Four innovative proposals to use Wisconsin's renewable energy resources are among 75 submissions jockeying for $12 - $14 million of cost-sharing assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The solicitation is intended to expedite the entry of technically proven renewable energy technologies into the energy marketplace, principally through lowering the financial barriers associated with new product development.

The Wisconsin interests seeking federal support are:

• Renewable Oxygenates Industries (ROI), a Plover, Wisconsin-based company specializing in the manufacture of ethanol from nontraditional feedstocks. ROI is already producing ethanol from cheese whey at its Plover plant, which has the capacity to produce 2.5 million gallons of ethanol a year. The company intends to develop the capability to take potato sludge from potato processing plants and produce about one million gallons of ethanol a year from it.
• The City of Fennimore in south west Wisconsin. The municipal utility there plans to install a 600-kW wind turbine on the Military Ridge about a mile from town. Equipped with a very large rotor and mounted on a very tall tower (60 meters), the turbine is designed to generate electricity from lower wind speeds more efficiently and economically than turbines with conventional features. The turbine manufacturer, Micon US, is looking to establish a market presence in the Upper Midwest through small cluster developments. Municipal utilities, which are numerous in the region, constitute a promising market segment.
• Wisconsin Electric Power (WEPCO), the state's largest electric utility. Like Fennimore, WEPCO is planning to install a 600-kW wind turbine designed especially for sites with modest wind speeds. The site under consideration, on the Niagara Escarpment about 10 miles south of Fond du Lac, appears to be among the best in Wisconsin, with an estimated average annual wind speed of over 16 mph at 60 meters. WEPCO intends to package the new wind generation under its "Energy for Tomorrow" program, which finances the construction of new renewable capacity through voluntary rate premiums.
• United Solar Inc., a Michigan manufacturer of solar electric panels. United Solar has developed a technique for integrating photovoltaic cells into roofing materials, which is likely to lower the cost of PV generation significantly. United Solar's project involves different types of installations spanning five Midwest states, including Wisconsin. Wisconsin's portion of the photovoltaic rooftop materials project consists of 20 kilowatts of material for off-grid uses at state parks, a 12- kilowatt grid-connected system on a state building, and two housing complex demonstrations.

With the exception of WEPCO, the entities proposing these renewable energy projects lack the internal financing resources to undertake them without cost-sharing assistance from an outside source. Commercial sources of capital are wary of financing renewable energy projects, as it involves an industry they regard as immature and overly sensitive to government policy. In WEPCO's case, the utility will commit some internal capital to the project, but it will be limited to avoid raising rates for other customer classes.

The DOE is expected to select between 10 and 20 awards by January 1997.