by jboullion | Dec 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From Scenic Valley:
Scenic Valley Farms recently installed the first subterranean solar thermal high tunnel at our farm in Readstown. The novel system is designed to significantly extend the growing season while also providing winter protection for blackberries.
The system works by capturing the energy of the sun and releasing it to moderate temperatures. Throughout the day, thermostatically controlled intake fans draw heated air from near the peak of the high tunnel and store the energy below ground in a thermal mass. When supplemental heat is needed to maintain optimal growing conditions, these same fans pull the cooler air through the thermal mass where it is warmed before circulating back into the high tunnel.
Solar thermal heating and cooling systems are a key technology in the SHARE farms being developed by our company. They are also ideal as a standalone technology for high tunnel growers who want to improve the profitability and sustainability of their farms.
The initial system was placed in operation in late November and we have installed temperature data loggers in both a traditional and the solar heated high tunnel to compare the results.
We have also applied for a 1603 grant to offset 30 percent of the installation costs and will be notified within 60 days if our request is approved.
by jboullion | Dec 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jessica Vanegeren in The Dunn County News:
MADISON — Train boosters in Wisconsin aren’t the only ones frustrated with Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s promise to kill the proposed rail link between Madison and Milwaukee: so are our neighbors to the west.
“Obviously, if we don’t have a willing partner, it makes it more difficult to move forward,” says Dan Krom, director of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s passenger rail office. “We all have our state politics to deal with, and the fact Wisconsin is in the middle (between Minnesota and Illinois) is a problem.”
If Wisconsin refuses to get on board and Walker turns away $810 million in federal stimulus money to pay for rail service between Milwaukee and Madison, it is unlikely Minnesota would see its largest metropolitan area connected to the proposed nine-state Midwest rail line anytime soon.
by jboullion | Dec 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
Living Activism Night at The Coffee House
631 N. 19th Street Milwaukee, WI 53233
Sun. Dec. 12 – Living Activism Night presents a benefit for URBAN AGRICULTURE hosted by Godsil and friends featuring music from the wonderful band EMBEDDED REPORTER. Free-will donation with all door $ going to the benefited org. Be generous! 7pm
by jboullion | Dec 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
by jboullion | Dec 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
by jboullion | Dec 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Rod Stetzer in The Chippewa Herald:
EAU CLAIRE — Chippewa Falls has a lot at stake if the high-speed rail project from the Twin Cities to Chicago finally gets a green light.
Two of the final 10 routes being considered for the passenger train traveling up to 110-mph would go through the city, while two would go through Eau Claire (one route would go through both Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire).
But the fate of the project is unclear, in part because of Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s pledge to reject federal money for a line between Madison and Milwaukee.
Wisconsin and Minnesota are each contributing $300,000 toward the rail study, with the federal government paying $600,000. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is administering the federal grant.
Chippewa Falls City Planner Jayson Smith summed up Wednesday’s informational session in Eau Claire, a meeting that drew a standing-room only crowd at the Best Western Trail Lodge.
“This is just an initial study,” Smith said, pointing out that Wednesday’s session was only part of the process.
On Tuesday, Smith noted, the Chippewa Falls City Council will be invited to the Gateway Coalition, a group that will look at several factors, including the increasing volume of traffic on Interstate 94.
The high-speed rail study is inching along. A decision on the final route for the project won’t come until July 2012, said Charles H. Quandel of the Chicago consulting firm of Quandel Engineering Services.
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
For immediate release
More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Wisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal Prices
Long-considered an inexpensive and reliable fuel source, coal has become subject to market and regulatory pressures that threaten to make it an expensive and risky way to generate electricity, according to national news reports and pertinent utility filings with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC).
“The expectation of continued increases in coal prices reinforces the value of relying on Wisconsin’s own energy resources. If there’s an effort to find savings for utility customers, the logical move would be to shutter antiquated coal plants before they become more of a liability,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide, nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization.
A key driver behind coal’s rising cost is China, which has moved from an exporter to an importer of coal. The New York Times (NYT) reported last week that Chinese coal imports will hit all-time highs for November and December of this year. Some of this coal is coming from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the coal field that also supplies many Wisconsin power plants.1
In the New York Times story, an executive from Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company, predicted that his company will send larger and larger quantities of coal to China in the coming years.
Further adding to the upward price pressure on coal is the rising cost of diesel fuel. The PSC has estimated that half of the delivered cost of coal in Wisconsin is attributable to rail shipment, that is highly sensitive to the price of diesel fuel, which sells for 38 cents more per gallon than it did a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.2 Tom Whipple, editor of the Peak Oil Review, expects diesel fuel supplies to tighten in 2011 as a consequence of flat production volumes and increasing demand from Asia.3 This phenomenon could affect Wisconsin electric utility rates as early as January 2011, according to Vickerman.
We Energies’ coal costs have escalated by $57 million, of which transportation costs account for almost $33 million, according to the utility’s most recent rate filing with the PSC. On top of that, We Energies expects to pay an additional $8 million in oil surcharge costs.4
Click to continue
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
For immediate release
More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Wisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal Prices
Long-considered an inexpensive and reliable fuel source, coal has become subject to market and regulatory pressures that threaten to make it an expensive and risky way to generate electricity, according to national news reports and pertinent utility filings with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC).
“The expectation of continued increases in coal prices reinforces the value of relying on Wisconsin’s own energy resources. If there’s an effort to find savings for utility customers, the logical move would be to shutter antiquated coal plants before they become more of a liability,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide, nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization.
A key driver behind coal’s rising cost is China, which has moved from an exporter to an importer of coal. The New York Times (NYT) reported last week that Chinese coal imports will hit all-time highs for November and December of this year. Some of this coal is coming from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the coal field that also supplies many Wisconsin power plants.1
In the New York Times story, an executive from Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company, predicted that his company will send larger and larger quantities of coal to China in the coming years.
Further adding to the upward price pressure on coal is the rising cost of diesel fuel. The PSC has estimated that half of the delivered cost of coal in Wisconsin is attributable to rail shipment, that is highly sensitive to the price of diesel fuel, which sells for 38 cents more per gallon than it did a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.2 Tom Whipple, editor of the Peak Oil Review, expects diesel fuel supplies to tighten in 2011 as a consequence of flat production volumes and increasing demand from Asia.3 This phenomenon could affect Wisconsin electric utility rates as early as January 2011, according to Vickerman.
We Energies’ coal costs have escalated by $57 million, of which transportation costs account for almost $33 million, according to the utility’s most recent rate filing with the PSC. On top of that, We Energies expects to pay an additional $8 million in oil surcharge costs.4
Click to continue
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
For immediate release
More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Wisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal Prices
Long-considered an inexpensive and reliable fuel source, coal has become subject to market and regulatory pressures that threaten to make it an expensive and risky way to generate electricity, according to national news reports and pertinent utility filings with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC).
“The expectation of continued increases in coal prices reinforces the value of relying on Wisconsin’s own energy resources. If there’s an effort to find savings for utility customers, the logical move would be to shutter antiquated coal plants before they become more of a liability,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide, nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization.
A key driver behind coal’s rising cost is China, which has moved from an exporter to an importer of coal. The New York Times (NYT) reported last week that Chinese coal imports will hit all-time highs for November and December of this year. Some of this coal is coming from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the coal field that also supplies many Wisconsin power plants.1
In the New York Times story, an executive from Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company, predicted that his company will send larger and larger quantities of coal to China in the coming years.
Further adding to the upward price pressure on coal is the rising cost of diesel fuel. The PSC has estimated that half of the delivered cost of coal in Wisconsin is attributable to rail shipment, that is highly sensitive to the price of diesel fuel, which sells for 38 cents more per gallon than it did a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.2 Tom Whipple, editor of the Peak Oil Review, expects diesel fuel supplies to tighten in 2011 as a consequence of flat production volumes and increasing demand from Asia.3 This phenomenon could affect Wisconsin electric utility rates as early as January 2011, according to Vickerman.
We Energies’ coal costs have escalated by $57 million, of which transportation costs account for almost $33 million, according to the utility’s most recent rate filing with the PSC. On top of that, We Energies expects to pay an additional $8 million in oil surcharge costs.4
Click to continue
