by jboullion | Aug 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Andrew Weiland in BizTimes.com:
Although U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood insists that high-speed rail is inevitable in the state, Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials indicate a new governor could stop the $810 million project planned between Milwaukee and Madison. However, it would be costly to do so.
The Republican candidates for governor in Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Congressman Mark Neumann, have pledged to stop the high-speed rail project if elected.
“As governor, I will stop this train dead in its tracks,” Walker said.
“This is an Obama wasteful spending boondoggle that I will stop immediately in its tracks as governor,” Neumann said. . . .
Although the federal government is providing the construction funds for the Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail project, the state Department of Transportation, and not the federal government, is in charge of the project, said John Oimoen, passenger rail program manager for the Wisconsin DOT.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. DOT declined to directly answer a question asking if a future governor could cancel the high-speed rail project in Wisconsin.
“We’re not going to speculate on hypothetical situations,” said U.S. DOT spokeswoman Olivia Alair.
If a new governor wants to stop the high-speed rail project, the federal funds would have to be sent back to the federal government. By the time a new governor is sworn in, in January, the state will have allocated more than $100 million in engineering and construction contracts, Oimoen said. Construction is expected to begin in October on “land bridges” over wetland areas west of Watertown, he said.
A new governor could direct the Department of Transportation to cancel engineering and construction contracts. However, the state would have to pay a “significant” amount of money to contractors for claims that they would make for their equipment, material and labor costs incurred on their cancelled projects, said Paul Trombino, division operations director for the state DOT.
“I’m not saying it can’t be done,” Trombino said. “We have the ability to get out, but there could be significant costs to get out of a contract.”
The state has a $2.5 billion budget deficit, which could make it difficult to find funds to reimburse the federal government for money already spent on the high-speed rail project by January when the new governor takes office, and to pay the claims filed by contractors for the cancelled contracts.
“In the short term, it creates a major budget problem if we just decide we’re going to stop everything and scramble to send the funds back to Washington that we have already spent,” said state Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee). “I think it will be very difficult to cancel the project, and I think it would be unwise to do so.”
by jboullion | Aug 20, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kathleen Foody in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — The village Board of Appeals gave advocates of a controversial proposed biomass plant a boost Thursday, approving the installation of stacks and a boiler building higher than village ordinances typically permit.
About 275 residents attended the hearing at the Rothschild Pavilion, but the crowd had dwindled to double digits after about five hours of testimony.
The ultimate question of the hearing was whether the height of four structures proposed in the site plans was detrimental to the village. But opponents and proponents discussed air quality, noise, truck traffic and other issues that routinely have been raised since the $250 million project was announced in September 2009.
“When we built our homes here, we all knew what the rules were,” Rothschild resident Thomas Jessup said during the hearing. “With this plant, we just don’t know enough. I’m all for jobs and those are all good people working at Domtar, but there’s not enough information.”
Most opponents began their testimony with “I live in Rothschild,” and asked the board not to make an exception in the village’s height limits and to remember residents in their deliberations.
Joe Twaroski, who has worked at the Domtar mill for 28 years, went to the hearing in support of the biomass project and to “put a face” on the paper producer’s employees.
He said he’s one of the mill employees constantly monitoring emissions and finding a solution for any unusual readings.
We Energies and Domtar presented data backing the variances during the hearing. Experts on air quality, property values, traffic and construction of the plant gave individual presentations.
by jboullion | Aug 20, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation:
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is announcing two community workshops to discuss the design process for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail project. The workshops are scheduled from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on August 25, 2010 and August 30, 2010. The August 25 workshop will be held at the Sun Prairie Municipal Building, 300 E. Main Street, Sun Prairie, WI. The August 30 workshop will be held at the Waterloo High School at 865 N. Monroe Street, Waterloo, WI.
At the workshop WisDOT and consultant staff will be available to discuss design activities in the Milwaukee-Madison rail corridor. Staff is also interested in hearing from the community on issues of concern to them as design continues to get underway. The team preparing the planning and environmental studies for rail stations in the corridor will also be on hand to answer questions about the station development process.
The public is encouraged to attend the meeting, provide input and ask questions concerning this project. Maps showing project corridor and potential station sites will be on display.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, or would like more information, contact Alyssa Macy at (414) 550-9407. Written comments regarding the project can be mailed to Alyssa Macy, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, High-Speed Passenger Rail Program Management Team, 433 W. St. Paul Avenue, Suite 300, Milwaukee, WI 53203-3007. To request an interpreter for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, please call 711, the Wisconsin Telecommunication Relay System, at least three working days prior to the meeting. Ask the communication assistant to contact Alyssa Macy of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation at (414) 550-9407.
For more information, contact:
Alyssa Macy, High Speed Rail Program
(414) 550-9407, WisconsinRail@dot.wi.gov
by jboullion | Aug 20, 2010 | Uncategorized
From the testimony of Michael Vickerman in opposition to the request of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation to increase the cost of renewable energy purchased by customers in the NatureWise green-pricing program:
The purpose of my testimony is threefold: (1) to discuss how basing buyback rates on locational marginal pricing (LMP’s) penalizes low-risk renewable energy sources; (2) to encourage Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS), with the support of the Commission, to establish a net energy billing tariff for small wind energy systems up to 100 kilowatts and (3) to urge the Commission to hold WPS’s NatureWise premium at 1.25 cents/kWh.
by jboullion | Aug 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a blog post by Larry Sandler on JSOnline.com:
The debate over a planned high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison has spawned dueling websites and online petition drives.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker, who is stressing his opposition to the train route as a key campaign issue, recently set up a “Stop the Train!” site, www.notrain.com. Visitors to that site are encouraged to sign on to Walker’s open letter to President Barack Obama opposing the project, which would be built with $810 million in federal stimulus money but then would require $10 million a year in state tax dollars to operate.
Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, faces former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, also a high-speed rail critic, in the Sept. 14 GOP primary. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the leading Democratic candidate, supports the train line.
In response to Walker’s site, the Midwest High Speed Rail Association set up its own Web page to back the rail project. Visitors to that page can send a message to gubernatorial candidates and elected officials voicing support for the train line.
by jboullion | Aug 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kevin Featherly in The Daily Reporter:
Minneapolis — Looking to get their share of transit money, leaders from eastern Twin Cities suburbs are planning a $1.4 million, 18-month study to identify mass transit options for the Interstate 94 corridor into Wisconsin.
The leaders, known as the Gateway Corridor Commission, hired CH2M Hill, a global engineering, consulting and construction firm with offices in Mendota Heights.
Ted Schoenecker, transportation planning manager for the Washington County Public Works Department, said the commission is approaching the study with no preconceived notions about which mass transit option would be best for the stretch of I-94 from St. Paul into Wisconsin, known as the Gateway Corridor.
Some options include a light rail line from St. Paul to Woodbury; a light rail line to Woodbury with a bus rapid transit link to Eau Claire; and a commuter rail line from St. Paul to Eau Claire that could share infrastructure with a high-speed passenger rail line that might one day run from St. Paul to Chicago.
Schoenecker said those are a few among many possibilities. “There could be 400 options beyond that,” he said. “So determining the best options is really the gist of what this study is going to do.”
The commission will launch its study in September and should complete it by spring of 2012. The study will determine potential ridership, project alignment, transit mode and costs for a transit way along the corridor.
Clint Gridley, Woodbury’s city administrator, said developing a mass transit strategy along the corridor is one of his city’s economic development priorities.
by jboullion | Aug 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Randy Hanson in the by Hudson Star-Observer:
The electric car is about to become a much more commonplace sight on the streets of American cities, a former Ford Europe engineer told an audience in Hudson last Thursday evening.
Jukka Kukkonen, a native of Finland and president of the Minnesota Electric Auto Association, spoke to 55 people who attended a presentation on electric vehicles at The Phipps Center for the Arts. The meeting was sponsored by The Purple Tree, a downtown Hudson retail shop that specializes in fair trade products and ones made from recycled or organic materials.
“This is the cool part, because there is so much new stuff coming out each day,” Kukkonen said before introducing a dozen or more electric vehicles currently available or about to be produced.
They included the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Mini E by BMW and Ford Focus Electric.
“Everybody’s on board. Now it’s just for us to think about which one we want,” said Kukkonen, who moved to St. Paul eight years ago after marrying an American he met while working for Ford Europe.
“The train is moving. The question is who is going to jump on board and who is going to stay at the station,” he later said of automobile companies. “Definitely, there is a new market and a new industry. The question is who is going to be a part of it.”
by jboullion | Aug 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jessica Larsen in The Tomah Journal:
A Pewaukee-based company applied to rebuild and upgrade an existing 17-mile electric transmission line that connects the Monroe County substation near Sparta and one near Tomah.
American Transmission Company filed the application with the Public Service Commission on July 29 for the $36 million project. By January 2011, ATC will receive the commission’s decision. If the company gets the go-ahead, construction would begin in summer 2012 and finish in summer 2013.
ATC would also build a new Timberwolf Substation 1/2 mile south of Interstate 90 along Hwy. 131 as part of the project to improve electric system reliability.
ATC’s project plan involves replacing the structures and wires of the existing 69-kilovolt transmission line, which runs mostly along Hwy. 16, and then adding a 161-kilovolt circuit to the new steel structures.
The existing system is about 40 years old, the company reports, and is susceptible to overloads and severe low voltages. The project would increase the reliability of the electrical system. ATC also said that the project would show economic savings by increasing the system’s ability to access lower-cost generation and reducing energy loss.
by jboullion | Aug 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Sierra Magazine:
Sierra magazine has named the nation’s top 20 “coolest” schools for their efforts to stop climate change and educate students about sustainability. From Green Mountain College’s innovative biomass electricity generation to Georgia Tech’s sustainable engineering classes, the magazine’s September/October cover story spotlights the schools that are making a true difference for the planet, and marks Sierra’s fourth annual listing of America’s greenest universities and colleges. The complete scorecard is available online at www.sierraclub.org/coolschools.
“With all of the environmental challenges we face, it’s heartening to see the leadership these schools demonstrate when it comes to protecting the planet,” said Michael Brune, the Sierra Club’s executive director. “This generation of students cares deeply about protecting the environment, stopping global warming, and increasing our prosperity through innovation.”
From small, environmentally focused liberal arts colleges to the largest research universities, schools across the country are helping to move the country towards a more sustainable future.
Sierra’s Top 20 coolest schools of 2010 are:
1. Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vermont)
2. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
3. Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
4. University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
5. Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)
6. University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California)
7. Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin)
8. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
9. College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine)
10. Hampshire College (Amherst, Massachusetts)
11. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
11. [TIE] Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
13. University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
14. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)
15. University California, San Diego (San Diego, California)
16. University of California, Davis (Davis, California)
16. [TIE] University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)
18. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
19. New York University (New York, New York)
20. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)
by jboullion | Aug 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathan Phelps in the Green Bay Press Gazette:
Vorpahl Fire & Safety did not build its business with commercial wind generation in mind, but it’s one of many companies that consider that industry a key opportunity for expansion.
For the last few months, Vorpahl has sold protective gear designed for workers in the wind energy sector, including safety harnesses, hard hats, gloves, high-visibility vests and tool bags.
Wind energy is a market the business is banking on for continued growth in the coming years.
“We’ve been trying to figure out creative ways to break into other, untapped, segments, and wind energy came up because it is really big in other parts of the country and it’s starting to catch on in Wisconsin,” said Chris Vorpahl, marketing coordinator. “Love it or hate it … wind turbines are going to be here, and we want to provide the protection for the people maintaining, installing it and assembling it.”
Throughout the area, sectors that are one or more rings down the supply chain from the manufacture of wind turbines are grabbing a piece of the burgeoning industry.
New North, a nonprofit economic development organization, is setting up an October event in Milwaukee aimed at identifying business opportunities in the wind sector, said Jerry Murphy executive director of New North.
