by jboullion | Feb 28, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin’s first solar panel factory has opened in the Menomonee River Valley, on the site of stockyards that contributed to the city’s leadership in the meatpacking and processing industries more than 100 years ago.
Later this year, solar panels will go up on the roof of the building that replaced the stockyards, and the panels will be made downstairs in Steve Ostrenga’s factory.
Privately held Helios USA started making robots this month, using an automated production line to build high-efficiency solar panels. The goal: to help put an emerging, 21st-century industry on the map in the state.
That’s what excited Patrick Shaw of Cudahy about working at the plant, he said during a recent tour of the W. Canal St. factory.
“I wanted to get into the green field,” said Shaw, a former Marine. “All you hear about is how that’s up and coming.” Then he attended a veterans job fair where Helios was recruiting employees.
“Six months later, here I am,” Shaw said.
Production started this month after five weeks of 12-hour days getting the first manufacturing line ready.
Workers installed robots that largely automate the manufacturing process and began test production earlier this month. Finished panels sit in stacks in an area of the plant where future production lines are planned.
A ribbon-cutting at the plant is scheduled for Monday.
During the plant tour, Shaw showed pride in having helped set up the robots.
“They said people’s kids could name the robots,” Shaw said. Pointing to one hoisting a nearly complete panel, he added, “My 4-year-old named that one Buzz Lightyear.”
Shaw is one of 17 workers who, after working to open the plant, began operating its first production line two weeks ago. Ostrenga hopes to nearly triple employment by the end of the year.
by jboullion | Feb 28, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Stevens Point Journal:
ROTHSCHILD — Wausau-area residents will have their final opportunity Tuesday to weigh in on a controversial biomass power plant proposed in Rothschild.
The project, a joint partnership of Milwaukee-based utility We Energies and Domtar Paper, has generated strong opinions from supporters and opponents alike since it was announced in September 2009. Public hearings on the project held by local entities and state regulators have drawn crowds in the hundreds, and on Tuesday, those hearings will draw to a close.
Both the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Public Service Commission must approve permits for the project before construction can begin.
The utility initially pushed for confirmation of the project by both agencies before the end of 2010. We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said construction still can be completed before 2013, making the plant eligible for a federal tax credit.
The members of the PSC could rule on the project at any time. DNR regulators gave preliminary approval for an air permit earlier this month, a key step for We Energies.
The approval process has been incremental, first at the local level with height variances from the village of Rothschild and the city of Wausau. The PSC also gave preliminary approval for the project and rejected requests for a comprehensive study of its potential environmental effects by opponents and environmental groups.
The plant, located next to the Domtar Mill on Old Highway 51 in Rothschild, would burn woody biomass from tree tops and other collected wood, supplying Domtar with steam for its paper-making process and We Energies with energy to sell.
by jboullion | Feb 25, 2011 | Uncategorized
The UW- Eau Claire Environmental Adventure Center (EAC) In Support of the UW-Eau Claire Confluence Center & Watershed Institute Presents the 6th Annual Aldo Banquet & Silent Auction.
Join us for this very special evening, featuring:
• Introduction of the Aldo Leopold land ethic
• Exquisite Native American dining: Smoked Buffalo with wild rice, nut-crusted river trout, and
…gourmet vegetarian options
• Musical entertainment courtesy of the “Stoop Singers”
• Special guests appearances by:
• Kenny Salwey: “Mississippi: Tales of the Last River Rat”
– Joe Knight: Eau Claire Leader Telegram outdoor writer/author
– Dr. Sean Hartnett: UW-Eau Claire Geography and Anthropology Department
– Dr. Garry Running: UW-Eau Claire Confluence Center & Watershed Institute
– Sam Worple and the student staff at the Environmental Adventure Center
Tickets: $15.00 Students $20.00 Faculty/Staff & Community Members.
This year’s proceeds benefit the Wisconsin Youth Success Program (WYSP); connecting Aldo Leopold with the “Next Generation”
Call Dan Langlois at 715-836-3616 or email langlodt@uwec.edu for more information.
by jboullion | Feb 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
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.
by jboullion | Feb 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
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.
by jboullion | Feb 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
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.
by jboullion | Feb 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
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.
by jboullion | Feb 21, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Cara Spoto in the Stevens Point Journal:
Two years ago, Stevens Point resident Rob Peck decided to make a career change.
“My kids were grown … and I thought I would really like to do something different,” Peck, 50, said. “I wanted to get into something that would be good for the community and society in general.”
So, after years of working in manufacturing and real estate sales, Peck applied to Mid-State Technical College to become a renewable energy specialist and energy-efficiency technician.
Now a design consultant at Northwind Renewable Energy in Stevens Point, which specializes in designing and installing renewable energy systems, Peck helps customers engineer the perfect solar energy system for their home or business.
Hired about a year ago, Peck was one of two MSTC students who interned with Northwind last summer. Josh Stolzenberg, one of Northwind’s owners, said the business plans to take on three new interns this summer. If things work out with the interns, Stolzenberg and his partner, Craig Buttke, plan to hire two of them.
Peck is one of many Wisconsinites looking toward sustainable technologies to shape his next career move. According to Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Chief Labor Economist Dennis Winters, sustainable industries and technologies have and will continue to play a key role in current and emerging job markets in Wisconsin.
The DWD projects that by the year 2018 “professional, scientific, and technical services” industry will be among the top 10 employers in the state.
“‘Green,’ as it were, actually permeates all industries and occupations,” Winters said.
by jboullion | Feb 21, 2011 | Uncategorized
To enlarge, click this ad which appeared in Sunday’s Milwuakee Journal Sentinel:
by jboullion | Feb 17, 2011 | Uncategorized
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?
