fish and other organisms are churned through the system and succumb to the high-temperature water, the report claims.

Mentioned in the region were Dairyland Power Cooperative’s plants at Genoa and Alma, along with the Alliant Energy plant at Lansing, Iowa.

The four coal-fired plants on the Wisconsin side of the river combined draw in more than 890 million gallons of water a day, according to the report.

The Sierra Club faults not only the power companies but also the Environmental Protection Agency for not requiring the plants to upgrade to a closed-cycle cooling system it contends uses 95 percent less water.

Dairyland Power spokeswoman Katie Thomson disagreed with the report’s conclusions, saying the plants have a “a very minimal impact on the Mississippi River.”

Solar panels top new UWL academic building, Centennial Hall

2011-08-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

From a story by Lindsey Hayes on WXOW, La Crosse:

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW)-- It's the largest academic building on the UW-La Crosse campus and its name is Centennial Hall.

The facility will officially open on the September 6th for the first day of classes, yet on Wednesday UWL's Chancellor Joe Gow lead a tour to introduce the new state of the art building.

Centennial Hall is 189,000 square feet.

It houses 44 classrooms, two auditoriums and offices for fourteen departments.

Each classroom is equipped with advanced technology, has flexible seating for interactive teaching, and 90 percent of the building has natural lighting.

This $40 million facility also has special interior design.

Much of the furniture, carpet and even the solar panels on the roof were based on input from students and staff.

Sand mining surges in Wisconsin

2011-08-01T10:40:00.004-05:00

From an article by by Jason Smathers, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, posted on WisconsinWatch.org:

State feeds national fracking boom; health, environmental concerns rise

TUNNEL CITY — Retiree Letha Webster’s voice briefly cracks when she talks about leaving the town she and her husband have called home for 56 years. But she says selling her land to an out-of-state mining company was the best move she could have made.

The 84-year old was approached in late June by a Connecticut-based company, Unimin, that planned to build a sand mine in the area and was paying a good price for houses in the way.

Webster’s struggle to maintain her home and 8.5 acres of land while caring for her husband, Gene, who has Alzheimer’s, meant she would need to move soon anyway. Webster, whose property was valued last year at $147,400, says she has agreed to sell for more than double that amount: $330,000.

Others in the area are selling, too. . . .

This western Wisconsin community is in the midst of a land rush — call it a sand rush — fueled by exploding nationwide demand for fine silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing. In this process, nicknamed “fracking,” sand, water and chemicals are blasted into wells, creating fissures in the rock and freeing hard-to-reach pockets of oil and natural gas. . . .

[Fracking has been a contentious issue in most states that have fracking operations. Critics argue that chemicals used in fracking may be contaminating water supplies. And it's the subject of a documentary titled Gasland.]

Health effects feared
Residents in several Wisconsin counties say they have been alarmed by the speed with which mining companies have snapped up land.

Some communities lack local land-use controls such as zoning that would allow them to manage the land rush. And despite concerns about the health and environmental impacts of such facilities, the state Department of Natural Resources has only a few regulations for sand mining operations.

Mining companies must file a reclamation plan with the county that spells how much land will be disturbed and how it will be rejuvenated once mining is completed, and they apply to be covered under a general DNR permit covering stormwater and wastewater. Other permits regulating air emissions and groundwater use may be required from the DNR.

But none specifically limits how much crystalline silica gets into the air, the main health worry for those living near the facilities. Drew Bradley, Unimin’s senior vice president of operations, says that while the risks of crystalline silica are well known in an occupational setting, there’s no evidence that ambient exposure poses any threat.

Allen, Zimmern to speak at Kickapoo Country Fair, July 30

2011-07-25T11:26:00.000-05:00

From an article from the Vernon County Broadcaster:

LA FARGE -- The Kickapoo Country Fair, taking place on Saturday, July 30, in La Farge, announced its keynote speakers are to be nationally renowned food leaders Will Allen and Andrew Zimmern.

Allen, an urban agriculture pioneer and founder of Growing Power, a farm and community food center in Milwaukee, and Zimmern, chef and star of the Travel Channel's hit series, "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern," both hail from the Midwest and have helped establish the region as a center for food culture and advocacy. Rounding out the day-long celebration will be country music headliner The Kentucky Headhunters.

Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative with 1,636 organic farmers nationwide - dozens of which are located just miles from the fair grounds - created the Kickapoo Country Fair eight years ago as a healthy alternative to the traditional deep-fried fair. Nestled amid the steep hills and coulees of southwestern Wisconsin's Driftless region, this year's Kickapoo Country Fair will attract thousands of attendees for a day-long exploration of all things food, including hands-on workshops, craft and cooking classes, issues-based seminars, poetry and theater performances, farm tours, live music and more-all offered at an affordable price for families. Passes providing access to all activities are only $5 for adults, $2 for kids 12 and under, and free for kids five and under.

"We're excited to spice up this year's event with two food leaders who, similar to our co-op, have been instrumental in helping establish the Midwest‘s prominent role in the changing food movement," Theresa Marquez, chief marketing officer for Organic Valley, said. "The opportunity to hear from such renowned personalities, chefs, farmers and advocates, all while eating delicious local and organic food in the beautiful Kickapoo region, is truly a unique food experience only a dedicated community like ours could cook up."

Allen, Zimmern Take Center Stage
Will Allen, named one of TIME Magazine's "World's Most Influential People" in 2010 and recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation's "genius" grant, will take center stage at 11:30 a.m.

Allen is among the preeminent thinkers of our time on agriculture and food policy and systems and is the founder of Growing Power. Based in Milwaukee, Growing Power serves as a "living museum" or "idea factory" on sustainable food systems for the young, the elderly, farmers, producers and other professionals ranging from USDA personnel to urban planners. Training areas include everything from urban agriculture, permaculture and food distribution, to community engagement and participatory leadership.

At 1:30 p.m., Andrew Zimmern will address fair-goers with a keynote speech and cooking demonstration. Zimmern is a Twin Cities native, James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer, teacher, and is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable personalities in the food world. As the co-creator and host of the Travel Channel's hit series "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern" and "Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Food World," he travels the world exploring food unique to various communities. From world-class restaurants to jungle carts to Kickapoo Country Fair booths, Zimmern is all about discovering and sharing authentic, local food experiences.

Western Wisconsin cheated again by Walker's refusal of train funds

2011-07-21T09:16:00.000-05:00

From an editorial in the La Crosse Tribune:

Gov. Scott Walker's decision to reject $810 million in federal funding for high-speed rail is turning in to the gift that keeps on giving for everyone but the residents of our part of the state.

Worse, it's costing all taxpayers in Wisconsin more than it needs to - millions and millions of dollars more, according to one analysis.

And western Wisconsin won't get so much as a train whistle out of the deal.

Earlier this week, a legislative committee in Madison agreed to spend $31.6 million on the Hiawatha rail line between Chicago and Milwaukee. The Hiawatha line makes the trip seven times daily and carried nearly 800,000 passengers last year.

Oh, did we mention that work on the Hiawatha line would have been funded as part of the $810 million grant from the federal government because it was an extension of the now-deceased high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison?

So, let's review: Wisconsin gives back $810 million. It won't receive high-speed rail. And, as a bonus, we agree to spend $31.6 million out of our pockets - much of it borrowed - for work that the feds would have funded.

But wait, there's more:

There's also the ongoing operating costs as well as the need to pay for maintenance bases and train sheds and locomotives and signals, according to an analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Added up, the analysis shows that the federal grant could have paid for up to $99 million that Wisconsin taxpayers will now have to fund.

All of that is incredible when you consider that the Walker administration objected to high-speed rail through Wisconsin because of the ongoing costs.

Iowa leads the Midwest in reaping wind energy benefits, Wisconsin heads backward

2011-07-20T15:35:00.004-05:00

By contrast, an article by Michael Vickerman details Wisconsin's Widening War on Renewable Energy.

National Study Vindicates Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Policies

2011-07-18T15:37:00.004-05:00

Immediate release
July 18, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

National Study Vindicates Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Policies

Nearly a decade of forward-looking strategies propelled investments in Wisconsin’s clean jobs economy above other Midwest states, according to an economic study issued by The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

Reviewing data gathered between 2003 and 2010, the Brookings analysis pegged the number of clean economy jobs in the state at 76,858, a net increase of nearly 4,000. Measured as a percentage, Wisconsin’s clean economy accounted for 2.7% of all jobs in the state, compared with 2.5% for Iowa, 2.1% for Minnesota, 1.9 % for both Indiana and Michigan, and 1.8% for Illinois. Overall, Wisconsin ranked 8th among all states and the District of Columbia in the relative size of its clean economy.

The report categorizes clean economy jobs as those in energy efficiency and renewable energy; sustainable forestry products; recycling and reuse; waste management and treatment; organic food and farming; energy efficient appliance and building manufacturing; and more.

“Clearly, Wisconsin’s commitment to clean energy has paid dividends, attracting new businesses and creating high-paying jobs that could have easily gone elsewhere,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization advocating for public policies and private initiatives that advance renewable energy.

These policies and initiatives include the establishment of Focus on Energy, the region’s first ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and renewable energy program, attractive buyback rates offered by utilities for renewable energy, and innovative incentives to encourage customer installation of renewables.

In addition, Wisconsin’s adoption of a 10% renewable energy standard back in 2006 spurred new utility-scale installations built by skilled tradesmen employed by local contractors. During the study period, the number of wind-related jobs in Wisconsin doubled from less than 450 to 900.

As documented in the Brookings report, the wages for these clean economy jobs run higher than the statewide average ($37,931 vs. $35,906).

“Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s clean economy is in danger of losing a good deal of its steam as a result of policy rollbacks and funding cutbacks in the renewable energy arena,” Vickerman said. “The short-sighted attacks we’ve seen in 2011 could throw the state’s clean economy into reverse next year.”

So far this year, the Legislature has reduced funding for Focus on Energy, suspended the statewide rule regulating the permitting of wind turbines, and weakened the state’s renewable energy standard by allowing utilities to count Canadian hydropower toward their requirements.

“On top of that, We Energies, the state’s largest utility, announced that it will discontinue what had been an effective renewable energy initiative,” Vickerman said. “Among other accomplishments, it was instrumental in enabling Helios USA to build a solar-electric manufacturing facility in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley.” The plant now employs 50 workers.

END

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

Wind farm plan gets green light -- in Illinois

2011-07-15T16:40:00.000-05:00

While Wisconsin's hostility toward wind generation kills projects in the state, wind generation projects continue to create jobs and energy independence in surrounding states, according to this article in The News Gazzette, Champaign, IL:

DANVILLE — The Vermilion County Board authorized construction of the first wind turbine farm in the county Tuesday night despite objections from several local residents and incomplete information in the developer's application.

The 27-member board voted 21-1, with four members absent and one seat vacant, to grant Chicago-based Invenergy a building permit to construct 104 wind turbines in west central Vermilion County.

Invenergy also submitted on July 1 its application to the Champaign County zoning board for a special-use permit to build 30 wind turbines as part of the same project in east central Champaign County. Invenergy officials said they hope construction in Vermilion County can start by the end of the year.

The lone no vote at Tuesday's Vermilion County Board meeting came from member Terry Stal, D-District 4, who said after the meeting that he voted that way because the county should have all its agreements with Invenergy in place before the permit is issued. He said his vote reflected a procedural objection.

GreenBiz: California exec creating green retreat in Kickapoo Valley

2011-07-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

From an article by Gregg Hoffman on WisBusiness.com:

Tom Lukens has been to a lot of places over his long career in horticulture and business. Now, the president emeritus of Golden State Bulb Growers is creating “a beautiful place to simply be” along the West Fork in the Kickapoo Valley.

“I believe human beings are motivated by sharing experiences,” said Lukens, who continues to serve as a senior sales rep and technical consultant for the Moss Landing, California, Golden State Bulbs company, and has started Nature Nooks Retreat.

“That motivates me here. I believe this place gives you a sense of belonging which is good for us. We’ve built the buildings to not only be energy efficient as possible, but to bring the outside to you when you are inside. . . ."

Driftless Area Project head Jeff Hastings, Trout Unlimited, UW-Madison researchers and others have helped Lukens in his development of Nature Nooks and have embraced his bio-diversity approach to stream restoration.

The green construction starts with Lukens’ home, a 1,440 sq. ft. structure that resembles Frank Lloyd Wright designs and is intended to make as small a carbon footprint as possible.

Through the use of passive and active solar, hydronic heat in the floors, energy efficient windows and materials and a little bit of wood, Lukens was able to operate the home without “a drop of petroleum” last winter.

He estimates the solar part of his system cost about $34,000 more than conventional heat systems would, but he received an $18,000 tax credit and will recover any additional costs through energy efficiency.

Lukens also has worked with local contractors and has used local materials whenever possible.

“It starts by not building a home with more space than you need,” Lukens said. “This space is plenty for our purposes. By using local materials and labor, you also save costs, contribute to the community economically and leave less of a footprint because of transportation.”

Wisconsin’s Widening War on Renewable Energy

2011-07-11T14:38:00.000-05:00

Dramatic Slowdown in Market Activity Anticipated
By Michael Vickerman
July 11, 2011

What started out as an opening salvo from the Walker Administration to shackle large-scale wind projects has in six months turned into a systematic campaign to dismantle the state policies that support renewable energy development. Joining the executive and legislative branches in pursuing policy rollbacks and/or funding cutbacks against renewables are various utilities and, surprisingly, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and renewable programs.

Since January 1st, Wisconsin has seen a series of assaults against utility-scale projects and smaller renewable systems serving both residences and businesses. These include the following actions:

The Legislature suspended PSC 128, the statewide rule developed by the Public Service Commission last year in response to a law passed by the Legislature in 2009 ordering the agency to establish uniform standards for permitting wind energy systems. Since the March 1 suspension vote, wind development in Wisconsin has slowed to a standstill.
The Legislature adopted SB 81, a bill that RENEW Wisconsin describes as the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act.” SB 81 allows Wisconsin utilities to meet their renewable energy requirements beginning in 2015 with electricity generated from large hydropower plants in other states and Canada. By allowing Wisconsin utilities to become even more dependent on energy imports than they are today, SB 81 turns Wisconsin’s Renewable Energy Standard on its head. Importing large-scale hydropower exports the very dollars that could have been used to harness Wisconsin’s renewable energy resources.
We Energies, the state’s largest electric utility, abruptly decided in May to walk away from an agreement with RENEW to dedicate $60 million over a 10-year period in support of renewable energy development in its territory. The decision came in the sixth year of this program. We Energies plans to reallocate the unspent dollars (totaling about $27 million) to general operations.
Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) instituted in April a new net energy policy designed to discourage new customer-sited renewable energy systems. Until recently WPS had been paying its customers the full retail rate for electricity that flows back on the wires, which is now about 12 cents/kWh. But under the new rate, WPS only pays three cents/kWh for electricity exported to the grid. Moreover, the utility calculates the net each month, which penalizes customers whose loads vary significantly depending on seasonal factors. Right now, the new policy only covers systems installed after March 2011, but WPS has said that it plans to apply that rate to older systems effective January 2013.
In its deliberations on the biennial state budget passed in June, the Legislature appended a rider to tie Focus on Energy’s annual budget to a percentage (1.2% of gross utility revenues). This action will mean a cut of $20 million in the program’s 2012 budget relative to this year’s allocation of $120 million. The Focus on Energy program provides grants and cash-back awards supporting customer investments in solar electric, solar thermal systems, small wind, biogas and biomass energy systems.
Last, but certainly not least, as of July 1, Focus on Energy stopped accepting applications for business program incentives to help customers install renewable energy systems. These incentives, which average about $7 million per year, had been available since 2002 to businesses, farms, schools, local governments and other nonprofit customers. It is not clear when these incentives will be resumed and in what quantity.

This one-two punch of policy rollbacks and funding cutbacks has cast a pall over the state’s renewable energy marketplace. At this year’s Energy Fair in Custer, Wisconsin, the prevailing mood of contractors and exhibitors was one of bewilderment tinged with anger. It is dawning on these companies that their state, which once took pride in its efforts to nurture a thriving renewable energy market, is becoming an inhospitable place to do business. The transformation is occurring with stunning speed; no business is likely to be spared from this abrupt reversal of fortune, which will hit home soon and continue for several months, if not years.

At this moment, however, the Wisconsin renewable energy landscape is humming with installation activity. New wind turbines are soaring above cornfields in Columbia County, where construction crews and operating engineers from Appleton-based Boldt Construction and Brownsville-based Michels Wind Energy assemble what will become Wisconsin’s largest wind generation facility. The towers for the Glacier Hills wind energy project are being fabricated at Tower Tech in Manitowoc. Solar hot water systems now crown the rooftops of new apartment and university buildings, while solar PV panels mounted on 14-foot-tall poles rise above a farm field in Dane County to power Epic Systems’ ground source heat pump system. A cranberry company in Monroe County is about to become the second of its kind to rely on a pair of small wind turbines for its electrical needs. Meanwhile, all across Wisconsin one can find contractors building this year’s crop of bioenergy systems that convert the effluent from dairy farms, cheese producers and wastewater treatment plants into a baseload source of electricity.

Indeed, this wave of projects, fueled principally by funding commitments made in previous years and the early part of this year, should keep contractors and installers busy through the end of 2011. Though an observer unfamiliar with this year’s travails might be deceived by this show of vitality, both installers and advocates know that this activity can’t be sustained for long without a fresh supply of oxygen in the form of policy and funding initiatives. But until state government recognizes the folly of its war against renewable energy and changes course on energy policy, the rollbacks of 2011 will suck much of the oxygen out of next year’s renewable energy marketplace, setting it up for significant contraction in the years that follow.

How Wisconsin benefits from shrinking its renewable energy business community and becoming even more dependent on finite supplies of fossil energy imported from afar is a question worth posing to our political leaders. In our view, that approach is guaranteed to turn Wisconsin into an economic backwater. Is this what they hope to achieve? Probably not. But the toll on the state goes beyond the jobs that weren’t created, the investments from overseas that went to other states, and the tax revenues that failed to materialize as projected.

An even bigger casualty of these rollbacks is Wisconsin’s ability to project itself as a center of consistency and stability, a place where policy changes affecting businesses occur gradually and over time. Not long ago, Wisconsin political leaders were capable of working on complex legislative matters in a low-key and bipartisan manner. An example of that is the Energy Efficiency and Renewables Law (2005 Act 141) signed into law in March 2006, which increased Wisconsin’s Renewable Energy Standard to 10% by 2015 and protected Focus on Energy from future budget raids. That law created what seemed at the time to be a durable framework for enabling renewable energy resources to play an expanded role in the state’s energy future.

However, it is now painfully evident that the political consensus that created the five-year-old law has evaporated. The resulting vacuum has emboldened incoming legislators to fix their crosshairs on the policy mechanisms supporting investment in renewable energy. With the active assistance of politically powerful interests like the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, these legislators are now attacking Wisconsin’s pro-renewable energy policies in a manner resembling a wave of Formosan termites going through a house.

What has happened to Wisconsin’s energy policy here is a microcosm of the radically polarized political dynamic that has, unfortunately, become “the new normal” in this state. In this environment, confrontation is celebrated and compromise is shunned. Politics in Wisconsin has become a roller-coaster ride that is heavy on the sharp turns and violent dives, and light on the straightaways and gentle grades. And, with the Senate recall elections this summer and the virtual certainty of a gubernatorial recall election in the offing, this dynamic is not going away any time soon.
Needless to say, this volatility makes long-range financial commitments to upgrading the state’s energy infrastructure a challenge if not an impossibility. The suspension of the state’s wind siting rule, for example, upended a deliberate and multiyear effort to build predictability and certainty into the permitting process. With the rule in abeyance, what wind developers now face amounts to a random walk through a minefield. Small wonder that many of the developers who were active here three years ago have migrated to less explosive pastures. Indeed, high-profile rollbacks like these give the state an unwelcome reputation as being famously difficult to do business in.

Amazingly enough, despite the onslaught from political leaders and certain utilities, public support for renewable energy has held strong, according to a St. Norbert College poll conducted between April 11 and April 18 for Wisconsin Public Radio. More than three-quarters of the respondents favored additional investments in windpower, even if such expenditures would increase monthly electric bills. The rankings for each resource surveyed were: wind (77%), hydropower (60%), biomass (54%), natural gas (39%), nuclear (27%), and coal (19%). The results suggest that the hostility that the Walker Administration and the Legislature have shown to the renewable energy business community is completely out of step with the public.

Along with many other organizations and individuals, RENEW Wisconsin helped build public awareness on the value of renewable energy for jobs and energy self-sufficiency. Now in its 20th year, RENEW Wisconsin finds itself vigorously defending the many policies and practices that made Wisconsin a regional leader in the use of its native renewable energy resources. Though the future is fraught with challenges and uncertainties, about one thing we can be certain: the assaults and policy swings that come our way will not change either the citizen consensus or RENEW Wisconsin’s commitment to a future based on clean, local and sustainable energy.

Funding Hiatus Darkens Outlook for In-State Renewables

2011-07-05T15:22:00.002-05:00

Immediate release
July 5, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Funding Hiatus Darkens Outlook for In-State Renewables

For the first time in its 11-year history, Focus on Energy is no longer accepting applications from Wisconsin businesses and nonprofit entities seeking to install renewable energy systems. This new policy took effect July 1.

According to Focus on Energy officials, this suspension of financial incentives is necessary to balance demand for renewable energy systems with available funds. In 2009, Focus on Energy allocated approximately $10 million to support customer-sited renewable energy systems. More than half of that allocation went to businesses, farmers, local governments, schools, and nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

“We recognize that Focus on Energy officials have a responsibility to ensure that outflows don’t exceed revenues. However, this suspension could not have occurred at a worse time for Wisconsin’s renewable energy contractors,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin.

“Unfortunately, this move coincides with Milwaukee-based We Energies’ decision to walk away from an agreement with RENEW Wisconsin to commit $60 million over a 10-year period to develop renewable energy within its territory,” Vickerman said. ‘We Energies disclosed its unilateral action in May, barely more than halfway into honoring its commitment.”

“Given the adverse environment for renewable energy right now in Wisconsin, we hope that the interruption amounts to nothing more than a brief timeout,” said Vickerman.

“Unless funding is restored quickly, 2012 will turn out to be a very lean year for contractors and installers,” Vickerman warned.

As of this moment, the renewable energy marketplace is bristling with new installations. Installations to be completed this summer with incentives from Focus on Energy include:
• Two small wind turbines serving a Monroe County cranberry grower;
• A solar hot water system serving a new apartment building next to the Hilldale shopping complex in Madison;
• Side-by-side solar hot water and electric installations atop a new classroom building at the UW-Oshkosh;
• An engine generator fed with biogas derived from the City of Appleton’s wastewater treatment plant.

However, without a fresh supply of Focus-funded projects, Wisconsin’s renewable energy development pipeline will slow to a trickle, forcing contractors and installers to either seek work in other states or lay off employees.

Wisconsin has more than 2,500 customer-sited renewable energy installations, the vast majority of which received either financial incentives or facilitation services from Focus on Energy. In total, these installations have a generating capacity of about 20 megawatts.

END

Small businesses hit hard by cuts and changes in Focus on Energy

2011-06-29T10:06:00.002-05:00

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.

Public meeting on power line Wednesday

2011-06-28T14:12:00.000-05:00

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.

Legislators are exporting wind energy jobs and torpedoing all renewables

2011-06-27T16:27:00.000-05:00

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.

120 businesses urge funding support for job creation through energy efficiency and renewable energy

2011-06-24T14:38:00.002-05:00

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

State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates; “Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support

2011-06-23T15:52:00.002-05:00

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).

Genoa nuclear waste set to move to dry casks

2011-06-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

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.

Epic Systems, Verona, reaches for the sun

2011-06-07T16:45:00.002-05:00

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."

Now online: Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly

2011-06-06T16:14:00.002-05:00

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.

Green garbage: State recognizes county’s landfill energy initiative

2011-06-03T09:28:00.000-05:00

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.

New ATC transmission line project surges ahead

2011-06-02T15:55:00.000-05:00

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.

Energy groups oppose bill to undermine Wisconsin's renewable energy commitment

2011-05-26T16:04:00.000-05:00

From statements issued by three groups in opposition to Assembly Bill 146:

"Clearly, this bill is a drastic step in the wrong direction for our state. The Wisconsin Energy Business Association therefore opposes this attack on renewable energy in our state." - Wisconsin Energy Business Association. Full statement.

We strongly recommend that this bill not be approved as it solves no known problem in Wisconsin and seeks only to roll-back policies on renewable energy that have served the state well and are otherwise benefitting Wisconsin residents with cleaner air and lower prices for electricity. - Wind on the Wires. Full statement.

Fresh attack on Wisconsin voters’ desire for a renewable energy standard would kill wind projects and sap state’s economy, say wind energy advocates - American Wind Energy Association. Full statement.

2011-05-19T09:21:00.002-05:00

From an editorial in the La Crosse Tribune:

. . . the pattern repeats itself. When the price of gas gets high enough, all we get are theatrics by Congress to parade the big oil executives in front of hearings. There are special investigations, studies, commissions and plenty of threats and promises, but nothing ever changes.

The oil companies do have us over our own barrel. Take away tax breaks and incentives, and there will be less oil and it will cost more, they argue. And that will cost jobs. And our profits of $36 billion in the first quarter alone — that’s the result of international demand for oil, they say. After all, we’re just providing a needed product for the American economy.

We can’t drill our way out of the fact that we simply consume more oil than we produce. And yet we allow oil to be traded as a commodity where a few speculators get rich while the rest of us hold our breath as the meter on the pumps spins faster and faster.

It’s easy to get mad at the oil companies, whose pomposity and arrogance is an insult to the millions of Americans who struggle to even fill up their tanks. The CEO of ConocoPhillips called repealing the $4.4 billion tax breaks for the biggest oil companies “un-American.”

What’s un-American is that we are still addicted to oil.

State clean energy mandates have little effect on electricity rates so far

2011-05-17T16:05:00.002-05:00

From an article by Don Huagen in Midwest Energy News:

One of the larger reviews of renewable portfolio standards was a 2008 report (PDF) from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The study looked at data on a dozen state renewable policies enacted before 2007. The estimated impact on electricity rates varied by state, but it was a fraction of a percent in most cases and just over 1 percent in two states, Connecticut and Massachusetts. “There is little evidence of a sizable impact on average retail electricity rates so far,” the report concluded.

One of the report’s co-authors, Galen Barbose, said in an interview that they are collecting data for an updated version of the report. So far he said he hasn’t seen any new information to suggest their conclusion about rate impacts will change significantly in the next edition.

A 2009 study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration modeled the potential impact of a 25 percent nationwide renewable electricity standard. It, too, noted that rate impacts would vary by state, with renewable-rich regions like the Great Plains and Northwest meeting the targets more easily. Overall, though, it projected no impact on rates through 2020, followed by a less than 3 percent increase by 2025. By 2030, however, it projected little difference in rates with or without a national renewable mandate.

The Minnesota Free Market Institute and American Tradition Institute reached a very different conclusion in an April 2011 report (PDF), which claims Minnesota’s renewable electricity standard is going to cause rates in the state to skyrocket by as much as 37 percent by 2025.

Utilities’ experiences vary
Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility, has come up with a much smaller number: $0.003. That’s the difference Xcel forecasts between its projected per-kilowatt-hour energy price in 2025 under its proposed wind expansion plan compared to a hypothetical scenario in which it stopped adding new wind capacity after 2012.

Asked to comment on the Free Market Institute’s study, Xcel Energy spokesman Steve Roalstad said, “It doesn’t seem to be moving in that direction.” The cost of adding renewable energy sources, especially wind, continues to fall and has become very competitive with traditional generating sources, he said.

'Buy Local' grants in jeopardy

2011-05-11T16:19:00.001-05:00

From an article by Mike Ivey in the La Crosse Tribune:

VIROQUA - Fifth Season Cooperative of Viroqua could serve as a model for business development in rural Wisconsin.

Ready to open for this spring's growing season, Fifth Season connects small farmers and processors with large institutional customers such as schools, universities or hospitals. The idea is to directly tie producers to markets, eliminating the middleman, to keep prices affordable for local meats, produce and dairy.

"We're one of just a handful of multi-stakeholder cooperatives in the United States," says Nicole Penick, coordinator for the co-op.

Members so far include organic and conventional farmers; processors Organic Valley, Westby Co-op Creamery and Premier Meats; and purchasers Gundersen Lutheran, Vernon Memorial Healthcare, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Western Technical College and Viroqua Area School District.

After nearly two years of planning, Fifth Season was launched last August as a for-profit venture. It was helped with a $40,000 business development grant, the largest issued in 2010, through the state's Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program.

The Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grant program was part of former Gov. Jim Doyle's 2008 budget and was designed to connect local food producers with local buyers. It has awarded about $220,000 annually in development grants over the past three years. Recipients in 2010 included the Bayfield Apple Co., Perfect Pasture in Ashland, the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition and Green & Green Distribution in Mineral Point.

But the grant program is on Gov. Scott Walker's budget chopping block and was not included in his proposed 2011-13 budget - a development some call short-sighted and contrary to Walker's goal of growing the private-sector economy.

Boston firm aims to harness river power by 2017

2011-05-10T09:37:00.001-05:00

From an article by Steve Cahalan in the La Crosse Tribune:

A Massachusetts company hopes to develop hydroelectric projects at nine upper Mississippi River lock and dam sites by 2017, officials said Monday.

Free Flow Power Corp., a 3-year-old Boston firm, plans to apply for federal licenses for hydropower projects that in this area include Lock and Dam 4 at Alma, Lock and Dam 6 at Trempealeau, Lock and Dam 7 near Dresbach, Minn., and Lock and Dam 9 near Lynxville.

The nine projects could meet the electricity needs of 65,000 homes, company officials told about 40 people at a public informational meeting at the Radisson Hotel in La Crosse.

Each project would have one of three designs — a traditional hydroelectric powerhouse that would be built on the end of the dam and contain turbines; a “gate bay installation” alternative with turbines installed in front of or behind existing dam gates; or a system with turbines installed at the bottom of the auxiliary lock. Studies would determine which design would be best for a particular lock and dam.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Agency will accept written comments in the next 60 days on what studies should be required during Free Flow Power’s licensing process.

Officials of various state and federal agencies accounted for most of the people at Monday’s 2½-hour session. But a few members of the public also spoke, including retired boat captain Byron Clements of Genoa, who questioned the feasibility of hydroelectric power on the Mississippi.

“I don’t think they can make it work and make money at it,” Clements said after the meeting. Clements, who with his wife operates Captain Hook’s Bait & Tackle shop in Genoa, said he also is concerned about fish being killed by the turbines.

The proposed turbines would turn much slower than those traditionally used in major hydroelectric projects in the western United States, said Jack Batchelder, a Free Flow Power environmental scientist.

More good news from wind industry for Iowa

2011-05-04T14:20:00.001-05:00

From a story on WHOTV.com, Des Moines:

A wind energy plant wants to bring jobs to Iowa

A Maryland-based company is making plans to employ 175 people at a new plant in Iowa City. North American Ductile Iron Company will initially focus on making parts for the wind turbine market.

The $85-million project is subject to state and city review. The company hopes to begin operation by 2013.

Judge recommends county wind ordinance not be applied to wind project

2011-05-02T16:42:00.002-05:00

From an article by Regan Carstensen in the Red Wing Republican Eagle:

Goodhue County's wind power ordinance should not be applied to a project proposed by Goodhue Wind, a judge said Friday in her recommendation to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

Administrative Law Judge Kathleen Sheehy said that she found good cause not to apply many provisions of the county ordinance, passed last October, to Goodhue Wind's 78 megawatt, 52-turbine project.

"It was really a comprehensive review, and she was very professional and even-handed in the way she developed it," said Joe Jennings, director of communications for Goodhue Wind.

The review detailed 179 findings, in which Sheehy addressed many things people who were opposed to the project had been concerned about.

Some concerns involved noise from the turbines, as well as the possibilities of stray voltage, ice throws and shadow flicker.

Sheehy found that all of the wind turbine sites proposed by Goodhue Wind would be located far enough from dwellings to meet the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency noise standards. Another finding showed that there is no evidence that any wind farm operation has ever caused stray voltage problems.

Students, faculty urging state to stop burning coal on campus heating plants

2011-04-28T16:32:00.000-05:00

From a story by Martha Boehm on WEAU-TV, Eau Claire:

LA CROSSE, WI (WEAU)--Some students at UW-La Crosse want the state-run heating plant, that’s been on campus for decades, to stop burning coal. The No Coal Coalition wants the state to consider other fuel options.

“It may take a while, but what we really want is a definitive statement from them for a day and a year that they will be able to transfer our campuses off of coal," said UW-La Crosse senior Jennifer Dausey.

Dausey has been working with the No Coal Coalition and Environmental Council for about a year. About a dozen students and faculty members want the Wisconsin Department of Administration, which owns the heating plant at UW-L, to stop burning coal to heat campus buildings.

"We always say that we should have been off coal yesterday," Dausey said. "There’s no reason we need to keep burning this dirty energy. It’s not only destroying families in the mining process, but it’s also destroying our health and our lungs. It causes so much asthma it’s ridiculous.”

Dausey says the coalition not only wants the plant to stop using coal, but to cut back on its natural gas emission, which is the second way it produces energy.

“It’d be easiest to switch to burning biomass, which is like wood pellets and it’s going to become a bigger economy here in Wisconsin with our natural resources," Dausey said.

Wind farm growth also a windfall for truckers -- in Iowa

2011-04-27T11:27:00.003-05:00

From an article by Dan Piller in the Des Moines (Iowa) Register:

Beginning next month, motorists on Iowa highways will notice more of those huge trucks - which can be as long as 180 feet and weigh almost 400,000 pounds - hauling turbine parts as Iowa's wind industry goes through another growth spurt.

MidAmerican Energy of Des Moines will begin construction of a 593-megawatt wind farm, which will include 193 turbines in Adair County alone.

"Wind turbine units can have up to nine loads apiece," said Phoumine Baccum, who administers oversize truck permits for the Iowa Department of Transportation. "The blades come in three pieces, each a separate load, the towers are usually three separate loads, and there are separate loads for the hub and the nacelle and for other equipment."

Brad Kohlwes' family trucking company in Des Moines hauls for wind farms. "This is a real boost for the trucking industry and for Iowa's economy," he said. "I just wish we didn't have to pay more than $4 for diesel like we do."

Trucks loaded with turbine parts get about 4 miles per gallon, he said.

Learning curve steep for Cassville plant now burning wood biomass

2011-04-26T09:44:00.004-05:00

Frm an article by Ron Seely in the Wisconsin State Journal:

A small wood burner helps fire the boiler

to heat the Barron, Wiscosnin schools.

From smoking piles of wood chips in the countryside to dust on kitchen counters in Cassville, the difficulties posed by the conversion of the E.J. Stoneman Electrical Station in Grant County to burn wood instead of coal have challenged both village residents and plant engineers.

But the adventures and misadventures of the conversion stand as an informative and cautionary tale of what may lie ahead as Wisconsin and the rest of the country struggle to find alternative renewable fuels to help wean us from dirtier, nonrenewable combustibles such as coal.

Even so, Rich Nelson, plant manager, is more convinced than ever that the plant, one of just a few in the country that burn only wood, represents a future that will see much less dependence on nonrenewable fuels. After all, he said, it makes perfect sense to be turning demolished buildings in Milwaukee into power for more than 28,000 homes in the Cassville area.

“If we weren’t here,” Nelson said, “then all that construction material would be going into a landfill.”

The 60-year-old power plant, which rises next to the Mississippi River, was converted last year by Michigan’s DTE Energies, which has owned the plant since 2008. Its two boilers are now heated by wood rather than coal, a process known in the trade as “repowering.”

The transition has had its rough spots. Nearby residents have complained about problems such as ash on their window sills and kitchen counters, and wood chip piles stored in quarries that spontaneously combust and fill scenic valleys with blue haze.

“It’s frustrating sometimes,” Nelson said. “I think the expectation was that we’d push a button and then everybody’s feet would be up on their desks and we’d be making power.”

Poll finds strong support for wind energy in Wisconsin

2011-04-22T13:21:00.002-05:00

From an article in the Chicago Tribune:

MADISON, Wis.— A poll of Wisconsin residents finds strong support for increasing the use of wind energy, even if doing so would raise electricity bills several dollars per month.

The Wisconsin Public Radio poll was released Friday. It shows that 77 percent of respondents want to see the state invest more in wind energy. Reasons included decreasing the nation's reliance on foreign oil and helping the environment.

A majority, 69 percent, wouldn't mind eight to 10 wind-energy machines being placed closed to where they live, and 79 percent favor placing the machines offshore in Lake Michigan.

Click here for poll results.

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge tops visitor center with solar

2011-04-21T15:05:00.007-05:00

A news release from Dairyland Power:

Dairyland Power Cooperative and Oakdale Electric Cooperative collaborate on installation
NECEDAH, WI— Dairyland Power Cooperative and one of its 25 member cooperatives, Oakdale Electric Cooperative, have collaborated with the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to help bring renewable energy to area homes and businesses via a solar project on the Refuge’s Visitor Center.

The new Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is a state-of-the-art energy efficient facility featuring a 46 kilowatt photovoltaic array (solar system). The solar system was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Refuge also features an interactive
display on solar-powered energy at the visitor center as part of its environmental education programming.

“It has been great to work cooperatively with the Refuge on a sustainable, renewable technology that benefits the environment,” said Bruce Ardelt, General Manager, Oakdale Electric Cooperative. “We support a variety of renewable energy projects by interconnecting to distributed generation resources such as this solar unit, and are very pleased to see this project at completion.”

Dairyland has a power purchase agreement with the Necedah Refuge to buy all the renewable energy produced through the solar installation for distribution to cooperative members through Dairyland’s Evergreen program. Therefore, the renewable energy generated at the refuge ultimately helps power the homes and businesses in the region. The Necedah Refuge is a member of Oakdale Electric Cooperative, which provided electrical transmission interconnection to the solar project.

Evergreen is Dairyland’s renewable energy “green power” program. Supporting Evergreen is an ideal option for cooperative members who want to do more to preserve the environment and promote the growth of renewable energy generation. Dairyland’s diverse portfolio of renewables includes hydro, wind, biomass, landfill gas, cow manure digesters and solar.

A grand opening event for the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center is being held on Saturday, April 30. For more information, see www.fws.gov/midwest/necedah.

With headquarters in La Crosse, Wis., Dairyland provides wholesale electricity to Oakdale Electric Cooperative and 24 other member distribution cooperatives and 16 municipal utilities in four states
(Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois). Dairyland’s generation resources include coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, landfill gas, solar and animal waste. For more information, please visit http://www.dairynet.com/.

Photo courtesy of the Necedah Wildlife Refuge.

Wind energy development and jobs grow in the Midwest, but not Wisconsin

2011-04-20T16:22:00.001-05:00

From an article by Dan Piller in the the Des Moises (Iowa) Register:

State grants West Branch wind facility $3 million

The Iowa Power Fund on Thursday awarded Acciona Wind Energy a $3 million grant to help finance a $19.9 million demonstration project near Mechanicsville that will show off Acciona's new three-megawatt wind energy system.

"One tower will be steel and the other concrete. We've had requests for both," said Joe Baker, president of Acciona's plant at West Branch.

The four-year-old West Branch operation makes the nacelles, or the box behind the blade that houses the gears and generation capacity.

Acciona has focused on building 1.5-megawatt wind systems, but the larger units are becoming more standard in the industry, Baker said.

MidAmerican Energy's wind farms in west-central Iowa have three-megawatt turbines.

"Within seven to 10 years most of the wind turbines will be three megawatts," he said. A megawatt of electricity can power 200 to 500 standard-sized homes.

Iowa has 3,675 megawatts of wind generation capacity, ranking second behind Texas in total capacity and first as a percentage of its total electricity generation capacity

Acciona is a century-old Spanish company with roots in construction and water treatment. The West Branch facility, opened in 2007, is its only U.S. wind equipment factory, but Acciona operates five wind farms in Illinois, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.

From an article by Laurenne Ramsdell on Fosters.com:

Goss in Durham (MA) delivers first turbine to Chicago-area

DURHAM — Goss International unveiled its newly developed wind turbine components to area officials and state representatives on Thursday morning.

Goss, primarily a printing press company, has worked throughout the past year with Aeronautica Windpower, a Massachusetts-based licensing company, to cross train employees in order to produce the massive turbines.

According to Greg Norris, marketing communications manager for Goss, the first wind turbine that Goss has manufactured will be ready for shipment to Illinois next week. Norris said the eco-friendly equipment will be delivered to Testa Produce, a Chicago-based wholesale produce distributor.

Norris stressed the turbines are midscale electromechanical pieces of equipment that will be used for warehouses, farms, schools and universities, factories, small housing developments and an array of commercial sites.

Those who attended the update session had the opportunity to tour the area of Goss where the 750 kilowatt and 225 kilowatt machines are being manufactured. Wearing safety goggles, the representatives stood in awe at the size and power of the turbines being created.

As of Thursday, the 750 kilowatt turbine going to Illinois was in pieces for shipping purposes. Once the pieces are assembled, the machine is comparable in size to a small school bus.

Energy policy murky year after oil spill

2011-04-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

From an editorial in the La Crosse Tribune:

A year ago Wednesday, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 men and spewing 172 million gallons of oil in the ocean.

While we remember images of spewing oil and blackened beaches, nature has shown her remarkable resiliency, despite man’s best attempts at despoiling her.

A report by more than three dozen scientists grade the Gulf’s health as a 68 on a 100-point scale, which is slightly below the grade of 71 they gave the Gulf prior to the spill. While beaches are open as tourism returns to normal, there are still long-term environmental concerns such as hundreds of young dolphins dying and dead spots on the sea floor.

Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press that the Gulf is “much better than people feared, but the jury is out about what the end result will be. It’s premature that things are good.”

It also will be a while before there are tougher environmental and safety rules regulating the offshore drilling industry. The New York Times published a story Monday that said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has much work to do before more rigid rules can be put into place.

There’s certainly plenty of pressure from the oil and gas industry to resume deep-water drilling. A moratorium on new deep-water drilling was lifted in October, and the Interior Department has approved 10 permits and 15 others are pending, the Times said. The House of Representatives has three bills pending that would speed up permit approval and open new areas for drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as easing environmental rules off the Alaska shores.

Our country has an insatiable need for oil but fails to have a comprehensive federal energy policy to wean our dependence on fossil fuel.

Green La Crosse announced Earth Day activities

2011-04-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

See the complete schedule.

Iowa grants West Branch wind facility $3 million

2011-04-18T13:55:00.001-05:00

Unlike Wisconsin, Iowa welcomes companies in the wind energy industry, according to this article by Dan Piller in the the Des Moises (Iowa) Register:

State grants West Branch wind facility $3 million

The Iowa Power Fund on Thursday awarded Acciona Wind Energy a $3 million grant to help finance a $19.9 million demonstration project near Mechanicsville that will show off Acciona's new three-megawatt wind energy system.

"One tower will be steel and the other concrete. We've had requests for both," said Joe Baker, president of Acciona's plant at West Branch.

The four-year-old West Branch operation makes the nacelles, or the box behind the blade that houses the gears and generation capacity.

Acciona has focused on building 1.5-megawatt wind systems, but the larger units are becoming more standard in the industry, Baker said.

MidAmerican Energy's wind farms in west-central Iowa have three-megawatt turbines.

"Within seven to 10 years most of the wind turbines will be three megawatts," he said. A megawatt of electricity can power 200 to 500 standard-sized homes.

Iowa has 3,675 megawatts of wind generation capacity, ranking second behind Texas in total capacity and first as a percentage of its total electricity generation capacity

Acciona is a century-old Spanish company with roots in construction and water treatment. The West Branch facility, opened in 2007, is its only U.S. wind equipment factory, but Acciona operates five wind farms in Illinois, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.

Viroqua Earth Day Celebration, April 22

2011-04-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

Viroqua NewenHouse Earth Day OpenHouse

On Earth Day, Friday April 22, Madison Environmental Group, Inc. will be celebrating in Viroqua, WI at the Newenhouse kit home under construction. There will be tours of the home every hour, cake, old time music, and good times. This is a family friendly FREE event, from 2-6pm. NewenHouse kit homes will provide super insulated, small, sustainable homes for people who want to live lightly on the earth. The homes are designed to be Passive House and LEED Platinum certified. NewenHouses will not need a furnace, even in Wisconsin winters. You can follow Sonya's BLOG about the building process on the website of Natural Home Magazine or view an article about the project here.

We will be serving the Driftless region’s infamous Maple Lattes with Kickapoo Coffee, Maple Valley Syrup and Organic Valley cream! Combine this event with an afternoon in Viroqua to visit the Main Street local shops, the Viroqua food coop, and eat at the Driftless Café. Directions to the Newenhouse OpenHouse 422 Hickory Street (2 hours NW of Madison). RSVP's appreciated.

Iowa leads all states in use of wind energy

2011-04-13T15:24:00.002-05:00

While Wisconsin officials drive wind energy development out of the Badger state, next-door Iowa leads, according to anarticle by Dan Piller in the Des Moines Register:

About 15 percent of Iowa's electricity generation capacity now comes from wind, maintaining the state's national leadership in figures released Thursday by the American Wind Energy Association.

With a major expansion by MidAmerican Energy, Iowa stands to rise to 20 percent this year.

"That's a percentage close to what we see in Europe, and it's exciting," said Jessica Isaacs, senior analyst with the wind association.

Iowa still ranks second nationally in wind capacity with 3,675 megawatts, behind Texas' 10,085 megawatts but still ahead of California's 3,177.

Because of Texas' larger electricity grid, Iowa's 15 percent of total capacity coming from wind exceeds Texas' 7.8 percent percentage of wind to total electricity.

Iowa's total will grow this year with the addition of 593 megawatts by MidAmerican in Calhoun, Cass, Adams, Adair and Marshall counties.

The expansions will bring Des Moines-based MidAmerican to 2,316 megawatts of capacity, the largest utility-owned and operated wind generation portfolio among investor-owned utilities.

Shortsighted energy plans just won't cut it; renewables needed

2011-04-08T16:39:00.001-05:00

From an editorial in the Sheboygan Press:

President Barack Obama has twice in the last year called for the nation to reduce its dependence of foreign oil by embarking on a multi-faceted plan on energy.

Obama's first call for energy independence was followed less than a month later by the Deep Water Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

We hope that the president's latest energy initiative is followed not by a disaster, but by a commitment from Congress to develop a national energy policy. A commitment from the American people to be receptive of alternative energy sources would be nice, too. . . .

Until recently, we thought Wisconsin was poised to become a leader in helping the nation reach that goal.

Wind power was one area where Wisconsin was setting the pace.

The state had sensible rules on where wind turbines could be located in relation to residential properties and the state was on its way toward making progress on using this renewable energy resource. But those rules are on hold and are likely to be changed to the point where it will be impractical for companies interested in locating wind farms to do business in Wisconsin.

This is not only shortsighted in development of renewable energy sources, it is also a job-killer because the companies that now make wind turbines in Wisconsin are already talking about relocating to states where wind power is welcomed.

The easy thing to do is to keep relying on oil and coal to power our cars and heat our homes. The wise thing is to develop a long-range plan that relies on renewable energy.

Open letter from former supporter rips anti-wind group

2011-04-07T16:24:00.001-05:00

A Fox Valley person provided a copy of the following letter to RENEW Wisconsin:

People of Glenmore Township:
PLEASE VOTE RESPONSIBLY!

Dear Fellow Townspeople,

Two months ago, I was a supporter of the BCCRWE [Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy]. I was actively opposing the wind turbines coming into any of the townships in our area, including Glenmore.

But then something happened.

As the March 7th meeting drew closer, I heard disturbing things from members of the BCCRWE. Things that scared me. Even before the meeting took place, there were threats being made towards our town board members if the vote did not go in the favor of the BCCRWE. There were “agendas” being planned, and conspiracies being formed, not only against the project, but against individual people.

On March 7th, I sat quietly through the meeting listening to barbaric accusations, foul language, curses and threats hurled at our town board. Members of the BCCRWE shouted inappropriate and belittling comments and became unruly and disruptive to the point that law enforcement needed to be called. Later, I read accounts of that same meeting, written by the BCCRWE, that were horribly distorted and inaccurate. Actually, they were straight out lies!

On March 16th, I sat through another meeting and watched the same unruly group, once again, disrespect our town leaders. As the members of the BCCRWE were chanting “Shame on you” to the town board, I was the one that was ashamed to have ever been a part of that group.

On April 5th, you have an opportunity to elect new town board members. Many of the candidates are the same people who threatened and disrespected our current board members for following the law. One candidate admitted, her only goal was to terminate wind turbines in the town and then she wants out. Is that the chairperson you want running the entire township? Even for one term?

The recent events of oil spills in the gulf and nuclear plant failures in Japan should make all of us take a second look at wind energy. I realized after the two meetings in March, that the only reason I didn’t want turbines, was because I couldn’t have on of my own. So, I’m a NIMBY.

It’s important, that we have “responsible” leaders in our township. The mob I witnessed at the last two meetings, did not fit that definition. It would be a disaster to have those people who demonstrated irrational, biased and disorderly behavior, become our new leaders. I was embarrassed to have ever been a part of that group.

Since I have seen how threatening and dangerous this group can be, I prefer to sign only as,

A Concerned Townsperson

Viola farmer to speak at Washington, D.C., organic conference

2011-04-05T15:58:00.000-05:00

From a news release issued by the Organic Farming Research Foundation:

Organic farmers from across the U.S. will join the Organic Farming Research Foundation’s(OFRF) new executive director Maureen Wilmot for the Organic Trade Association’s(OTA’s) Policy Conference and Hill Visit Days in Washington, DC April 6-7, 2011.

Five entrepreneurial organic farmers will journey from Georgia, Maine, New York, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin to discuss the beneficial impacts of their farm businesses on rural economies and on environmental and public health with their congressional members who sit on key agriculture and appropriations committees and subcommittees. OFRF is a supporting organization of the OTA event and Ms. Wilmot will be a speaker at the conference.

“This event is a wonderful opportunity for members of Congress to learn from the farmers themselves about the role of organic farmers who really are the “roots” of the burgeoning 26 billion dollar organic industry,” said Ms. Wilmot.

Ms. Wilmot, OFRF staff, and the organic farmers will join with other OTA member companies to visit key members of Congress to discuss the economic and social viability of organic farming. The organization seeks to make organic farming viable, profitable, and attractive for the American farmers of today and those of the future.

“Organic farmers are the heart of the organic movement – without their commitment to vibrant communities and healthy ecosystems, the organic industry as we know it today could not exist,” said Ms. Wilmot. “In addition,” she noted, “Organic farmers contribute to a diverse U.S. agriculture. Investing in their future will benefit both consumers and rural communities nationwide.”

OFRF’s grant making program has worked closely with organic farmers for almost 20 years, awarding more than $2.5 million for over 300 organic research projects nationwide since 1992.

The five organic farmers OFRF is bringing to the OTA event are:

1. Mark Shepard is the CEO of Forest Agriculture Enterprises and the owner and manager of New Forest Farms in Viola, WI. New Forest Farms is a 104 acre perennial agricultural farm and forest considered by many to be one of the most ambitious sustainable agricultural projects in the U.S. Mark and his family grow organic fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts.

2. Will Harris and his family own and operate White Oak Pastures, an organic, grass-fed beef cattle farm in Bluffton, GA, which received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Stewardship in 2009 and 2011. Will is the President of Georgia Organics’ Board of Directors and is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association.

3. Michael Kilpatrick is the owner of Kilpatrick Family Farm which grows vegetables and raises chickens using organic practices on over 100 acres near Granville, NY. The farm sells to four farmers markets per week, employs 6 people full-time, and grows produce year-round in high tunnels.

4. Kathy Moore owns Anichini-Moore Ranch and Farm in Woodward, OK. The ranch "The Ranch" focuses on education and soil building, and produces rare breed sheep, wool, grass-pastured lamb, large Black Pig products, Belted Galloway beef, Bison, produce, flowers, nuts and fruit. Kathy is the co-founder of the Oklahoma Composting Council and received the Oklahoma State University Green Award for Sustainability in March 2011.

5. Sarah Smith and her husband own Grassland Farm in Skowhegan, Maine, a certified organic farm and dairy. She and her family milk 45 diverse dairy cows and produce organic, grass-fed beef and chickens as well as a wide range of vegetables. Sarah will be joining the conference on behalf of Organic Valley, the Wisconsin-based organic dairy marketing cooperative, which works closely with OFRF to promote organic agriculture.

Catching Wind, a newsletter for Wisconsin's wind industry

2011-04-04T16:29:00.001-05:00

From the Spring issue of Catching Wind:

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. The action taken by the 10-member Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) suspended the wind siting rule, known as PSC 128, on the very day it took effect. By itself, a JCRAR vote to suspend a rule lasts 30 days. To continue the rule suspension beyond 30 days, JCRAR voted in late March to introduce a bill to repeal PSC 128 and direct the Public Service Commission (PSC) to promulgate a new rule regulating wind energy
systems no more than six months after the repeal date. The bill must clear one house of the Legislature in order to become effective.

JCRAR's bill does not attempt to influence the content of any successor rule to PSC 128, nor has the legislative leadership issued any statement regarding the timeline of the bill's passage. The Legislature could potentially wait until the last day of the biennial session before passing this bill. However, if the Legislature does not repeal PSC 128 by the end of the current session, PSC 128 will take effect as promulgated. . . .

Glenmore Wind Survives Raucous Opposition
In a dramatic about-face that elicited loud cries of disapproval from local wind opponents, a Brown County town board granted on March 16 building permits enabling CEnergy, a subsidiary of CG Power Solutions, to erect a seven-turbine wind project.

Two Glenmore board members voted in favor of allowing construction to begin, while the third voted against. . . .

Dane County's manure digester ready to provide electricity

2011-04-01T15:54:00.001-05:00

From an article by Ron Seely in the Wisconsin State Journal:

WAUNAKEE - Sure, the cows on the farm run by Chuck Ripp and his brothers near here generate a lot of manure — about 7 million gallons a year.

But now they also generate electricity.

Call it cow power.

Thursday, Dane County officials were joined by farmers and utility officials and others to flip a ceremonial switch and power up the state's first cooperative manure digester. Spearheaded by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the $12 million project has been more than six years in the making.

When it is in full operation, the digester plant with its three huge tanks will process manure from three adjacent farms and a total of 2,500 cows. It will remove about 60 percent of weed-growing phosphorus from the manure. The digester will produce methane and that methane will be used to power generators that will churn out $2 million a year in electricity, enough to allow Alliant Energy to power 2,500 homes.

And, according to Dick Pieper, with Clear Horizons, the company that will run the plant, the entire operation can be run with an iPod.

"The efficiency of this plant is exceptional," said Pieper. "It's world class."

Falk said the plant represents an important milestone in green energy production and in manure management in Wisconsin. Many digesters don't remove phosphorus, which clogs lakes with weeds and toxic blue-green algae during warm months. But the Dane County plant was designed specifically to remove the nutrient.

In Memory of former Rep. Steve Hilgenberger

2011-03-29T14:43:00.001-05:00

RENEW is saddened by the death of former Representative Steve Hilgenberger, a solid and vocal supporter of renewable energy and other causes that exemplified his care for the people of his district and the State of Wisconsin. Representative. Hilgenberger was a major and tireless supporter of the 2009 Clean Energy Jobs Act.

Pictured above, Rep. Steve Hilgenberger, speaking at the dedication of the Montchevre-Betin digester, October 6, 2010 in Belmont, Wisconsin. On the left is Sen. Dale Schultz.

Rep. Hilgenberger exemplified the finest of pragmatic bipartisanship,
as well as gentle decency.

Focus offers competitive grants to businesses for large renewable energy projects

2011-03-16T16:28:00.001-05:00

From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:

Completed proposals due April 30, 2011

MADISON, Wis. (March 11, 2011) – Today, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin utilities’ statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy, announced that businesses can compete for incentives for large renewable energy systems. The Large Renewable Energy System Competitive Incentives allow Wisconsin businesses and organizations to apply for funds to help implement large renewable energy systems.

Businesses can receive an incentive of up to 30 percent of the project costs to complete a renewable energy project that is well-researched, documented, and justified. Eligible, large-scale renewable energy systems may include: solar electric, solar hot-water, wind electric, biomass energy, and anaerobic digestion (biogas).

“Renewable energy technology offers businesses deeper energy cost savings after energy efficiency measures are implemented.” said Ken Williams, Focus on Energy’s business programs director. “Focus’ large renewable energy competitive incentives help businesses defray some of the upfront investment cost of a renewable energy system, resulting in a quicker payback."

Any type of business, school, government entity, agribusiness, and apartments/condo facilities can apply for a Focus competitive incentive. The application and details are available online at focusonenergy.com/competitive_incentives. Applications are due by April 30, 2011.

Mad Fast Trains

2011-03-15T16:04:00.001-05:00

Grant County development officials upset with panel's wind siting action

2011-03-02T13:49:00.000-06:00

From an article by Craig Reber in the Telegraph Herald, Dubuque:

Proponents of two proposed Grant County, Wis., wind farms wonder what's next after Republican lawmakers suspended statewide wind farm siting rules Tuesday -- the day they were set to take effect.

The Joint Committee for Review of Administration Rules voted 5-2, along party lines, to suspend the rules for 30 days.

The state Public Service Commission's standards, which would have applied to projects less than 100 megawatts in generating capacity, would create uniform guidelines for where wind farms could be built. The committee's vote means local regulations would remain in place.

The commission's new rules would have allowed development of the proposed White Oak wind project by Wind Capital Group on parts of Smelser, Hazel Green and Paris townships, a project on hold for more than two years. Another wind project was planned for northern Grant County.

Ron Brisbois, director of Grant County Economic Development Corp., said Tuesday's vote would "effectively deter wind farms throughout the state of Wisconsin."

Republicans who took control of the Legislature in November said they were worried the Advertisement

rules would allow developers to build turbines too close to neighbors' properties, driving down land values and increasing the risk of injury.

"I communicated with members of the committee, as well to our local representatives, (State) Senator (Dale) Schultz and (State Rep.) Travis Tranel," Brisbois said. "My message to them was, if they do basically what (the committee) did, it will effectively kill my project. There is some hope moving forward is possible, but it's highly unlikely."

The committee must draft a bill supporting the suspension. It has drafted a measure that would require the commission to develop new rules within six months.

The vote disappointed John Beinborn, president of Grant County Economic Development Corp.

Suspension of wind siting rule endangers state’s economic future

2011-03-01T14:26:00.001-06:00

For immediate release:
March 1, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

(Madison) - The wind industry in Wisconsin suffered a serious setback when a joint legislative panel voted to suspend the wind siting rule promulgated by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in December, according to RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy group.

The five-to-two vote tracked along party lines, with all five votes to suspend coming from Republican members of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR).

Many companies involved in windpower supported the PSC’s rule as a workable compromise that would have created a stable and predictable permitting environment for all wind energy systems regulated by local governments. The rule, which was scheduled to take effect today, would have fulfilled the Legislature’s intent to create uniform siting regulations to replace what had become a restrictive hodgepodge of local requirements.

“The committee gave the state of Wisconsin a black eye that, in the view of the wind industry, will linger well into the future,” Vickerman said.

“The suspension rolls the wind permitting environment back to the dark days when wind project developers routinely faced arbitrary and ever-shifting local regulations – the kind of chaos that will hasten their departure from Wisconsin to more business-friendly states.”

“As of today, Wisconsin utilities have placed more megawatts of wind capacity in neighboring states than in Wisconsin. As indicated in the following table, importing wind generation from other states deprives Wisconsin of a valuable source of employment, income for rural residents, and property tax relief,” said Vickerman.

The figures compiled by RENEW show that the 219 utility-owned wind turbines that will be operational by January 1, 2012, will yield nearly $2.7 million per year in potential property tax relief for towns and counties hosting wind projects. All told, these projects will be responsible for nearly 300,000 construction-related job-hours.

“We have a hard time foreseeing in-state utility-scale wind development going forward without statewide siting standards.”
“It’s a shame to see the end of bipartisanship that led to the passage of the rule requirement in 2009. What we are seeing here is a breakdown of governance that will rob the state of one of its brightest economic hopes for the future,” Vickerman said.

Click on table to enlarge.

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

Committee sets March 1 to vote on suspension of wind siting rule

2011-02-23T14:55:00.001-06:00

From the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA):

The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) has now scheduled a special meeting on March 1st to consider suspending the PSC128 Wind Siting rule that our industry worked on in 2009-2010 that are scheduled to take effect on March 1st. If the JCRAR suspends the PSC128 rule, before it otherwise would take effect that same day, we will be back where we started two years ago on wind siting reform in Wisconsin.

Gov. Walker trying to subvert property rights

2011-02-17T10:51:00.001-06:00

From a guest column by Mark Hirsch of Platteville in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald:

In 2009, after years of acrimonious debate regarding the impact of wind-energy facilities on local communities, the Wisconsin Legislature directed the Public Service Commission to review public concerns, scientifically analyze the issues and develop guidelines for uniform wind-siting regulations throughout the state.

This lengthy process culminated in the creation of PSC-128, a set of rules drafted to create a level playing field for developing our wind resources while still protecting the health and safety of our citizens and neighbors.

The Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules held a public hearing Feb. 9 about PSC-128. I attended with hopes of sharing my voice on this controversial issue, but due to the large turnout, I did not get a chance to speak. Like many Wisconsin residents, I am strongly opposed to Gov. Walker's efforts to stop the development of wind energy in Wisconsin.

Gov. Walker attempted to subvert this set of rules in January by introducing language in his reform bill to radically alter the siting parameters set by PSC-128. The resulting legislation, SB-9, failed Advertisement

to receive any support during the governor's special session. As a result, the governor is trying to subvert these rules again by putting it before the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules. This is not standard operating procedure.

The governor claims that his modification will protect property owners' rights. Under the guise of protecting property owners' rights, what he is really doing is bowing to a special-interest group (the Wisconsin Realtors Association).

An important fact that Gov. Walker is overlooking when he says his rules will protect property owners' rights is that he seems only interested in protecting the rights for those who are neighbors to a wind farm. He needs to argue for the rights of all landowners.

What about the rights of the landowners who support these developments and want the wind farm on their property? These people have paid taxes, farmed their land and, in many cases, sold off small housing parcels to their neighbors. Now the governor wants to empower the neighbors and a minority of landowners with the authority to tell the large property owners what they can do with their land?

Fond du Lac County says wind farms support agriculture and local businesses

2011-02-16T16:23:00.001-06:00

From a letter to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules from Fond du Lac County in support of PSC proposed wind siting rules, not the rules proposed by Gov. Scot Walker:

Utility scale wind farms in Wisconsin have meant a lot to local
businesses. Farmers that want to continue working their farmland have additional income to support their operations. Land rental payments for turbine sites bring farmers $5,000 each year for each turbine site. Farmers invest these dollars, $829,900 in 2010, into growing crops or their dairy herds. One of our local contractors, Michels Corporation of Brownsville, Wisconsin, has been the prime contractor in several utility scale wind farms. Michels was the prime contractor and paid living wages to just over 200 employees in the Fond du Lac/Dodge County area during the construction of the Forward Energy Center and the Blue Sky/Green Filed wind farm. Michels was also part of the construction team for both Butler Ridge and Glacial Ridge projects elsewhere in Wisconsin. Michels has been in discussions with 4 other wind developers each with 100 MV projects around Wisconsin.

Montfort Wind Farm helps local business

2011-02-15T13:48:00.001-06:00

A note from a kind reader in the Montfort area:

Tower Junction Restaurant and Bowling Alley is entirely based on the wind turbine towers. He has a small kiosk outside that describes the Montfort Wind Farm. His placemats at his business features interesting facts about the Wind Farm. He has small scale turbines there too. He has exploited the whole turbine farm and built a successful business and tourist attraction. He gets all kinds of people coming in to visit the Tower Junction theme. Try to talk negative in there, and the locals will look at you like you are nuts.

Wisconsin rules CapX 2020 transmission project app incomplete

2011-02-14T16:37:00.002-06:00

From an article by Sarah Elmquist in the Winona (MN) Post:

A portion of the proposed CapX2020 electric transmission lines that would connect Alma, Wis. to a substation near Holmen, Wis. hit a snag this week, after the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin determined the lengthy application was incomplete. The PSC included dozens of detailed requirements for information and documents that need to be added to the application for the project to be considered, including areas in the application where environmental review was deemed insufficient, where greater information was needed, and where the utilities need to further explore the ways that efficiency programs might change electricity use projections.

Two possible routes have been proposed for this portion of the CapX2020 project. One would run along the Mississippi River from Alma, Wis., to the La Crosse area. The other would travel from Alma east to Arcadia and then south to La Crosse.

Fond du Lac County, host of 168 wind turbines, supports PSC siting rules

2011-02-11T16:39:00.002-06:00

Testimony of Sam Tobias
Director of Planning and Parks
Fond du Lac County

Before the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules
February 9, 2011

(starts at 3:45:30 pm on Wisconsin Eye)

Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today -- chairs and committee members as well.

I’ve been with Fond du Lac County for 25 years in a couple of different roles but at this point I’m with the county planning and parks director. You have to know just a bit about Fond du Lac County to understand where I’m coming from and what’s been happening in Fond du Lac. In our county we do not have county zoning, every town in our county, all 21, each has their own individual zoning ordinance. They administer their zoning ordinances. At times, with wind siting issues especially, they depend heavily on their attorney, and they all pretty much use the same attorney. They’ve come up with pretty much the model that’s being used in the PSC rule. And it’s worked very well, and that’s my point here today is we’ve been a test-bed so to speak in Fond du Lac.

The program has worked in Fond du Lac County. Why do I say that? The six town boards in Fond du Lac County that are the six towns that are host to wind turbine projects are all still in place. If this were truly a monumental issue, and truly had widespread health effects, and hazards, nature hazards, those types of things, I don’t think those six town boards would be in place today, but they are.

We’re home to three major utility scale wind turbine projects -- 168 turbines, 268 MW of electricity capacity. Again, the towns, the 8,000 to almost 9,000 town residents, that are involved in these facilities. We don’t have 8,000 to 9,000 people here today protesting against the rules. There are people with concerns, but it’s not the majority by any stretch of the imagination.

Town government took the lead, as I said previously. In permitting, in regulating wind farms in Fond du Lac County and I think they’ve done a very great job. Again, our setbacks are very similar in our towns as to what’s in our state rule. Utility-scale wind farm in Wisconsin mean a lot to local businesses -- from the sandwich supply lunch truck, that comes out to construction sites, to Michels Corporation in Brownsville that’s got 200 people that have been involved in developing wind projects in our county and elsewhere around the state. By their estimations, there are probably four projects out there that are being discussed and are in the works, 100 MW or more each, so there’s projects queued up that need some predictability in outcome, and that’s what this rule does.

I’ll go back to creating a level playing field. This is the same kind of thing that the Wisconsin Realtors Association asked for in ’99 and 2000 – the Wisconsin Smart Growth law. I’m a planner so I supported them in those efforts and that was a big thing that they really wanted. They wanted a level playing field. And I think in this situation, the same rule applies, the same situation applies. Let’s provide a level playing field. We’re not going to have turbines in every corner of the state of Wisconsin. These companies are going to go where the resource is. The resource is fairly limited in our area. . . .

(Q) Thank you for your testimony. You said that the standards that were in place when the wind turbines were put up in Fond du Lac were similar to what were in the PSC. So like a 1,250 foot setback? We’re dealing with something like that?

A) Yes, yes. Setbacks for municipal and civil structures are three times the maximum height of a wind turbine. Setbacks from participating residences can be 600 feet or 1.1 times the turbine height is allowable with written permission from the land owner. The setback from nonparticipating residences is three times the maximum height of the turbine. Setbacks from property lines are 1.1 times the height of the turbine. And setbacks from communications and utility lines is 1.1 times, so it’s similar. If there are some additional consideration to be given, look at what towns in Fond du Lac County have done.

Q) (Senator Leibham) I just want to clarify, are you here on behalf of the County or yourself as an individual?

A) I’m here on behalf of Fond du Lac County. This is an issue we’ve talked over, I’ve talked over with the boss, the county executive Allen Buechel and I’m here with his permission. So I’m speaking on behalf of myself and behalf of Fond du Lac County.

Committee takes no steps to ban wind turbines

2011-02-10T16:05:00.001-06:00

RENEW Wisconsin submitted the following statement at the public hearing of the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules on wind siting rules (PSC 128).

Governor Walker and legislative leaders reportedly will seek a change in the rule when the governor appoints a new chair of the three-person Public Service Commission when Commissioner Mark Meyer's term expires March 1. With no legislative action, PSC 128 will become effective on March 1, 2011, and will remain in effect until changed by the PSC.

Good morning, my name is Michael Vickerman. I am here to represent RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy and education organization based in Madison. Incorporated in 1991, RENEW acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. We have over 300 total members, and more than 60 businesses around the state, including Biogas Direct (Prairie du Sac), Bleu Mont Dairy (Mount Horeb), Bubbling Springs Solar (Menomonie), Crave Brothers Farm (Waterloo), Convergence Energy (Lake Geneva), Emerging Energies (Hubertus), Energy Concepts (Hudson), Full Circle Farm (Seymour), Full Spectrum Solar (Madison), GDH, Inc. (Chilton), H&H Solar (Madison), Kettle View Renewable Energy (Random Lake), Michels Wind Energy (Brownsville), North American Hydro (Neshkoro), Northwind Renewable Energy LLC (Stevens Point), Pieper Power (Milwaukee), Organic Valley (LaFarge), Quantum Dairy (Weyauwega), Renewegy (Oshkosh), and Seventh Generation Energy Systems (Madison).

On behalf of all our members that have an interest in wind generation, RENEW Wisconsin took the lead in bringing together diverse groups and companies and forging a broad and bipartisan coalition to support legislation establishing statewide permitting standards for all wind generators in the state of Wisconsin. The fruit of that labor, 2009 Act 40, was signed into law in September 2009.

I am here today to encourage this Committee to take no action on the PSC 128 rule that is scheduled to take effect on March 1st. The Commission's rule is a good-faith compromise that balances the state's interest in promoting a preferred energy resource with the interests of neighboring landowners.

The PSC rule will provide wind energy developers with regulatory certainty -- a clearly defined set of requirements which they must comply with in order to obtain a permit. Such stability and clarity in the wind permitting arena has been absent from Wisconsin for the last 13 years, which, more than any other reason, explains why Wisconsin utilities own more wind generating capacity in Iowa and Minnesota (329 MW) than they do in Wisconsin (235 MW).

I would like this committee to consider the following points:

* The statewide rule promulgated by the PSC is the culmination of two uninterrupted years of agency involvement in wind siting proceedings. The record built on the major issues is nothing short of encyclopedic.

* A longer setback distance is not necessary given PSC 128’s strict regulation of sound propagation and shadow flicker duration. Both the maximum allowable nighttime sound threshold (45 dBa) and the maximum allowable duration of shadow flicker (25 hours a year) are very strict thresholds in comparison to what other states have adopted.

* Payments from wind generation facilities support rural economies. The counties and towns hosting Wisconsin’s four largest operating windpower installations receive more than $1.5 million in payments in lieu of taxes each year. Landowners hosting the 251 turbines in these projects receive more than $1.2 million per year combined. Not counting payments for transmission-related infrastructure, these four wind projects pump nearly $3 million annually to local governments, host landowners and neighboring residents. (See the January 12th, 2011, article in the Fond du Lac Reporter)

* There is no credible evidence that existing wind development in Wisconsin has depressed property values statewide. In 2008 and 2009, Poletti and Associates, an Illinois real estate appraisal firm, investigated the impact of the Lincoln and Rosiere wind projects on nearby land sales and home construction activity. Analyzing seven years’ of sales data, the Poletti study concluded that the 31 turbines in Kewaunee County have not an effect on area property values. Moreover, since 1999, when the turbines were placed in service, more than 10 houses have been constructed within one-half mile of a turbine there.

There is one sure way that Wisconsin leaders can demonstrate their commitment to nurturing wind energy-related businesses and the jobs that will emerge from their activities, and that is to allow the PSC 128 rule to take effect as scheduled on March 1st. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Scientists see no basis for turbine 'infrasound' health problems

2011-02-08T16:25:00.002-06:00

From an article by Jim Dulzo on the Web site of Michigan Land Use Institute:

. . . when they could not find an independent organization willing to underwrite such a study, they paid for it themselves. AWEA [American Wind Energy Association] and CanWEA [Canada Wind Energy Associaiton] assembled eight scientists and doctors to survey the available scientific literature on the known health effects of living near wind turbines.

Collectively, the eight have strong research or clinical experience in public health, otolaryngology, noise-induced hearing loss, balance and hearing disorders, clinical medicine, audiology, infrasound acoustics, industrial sound pathology, wind and turbine physics, and turbine sound measurement and siting.

Their review of 140 different studies and papers issued in 2009, largely from Europe, where wind farms are common and located quite close to residential areas, is called Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects; An Expert Panel Review.

The panel points out that the environment and our bodies are awash in infrasound, much of it naturally occurring. It finds Dr. Pierpont’s list of maladies too poorly characterized to be medically useful. It finds a markedly stronger correlation between subjects’ claimed turbine syndrome symptoms and their initial attitudes toward turbines than between their symptoms and their level of exposure to turbine sounds.

Windpower opponents quickly attacked the industry funded findings as biased, something that Mike Klepinger, who formerly worked at Michigan State University Extension Service, where he wrote the agency’s wind turbine siting guidelines, says is not surprising.

“Of course, whenever you invite industry into a panel, the whole panel becomes suspect,” Mr. Klepinger said in an interview with Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. “They say, ‘It couldn’t possibly be operating scientifically.’ But you look at the who’s who on the [panel] list, and you kind of have to give the industry an A-plus for trying to make the panel objective.”

Their three major conclusions:

“There is no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects.
“The ground-borne vibrations from wind turbines are too weak to be detected by, or to affect, humans.
“The sounds emitted by wind turbines are not unique. There is no reason to believe, based on the levels and frequencies of the sounds and the panel’s experience with sound exposures in occupational settings, that sounds from wind turbines could plausibly have direct adverse health consequences.”

Proposed wind-energy ban threatens Cashton wind project

2011-02-07T09:40:00.001-06:00

From an article by Kevin Lee in The Daily Reporter:

MADISON — Local contractors seeking to build a new wave of wind energy sites are still holding their collective breath.

Gov. Scott Walker has put the brakes on legislation to push back the minimum distance between wind turbines and property lines, but a joint legislative committee may take up the matter on Wednesday.

Wes Slaymaker, who is helping to construct the Cashton Greens wind energy site in Monroe County, said Walker's legislation would have disrupted proposed projects preparing for construction.

"As (the proposal) was written, it was kind of a moratorium on wind (energy) in the state. So I guess there is still a bit of a cloud, but now the cloud has moved over to the edge of the horizon, it's not right over the top of our heads," he said.

As of now, a state rule that takes effect in March will establish that wind sites must be 1,250 feet away from property lines. Walker wanted to push that distance back to 1,800 feet, which energy wind advocates say would be among the most restrictive limits in the country.

The tougher siting restriction, one of the proposals the governor pushed as part of his special session to improve the state's economy, has not received a public committee hearing, a typical first step for new legislation.

"We'll pursue action with the Legislature outside of the special session," Walker said. "But again, I want to see the wind industry like any other industry be able to be effective here in the state of Wisconsin. I just want to find a way to balance that with the needs of individual property rights in the state as well."

Gov. Walker's office to keep pushing new wind turbine rules

2011-02-04T16:50:00.001-06:00

From a story on WTAQ, Madison:

MADISON, Wis. (WTAQ) - Governor Scott Walker’s office says it will keep trying to limit the locating of new wind energy farms in Wisconsin – even though his own Republicans in the Legislature are not going along with it for now.

Spokesman Cullen Werwie says Walker will try to get the state Public Service Commission to adopt his proposal. That’s after Republican legislative leaders said they wanted more time to review the impact.

Walker wants wind turbines to be at least 1,800 feet away from neighboring homes, instead of the current 1,250 feet. The Wisconsin Realtors Association pushed for the change.

Walker said it would help property owners who say the turbines cause too much noise and flickering light. But the wind energy industry says it would be the most restrictive setback in the nation – and they’re calling it a de-facto ban on new wind energy projects.

The group Renew Wisconsin says it could put up to $1.8 billion worth of future wind projects in jeopardy. And Denise Bode of the American Wind Energy Association said it would make a mockery of Walker’s claim that Wisconsin is “open for business.”

"Pants on Fire!" says Truth-o-Meter to health problems from turbine shadow flicker

2011-01-31T16:16:00.001-06:00

From an article on Political Fact Check:

To some, spinning wind turbines are a majestic source of pollution-free energy. But when they're proposed for residential areas, opponents often portray them as a menace to healthy, safety, aesthetics and property values.

The rhetoric can get pretty extreme.

When one was proposed in Barrington in 2008, opponents claimed that unnamed "independent medical experts" had found that turbines can cause everything from headaches to heart problems, and that sunlight flashing through the blades can produce a stroboscopic effect that may lead to nausea, dizziness, disorientation and seizures.

So when a massive 427-foot turbine was proposed for Stamp Farm on Route 2 in North Kingstown, it wasn't surprising that the opposition would echo those claims. One opponent was state Rep. Laurence Ehrhardt of North Kingstown. He co-authored an opinion column published in The Providence Journal with former North Kingstown Town Council President Edward Cooney.

For one of their bullet points, they played the epilepsy card: "The health risk of 'flicker' impact created by shadows of blades of turbines poses real and significant health risks, particularly seizures. . . ."

We contacted two epilepsy experts who said the concern was ridiculous because it was so unlikely.

David Mandelbaum, a neurologist and pediatrician at Brown University's Alpert Medical School, said even if an epileptic is sensitive to light, the flicker has to be at just the right frequency, and that frequency can vary widely from person to person.

Dr. Gregory Kent Bergey, director of the epilepsy center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said in an email: "The fact is, the great majority of people with seizures [probably greater than 95 percent] do not have this photosensitivity." Some patients may experience a brief spasm if they see the sun coming through the trees, "but these seizures are usually readily controlled by medication. I do not tell these patients not to drive in the forest!"

He said "the risk from sun coming through a wind turbine would be very small -- the person would first have to be looking at the sun, not just at a turbine, and most of us know not to look at the sun directly. . . . We cannot use this as a reason not to erect wind turbine farms."

Mandelbaum said he has never seen any reliable documentation that turbines can cause seizures, or any other health problems. "They're using the epileptic community. It's clever and it's nonsense, and I find it personally offensive," he said.

Coalition discredits realtors’ wind assessment

2011-01-28T16:01:00.002-06:00

A news release issued by the Wisconsin Energy Business Association:

A group of over 60 Wisconsin energy businesses and organizations distributed a memorandum to legislators today to respond to the factual inaccuracies and misrepresentations in a memorandum distributed by the Wisconsin Realtors Association last week, including the following points:
1. There is no credible evidence that existing wind development in Wisconsin has depressed property values in Kewaunee County.
2. There is no credible evidence that existing wind development in Wisconsin has depressed property values statewide.
3. The property value study cited by WRA contains several methodological errors and weaknesses that greatly reduce its value.
4. WRA’s discussion of windpower’s impacts on commercial and residential construction is wholly one-sided and overlooks the benefits from building energy-producing systems on rural land.
5. WRA’s characterization of the rule’s promulgation is inflammatory and untrue.
6. A longer setback distance is not necessary given PSC 128’s strict regulation of sound and shadow.

Rep. Shilling applauds Obama's support of clean energy projects

2011-01-26T13:51:00.001-06:00

From a news release issued by Rep. Jennifer Shilling:

Encourages Gov. Walker to re-evaluate restrictive wind energy rules

MADISON – President Barack Obama will visit Wisconsin today to tour Orion Energy Systems, a Manitowoc-based clean energy manufacturing company. In his State of the Union address, President Obama highlighted the ongoing need for investments in clean energy development and called for 80% of America's electricity to come from clean energy sources by 2035. The visit today is part of the President’s White House to Main Street Tour in which he has met with families and workers regarding the importance of long-term economic competitiveness.

“I am glad that President Obama is highlighting the importance that our clean energy manufacturing industry will play in our nation’s economic recovery efforts,” said Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). “If we want our state to be competitive on a national and international level, we need to invest in 21st century manufacturing and agricultural industries. Wisconsin has the potential to be a leader in clean energy manufacturing, but we need our government to be a partner rather than an obstacle to this growing industry.”

“While the President has stepped up his support for clean energy and high tech manufacturers, Governor Walker’s lack of foresight has already doomed several important economic projects in our state,” added Shilling. “While Walker has been busy bankrupting our state with corporate tax breaks, our manufacturing sector and workers continue to struggle. His crusade against clean energy and 21st century transportation has already claimed the high speed rail and Charter Street Biomass projects. With the newly proposed regulations on wind energy siting, it looks like the Cashton wind project is next in line to get the axe.”

Governor Walker has proposed new legislation (SS AB 9 & SS SB 9) that would dramatically increase the minimum setback distance for wind turbines in the state. These new regulations have been described as some of the most extreme and prohibitive requirements in the nation and would effectively ban new wind farms from being developed in Wisconsin.

“The Cashton wind energy project represents the type of forward-thinking energy policies that we should be encouraging,” stated Shilling. “By working collaboratively, Organic Valley, Gundersen Lutheran, and Western Technical College have created a model proposal for clean energy production in western Wisconsin. Unfortunately, this proposal and all of the local jobs it would have created will be left hanging in the wind if Scott Walker gets his way.”

Landowners and municipalities to reap millions from wind farm operations for 2010

2011-01-25T16:26:00.002-06:00

A news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:

Owners of Wisconsin’s four largest wind energy projects will pay out approximately $2.8 million in rent to landowners hosting turbines and payments in lieu of taxes to local governments for 2010, according to figures compiled by RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.

Wind energy developers negotiate lease agreements with landowners to host turbines on their property. Payments can be as high as $7,000 per turbine per year. Estimated rental payments to all Fond du Lac and Dodge county landowners will total slightly more than $1.2 million in 2010.

Towns and counties do not collect property taxes from wind turbines but instead receive payments based on the generating capacity of each turbine, allocated under a formula adopted by the Legislature in 2003. Payments to those local governments will reach almost $1.6 million for 2010.

“These revenues help support farm families and rural Wisconsin communities.” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin. “It’s a much better deal for the state than sending dollars go Wyoming and West Virginia for the coal imported to Wisconsin to generate electricity.”

Gary Haltaufderheide, an employee of Madison-based Land Services Company, which negotiates land leases for large projects, like pipelines and wind turbines, says, “Farmers are smart business people and they’re very satisfied with the payments. One farmer saw the lease as a way to cover tuition payments for a child entering college.”

Four wind projects – Forward, Blue Sky Green Field, Cedar Ridge, and Butler Ridge – account for the payments to host landowners and local governments. Together these projects comprise nearly 90 percent of Wisconsin’s wind generation fleet.

When calculated over a 20-year contract period, total revenues should exceed $60 million, taking inflation into account.

Shirley Wind, the state’s newest wind power installation, will contributed another $80,000 a year, divided equally between Brown County, Town of Glenmore, local landowners, and neighbors within one-third of a mile of a turbine. The eight-turbine, 20-megawatt project began producing electricity in 2010.

Click tables to enlarge.

Survey shows strong support for wind energy in Grant County

2011-01-24T11:37:00.097-06:00

In the fall of 2007, Grant County landowners received a survey conducted by The Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

Question 30 on the survey asked respondents if Grant County jurisdictions should pursue Ethanol Plants, Solar Energy or Wind Energy alternatives as a form of economic development.

Data compiled from those surveys shows overwhelming support for Wind and Solar Energy with marginal support for Ethanol. The proposed White Oak Wind Farm falls within Smelser Township, Cuba City, Hazel Green, Hazel Green Township and Dickeyville.

Grant County should pursue:

	Ethanol plants	Solar energy	Wind energy
Strongly agree	22%	39%	48%
Agree	33%	45%	43%
Disagree	23%	5%	2%
Strongly dis.	9%	1%	2%
No opinion	13%	10%	6%

Walker rejects biomass boiler for power plant

2011-01-21T10:06:00.000-06:00

From an article by in The Chippewa Herald:

Gov. Scott Walker scrapped plans Thursday to convert a power plant to run on natural fuels such as wood chips and paper pellets, a move that could save up to $100 million but drew stern criticism from at least one environmental group.

The decision affects the Charter Street Heating Plant on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Its coal-fired burners will be retired next year and were to be replaced with two boilers that run on natural gas and a third that would burn biomass, state officials said.

However, Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said only the natural-gas burners will be installed.

"We have decided not to proceed with the biomass boiler in order to save the state taxpayers money," he said in a statement. The savings would come from avoiding construction costs of about $100 million, he said. It was not clear whether the third planned boiler would be replaced or the two natural gas boilers would produce enough power on their own.

Jeff Plale, an administrator for the state Division of State Facilities, said Walker and Huebsch realized there were cheaper ways to meet the university's heating needs while still being environmentally friendly.

"Natural gas is a clean source of energy, certainly cleaner than coal," Plale said. "That plant is going to be a whole lot cleaner than it is today. Couple that with being able to save $100 million during a very difficult budget and I think the people of Wisconsin come out better."

In 2008, then-Gov. Jim Doyle announced that the plant would switch from coal to biomass in part to settle a Sierra Club lawsuit claiming that the plant violated air-pollution laws. Thursday's move does not risk reopening the lawsuit because the plant is still moving away from coal.

The decision to walk away from biomass shows a lack of long-term thinking, Sierra Club spokeswoman Jennifer Feyerherm said. She called it another in a string of Walker's actions that kills jobs and wastes money while missing a chance to develop greener solutions.

"This was a way to keep money local, to keep the investment in Wisconsin," she said. "While up front it may seem to cost more, it would have kept the money local, created a green infrastructure and created local jobs."

She said the jobs would include growing and harvesting the biomass, converting it into a form that could burned and transporting it to the plant.

Walker wrong on wind rules

2011-01-20T09:17:00.000-06:00

From an editorial in the La Crosse Tribune:

Cue the overture to “Gone with the Wind.”

Gov. Scott Walker already has thrown back $810 million in federal funding for high-speed rail — and the jobs and investment attached — to other states, including Illinois.

Now, he wants to make sure Wisconsin blows an opportunity to develop wind energy — development that our neighbors to the west have blown past Wisconsin on.

Denise Bode, CEO of American Wind Energy Association, says the governor’s new regulations for wind energy would imperil a dozen Wisconsin wind farms worth $1.8 billion and 950 full-time jobs.

So, we’re forced to ask once again: When does Wisconsin get some of the 250,000 new jobs that Walker has promised — and when does he intend to stop creating jobs in other states at our expense?

The governor is pushing a regulatory bill that would quadruple the distance that a wind turbine is set back from another property. Opponents say that may kill any current or future wind-turbine operation.

In Walker-speak, that’s known as a job-killer.

The proposed regulations are especially troubling because they could cause problems for an innovative partnership between Gundersen Lutheran and Organic Valley. The two organization plan to split the $11.5 million cost of their project near Organic Valley’s distribution center in Cashton. A spokesman said they hope to order turbines within two weeks and begin generating electricity by November.

Isn’t that the type of entrepreneurial innovation and dynamic partnership that Wisconsin needs to grow the economy — especially with green energy?

Using garbage to create energy

2011-01-19T16:14:00.000-06:00

From a story on WXOW, La-Crosse, WI:

ONALASKA, Wisconsin (WXOW)-- La Crosse County is teaming up with Gundersen Lutheran to make our local landfill a renewable energy source.

It maybe hard to believe that seventy thousand tons of garbage can be put to good use, but the Gas to Energy Project is turning solid waste biogas into heat and energy.

The way this process works is, as this garbage begins to decompose it creates methane gas. The La Crosse County Landfill collects the gas in underground pipelines and later, burns the substance.

With this new program, methane would no longer be wasted.

It instead will be sent via an underground pipeline to Gundersen Lutheran in Onalaska.

The project is estimated to cost around 3.3 million dollars.

It requires a two mile pipeline to be installed underground from the landfill to the Onalaska Gundersen Lutheran facility.

Gundersen Lutheran says construction of this project is expected to begin sometime this spring.

The project is expected to offset about 12 percent of Gundersen Lutheran's total energy use.

It is a sustainability investment that will pay itself back within five years.

Walker’s wind siting proposal strips local control

2011-01-18T11:01:00.000-06:00

For immediate release:
January 18, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Walker’s Wind Siting Proposal Strips Local Control

Mandating by statute an extreme setback distance for commercial wind turbines, Governor Scott Walker’s wind siting proposal would strip local governments of their ability to negotiate lesser setback distances with wind developers, according to RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy group.

Walker’s proposal would require a setback distance between a turbine and neighboring property line of 1,800 feet, which can be shortened only by an agreement between the project owner and owners of adjoining properties, entirely bypassing towns and counties.

Walker’s proposal would eliminate the ability of local governments to attract wind developments that would generate revenues in lieu of taxes to help buffer the expected cuts to local governments in the upcoming state budget.

A story in the Fond du Lac Reporter on January 12 quoted town and county officials as saying the wind project revenue helped save on property taxes by filling the gap between rising municipal expenses and declining state-paid shared revenue dollars.

“We’ve seen five towns in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties enter into joint development agreements specifying reasonable setback distances because town officials wanted to capture the economic benefits of hosting wind projects larger than 50 megawatts,” Vickerman said.

The statewide siting rule, approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and set to take effect March 1, preserved local government authority to specify less restrictive conditions.

“This unreasonable proposal is a steamroller driven by anti-wind special interests, like realtors, bent on denying local governments the ability to decide what’s in their best interests,” said Vickerman.

Wind turbines: Governor transforms into intrusive regulator

2011-01-17T15:43:00.001-06:00

From an editorial in The Tomah Journal:

Perhaps it’s Gov. Scott Walker’s goal to have 99 percent of Wisconsin’s energy come from fossil fuels by 2020.

How else to explain his push to effectively ban wind turbines in Wisconsin?

A governor who said job creation is his top priority couldn’t wait two weeks into his new administration before putting the kibosh on the state’s wind energy business.

Walker’s proposal would mandate minimum setbacks of 1,800 feet between a wind turbine and the nearest property line. That compares with a setback distance of 1,250 feet from a neighboring residence approved by the Public Service Commission in a rule adopted last year.

How draconian are Walker’s proposed rules?

“There are very few locations in the entire Badger State that could overcome such extreme constraints,” said Michael Vickerman of Renew Wisconsin. “You can count the locations on the fingers of one hand.”

Walker’s proposal is wrong on multiple levels.

*Renewable energy. Like it or not, fossil fuels are a finite resource, but Walker has shown an almost mindless hostility toward alternative energy and alternative transportation. It doesn’t take a tree hugger to question that hostility. Wisconsin has no fossil fuel resources of its own, and every BTU generated by oil and coal represents dollars that leave the state.

*Jobs. It takes labor to manufacture, build and maintain wind turbines. The same governor who killed a big chunk of the passenger train industry in Wisconsin is poised to terminate the wind turbine industry.

*Private property rights. The same governor who can’t wait to allow developers to fill wetlands suddenly transforms into the great regulator when it comes to contracts between private property owners and wind turbine companies.

Walker proposal would torpedo $1.8 billion in new wind power investments

2011-01-14T15:25:00.001-06:00

From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:

The window on new wind power developments is likely to slammed completely shut by the end of 2011 under a proposal released by Governor Scott Walker, according to RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.

“As part of a larger proposal ostensibly to create jobs, Governor Walker unveiled new restrictions on wind energy development that, if adopted by the Legislature, would drive development activity worth $1.8 billion out of state,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin.

Governor Walker’s proposal would mandate minimum setbacks of 1,800 feet between a wind turbine and the nearest property line, a dramatic increase from the setback distance of 1,250 feet from a neighboring residence approved by the Public Service Commission in a rule that would otherwise take effect on March 1.

“There are very few locations in the entire Badger State that are windy and large enough, and located near transmission lines, to overcome such extreme constraints,” said Vickerman.

This setback requirement, which would be more stringent than any other statewide regulation in the nation, would also apply to permitted projects that have not begun construction, such as the two-turbine project in a Village of Cashton industrial park that was ready to begin construction this spring. A 99-megawatt project near Darlington in Lafayette County would also be blocked, said Vickerman.

“Because construction has commenced, We Energies’ 90-turbine Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County will avoid these extreme restrictions,” said Vickerman. “Adoption of Walker’s proposal will draw the curtain on projects that would follow Glacier Hills, which will be able to power up to 45,000 homes.”

Walker seeks to halt wind projects, cut property tax relief, send jobs to other states

2011-01-12T16:15:00.001-06:00

From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:

Local municipalities are profiting from the wind. While many residents in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties live nowhere near the turbines dotting the landscape, the revenue stream from the towering towers is helping to offset increases in property taxes.

Last year, owners of Wisconsin’s four largest wind energy projects paid out nearly $2.8 million in rent to landowners hosting turbines and payments in lieu of property taxes to local governments, according to figures compiled by RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.
Fond du Lac County, which is home to 166 wind turbines, received a revenue payment of $625,000. Dodge County received $296,000 in payments for hosting 85 wind turbines.
“While we didn’t designate the income for anything in particular, we did use it to pay the bills of the county. Ultimately, it saves on property tax,” said Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel.

Formula
Towns and counties do not collect property taxes from wind turbines but instead receive payments based on the generating capacity of each turbine, allocated under a formula adopted by the state Legislature in 2003.
Of the total revenue paid out to local governmental entities, counties retain two-thirds of the payments while townships hosting the turbines receive one-third. Payments to those local governments in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties will reach almost $1.6 million for 2010.

Wind energy developers negotiate lease agreements with landowners to host turbines on their property. Payments can be as high as $7,000 per turbine each year. Estimated rental payments to all Fond du Lac and Dodge county landowners will total slightly more than $1.2 million for 2010. Property owners hosting the 88 wind turbines in the Blue Sky Green Field wind farm in townships of Marshfield and Calumet divvied up a total of $440,000 paid to them by WeEnergies.

Marshfield Township Chairman John Bord said the $121,000 received from WeEnergies was used to keep rising property taxes in check in the town.

Solar-powered justice

2011-01-11T09:52:00.000-06:00

From an article in the La Crosse Tribune:

La Crosse County will receive $128,000 in rebates for energy-efficient portions of the new 140,000-square-foot center addition. Projects such as this solar water heating system are expected to save the county more than $65,000 a year in energy costs.

Landowners and municipalities to reap millions from wind farm operations for 2010

2011-01-10T14:13:00.002-06:00

For immediate release
January 10, 2011

More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Landowners and Municipalities to Reap Millions from Wind Farm Operations for 2010

Owners of Wisconsin’s four largest wind energy projects will pay out approximately $2.8 million in rent to landowners hosting turbines and payments in lieu of taxes to local governments for 2010, according to figures compiled by RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.

Wind energy developers negotiate lease agreements with landowners to host turbines on their property. Payments can be as high as $7,000 per turbine per year. Estimated rental payments to all Fond du Lac and Dodge county landowners will total slightly more than $1.2 million in 2010.

Towns and counties do not collect property taxes from wind turbines but instead receive payments based on the generating capacity of each turbine, allocated under a formula adopted by the Legislature in 2003. Payments to those local governments will reach almost $1.6 million for 2010.

“These revenues help support farm families and rural Wisconsin communities.” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin. “It’s a much better deal for the state than sending dollars to Wyoming and West Virginia for the coal imported to Wisconsin to generate electricity.”

Gary Haltaufderheide, an employee of Madison-based Land Services Company, which negotiates land leases for large projects, like pipelines and wind turbines, says, “Farmers are smart business people and they’re very satisfied with the payments. One farmer saw the lease as a way to cover tuition payments for a child entering college.”

Four wind projects – Forward, Blue Sky Green Field, Cedar Ridge, and Butler Ridge – account for the payments to host landowners and local governments. Together these projects comprise nearly 90 percent of Wisconsin’s wind generation fleet.

When calculated over a 20-year contract period, total revenues should exceed $60 million, taking inflation into account.

Shirley Wind, the state’s newest wind power installation, will contributed another $80,000 a year, divided equally between Brown County, Town of Glenmore, local landowners, and neighbors within one-third of a mile of a turbine. The eight-turbine, 20-megawatt project began producing electricity in 2010.

Data tables

CapX2020 files application for line that would cross river near Alma

2011-01-06T16:07:00.001-06:00

From a story on WKBT, La Crosse:

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- The group advocating for a new series of high-voltage power lines has filed an application for a line that would cross the Mississippi River near Alma.

CapX2020, a partnership of 11 utility companies, filed a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC).

The proposed Wisconsin section Hampton-Rochester-La Crosse power line would begin near Alma, cross the Mississippi River and run 40-55 miles until it connects with an 80-90 mile segment in Minnesota.

"The project will improve reliability in the La Crosse and surrounding rural areas as well as improve access to generation," says Priti Patel, CapX2020 co-director. "It will also ensure that local communities and customers continue to enjoy reliable access to affordable electricity."

The 345 kV line will be constructed with single-pole steel structures spaced approximately 800 to 1,000 feet apart. Project construction is expected to begin in 2013, and the line will be energized in 2015.

Alliant Energy receives approval to expand biomass test burns

2011-01-05T14:01:00.000-06:00

From a news release issued by Alliant Energy:

Biomass burns to resume at Nelson Dewey Generating Station in spring 2011

MADISON, WI – December 30, 2010 – Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), an Alliant Energy company, will build upon the success of its 2010 biomass test burns by expanding those efforts in 2011, burning larger quantities of biomass for longer durations at the Nelson Dewey Generating Station in Cassville, WI.

WPL has received a Research and Testing Exemption (RTE) from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) that allows for up to a 50 percent co-firing of biomass over a 12 month period within the facility’s two cyclone fired boilers. While that approval came this week, the 12 month period won’t actually begin until the test burns begin. WPL anticipates that will happen this spring.

“With the potential that biomass presents to create Wisconsin jobs and build upon a new and developing economic market for Wisconsin farmers, expanding our test burns at Nelson Dewey is the next step in our focus on balanced generation,” explains John Larsen, Senior VP Generation - Alliant Energy & President – WPL. “As we continue to manage costs overall as a company, we are also managing our generating fleet to reduce our reliance on market purchases and remain flexible to adapt to change.”

WPL will continue to examine a number of factors during the test burns in 2011, including environmental impacts, supply chain capabilities, material delivery and handling costs and the blending and combustion of biomass based materials within the current plant configuration. No permanent structures or modifications will be made to the existing facility’s equipment to accommodate the test burns.

New wind siting rules could speed wind project in southwestern Wisconsin

2011-01-04T12:10:00.000-06:00

From an article by Craig D. Reber in The Herald, Dubuque, Iowa:

A wind-siting rule that took effect in Wisconsin on Jan. 1* could open the door to wind farms in southwest Wisconsin.

The rule provides a path for obtaining a permit to build a wind farm -- as long as the project developers abide by the guidelines established by the state Public Service Commission. If a township or other municipality opts to regulate a wind-energy power system, its

ordinances can't be more restrictive than the PSC's rules.

Basically, the PSC's rules trump any local ordinances.

In southwest Wisconsin, the new rule could pave the way for the development of the proposed White Oak wind project by Wind Capital Group that includes parts of Smel-ser, Hazel Green and Paris townships. The project has been on hold for more than two years.

"We believe that passage of the PSC's rule will certainly set the conditions in place that make development of wind facilities much more possible in Wisconsin," said Tom Green, Wind Capital senior manager of project development. "In reviewing the new rule and applying those rules to their plans for White Oak, they will have a better idea moving into Advertisement

the future of the viability of the project."

Ron Brisbois, Grant County Economic Development director, said the new law will allow communities to plan and give wind developers the freedom to create wind-farm strategies.

"That was what everybody was waiting on," Brisbois said of the White Oak project and another in northern Grant County. "This should allow them to move forward to secure financing and implement the design of the full layout of where the turbines will go."

"It's important," said Joe Alt, of rural Cuba City and a participant in the White Oak project, discussing the new rule. "It's definitely going to help get a wind farm going."

* At the time the reporter wrote the story, January 1 appeared to be the effective date of the new rules. However, simple logistical delays in officially publishing the rule push the effective date to March 1.

Illinois forms partnership with Wisconsin's money to develop high-speed rail to St. Louis

2010-12-23T09:06:00.001-06:00

From an article in BizTimes Daily:

State of Illinois announced today it will use some of the federal funds rejected by Wisconsin Governor-elect Scott Walker to create a public-private partnership that will develop high-speed rail from Chicago to St. Louis, Mo., by 20114.

Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the signing of the historic cooperative agreement by the federal government, state government, Union Pacific Railroad, and Amtrak as a crucial advance in the development of a planned high-speed passenger rail network that will serve Illinois and the Midwest region.

“ Clearly, the leadership, perseverance and commitment of Governor Quinn, Senator Durbin, and our private sector partners, has vaulted Illinois into the lead on the development of high-speed rail,” Hannig said. “This announcement is about more than just an historic achievement for Illinois and the Midwest. It is a celebration of the kind of partnership and vision that is creating jobs now and providing needed access to a crucial regional transportation alternative.”

In September 2010, Quinn announced that Illinois had become the first state in the nation to begin high-speed rail construction through an initial agreement to upgrade 90 miles of track between Alton and Lincoln. With the full Cooperative Agreement now in place, construction will continue in early spring from just south of Lincoln to Dwight. That phase of work is expected to conclude next fall.

“It’s a wonderful day for Illinoisans as we celebrate a milestone achievement towards becoming the first state in the nation to bring high-speed rail to fruition,” Quinn said. “We applaud the cooperation and hard work of all participating agencies to bring high-speed rail service, thousands of jobs, and economic growth to communities across the state.”

Rep. Shilling: High-speed rail project would have benefited our region, too

2010-12-22T09:52:00.000-06:00

From a guest column by State Representative Jennider Shilling in the La Crosse Tribune:

I read Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s column (Monday’s Tribune) and continue to be amazed at his insistence that killing the high-speed rail project and shipping thousands of jobs to California, Florida and Illinois is a victory.

He has said that turning away $810 million in funding and the thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs will somehow save taxpayers money. But what Walker fails to mention is that Wisconsin taxpayers will now be on the hook for up to $61.3 million in freight and passenger rail upgrades that need to be made and would have been paid for by the federal grants. Because he turned away that money, 100 percent of these costs will now fall on Wisconsin taxpayers.

Because his numbers don’t add up, Walker also tried to paint this project as a high-speed rail line to nowhere. In reality, the Chicago-Milwaukee upgrade and Milwaukee-Madison line would have been the first leg of a major project between Chicago and the Twin Cities. I’ve always said that this infrastructure investment would be like our investment in the interstate projects of the 1950s, and it’s hard to imagine what our state would look like today if we had turned down federal money to construct these highway projects.

While I could argue the merits of this project at length, the most unbelievable statement of his was that he couldn’t imagine people in western Wisconsin supporting the high-speed rail project. Had he been listening to the residents in La Crosse and throughout our region, I am sure he would have reached a very different conclusion.

Anaerobic Digester Testing Energy Potential of Biobased Plastics

2010-12-20T16:01:00.000-06:00

A news release for the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence:

First-of-its-kind pilot size study to turn organic waste and
biobased plastics into a clean energy resource

MADISON, WI – In an effort to turn an organic waste stream and biobased plastics into an energy resource, the Office of Energy Independence, University of Wisconsin – Platteville (UW-Platteville), and UL – EnvironmentSM (UL-E) an Underwriters Laboratories Company, have joined forces to conduct the first pilot study in the nation to test anaerobic digestion of bioplastics as a co-feedstock.

“When perishable foods, such as meat or dairy items, reach the end of their shelf-life, the store must remove the product for proper disposal to a landfill,” said Judy Ziewacz, Director for the Office of Energy Independence. “If successful, the food packaging and plastic industry would be able to turn a waste expense into a profitable energy generator.”

Annually, more than 830,000 tons of organic waste is sent to Wisconsin landfills. If this waste was diverted to a digester, it could potentially generate 5 megawatts of renewable energy to power 5,000 homes.

UW–Platteville, with scientific partner UL-E, will use an existing 4-stage digester built by Hanusa Renewable Energy to run the pilot study.

“The pilot scale digester is the only one of its kind in the nation that we are aware of,” said Tim Zauche, Chemistry and Engineering Physics Chair at UW-Platteville. “If we can determine bioplastic can be processed through the system, then the question becomes will it contribute to renewable gas production and a quicker return on investment.”

“Business owners are seeking innovation to lower their environmental footprint,” said Joe Mecca, Business Development Manage for UL-E. “This has great potential to reduce waste-to-landfill while producing renewable energy. We look forward to working with UW-Platteville to test the feasibility of this concept and setting guidelines for the marketplace.”

The study will be conducted at Pioneer Farm, located about 5 miles southeast of the city of Platteville. Pioneer Farm is a key component of the Wisconsin Agricultural Stewardship Initiative, a statewide
collaboration between producers, state government and the University of Wisconsin System to evaluate best management practices in Wisconsin and form policies based on practices that will enhance the environment and produce a profit for business.

For more information, visit the Office of Energy Independence www.energyindependence.wi.gov, UW–Platteville www.uwp.edu or UL-E www.ul.com.
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