by jboullion | Jun 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kathleen Foody in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — An environmental advocacy giant has entered the fray surrounding a proposed biomass power plant in Rothschild.
The Sierra Club’s Wisconsin Clean Energy Campaign and the Clean Wisconsin advocacy group this week asked the state’s Public Service Commission to complete an assessment of all the ways the plant could affect the local environment, from noise to potential air or water pollutants.
The biomass plant was proposed by Milwaukee-based We Energies and the Domtar paper mill, where the plant would be built. The $250 million project isn’t subject to an automatic environmental impact statement under state statute, but the Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin argued in their request that the commission should perform a study anyway.
Jennifer Feyerherm, director of the campaign, said the organization isn’t taking a position for or against the plant, but said a study will provide useful information about the project.
“If we’re going to make decisions about how we create the energy we use, we need as much information as possible,” Feyerherm said.
The Public Service Commission still is in the process of conducting its own environmental evaluation to determine whether a formal study is necessary.
Requests for a study before the commission’s own review is completed are premature, Brian Manthey, spokesman for We Energies, said.
“We continue to provide whatever the commission needs for their environmental assessment,” Manthey said.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
They came from near and far, packing Legislative Chambers at the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac Monday to voice their opinions about proposed wind farm siting rules to be crafted by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The proposed rules would ultimately result in uniform wind farm siting standards for local units of government, replacing a patchwork of different rules and moratoriums that have been imposed by counties and towns around the state in relation to small wind power projects.
The public hearings, scheduled around the state this week, were launched by the state Legislature after it passed a uniform siting law in October.
Using citizen input, the PSC will draft legislation touching on controversial issues such as maximum sound levels and setback requirements. Once passed, municipalities considering ordinances for wind farms would not be allowed to make their local ordinance more restrictive than the state model. . . .
“Right now the proposed rules are just a draft; that’s why the public comments are very important. There are a lot of interested parties and we want to make sure this is a balanced process,” said Deborah Erwin, renewable energy policy analyst for the PSC.
Energy slacker
Barnaby Dinges, owner of a public relations firm and member of the American Wind Energy Association, warned that more restrictive rules for siting wind farms would further harm the state’s quest to build its alternative energy portfolio.
“Wisconsin is already an energy slacker. We’re the only Midwest state that doesn’t currently have a major wind energy project under construction,” Dinges said. “New restrictions will make the state even less desirable for development of wind projects.”
He pointed out that the Wisconsin PSC already has a rigorous wind farm approval process in place for wind farms over 100 mega watts.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
The PSC will hold a hearing in Tomah on June 29.
From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
They came from near and far, packing Legislative Chambers at the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac Monday to voice their opinions about proposed wind farm siting rules to be crafted by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The proposed rules would ultimately result in uniform wind farm siting standards for local units of government, replacing a patchwork of different rules and moratoriums that have been imposed by counties and towns around the state in relation to small wind power projects.
The public hearings, scheduled around the state this week, were launched by the state Legislature after it passed a uniform siting law in October.
Using citizen input, the PSC will draft legislation touching on controversial issues such as maximum sound levels and setback requirements. Once passed, municipalities considering ordinances for wind farms would not be allowed to make their local ordinance more restrictive than the state model. . . .
“Right now the proposed rules are just a draft; that’s why the public comments are very important. There are a lot of interested parties and we want to make sure this is a balanced process,” said Deborah Erwin, renewable energy policy analyst for the PSC.
Energy slacker
Barnaby Dinges, owner of a public relations firm and member of the American Wind Energy Association, warned that more restrictive rules for siting wind farms would further harm the state’s quest to build its alternative energy portfolio.
“Wisconsin is already an energy slacker. We’re the only Midwest state that doesn’t currently have a major wind energy project under construction,” Dinges said. “New restrictions will make the state even less desirable for development of wind projects.”
He pointed out that the Wisconsin PSC already has a rigorous wind farm approval process in place for wind farms over 100 mega watts.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
The PSC will hold a hearing in Tomah on June 29.
From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
They came from near and far, packing Legislative Chambers at the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac Monday to voice their opinions about proposed wind farm siting rules to be crafted by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The proposed rules would ultimately result in uniform wind farm siting standards for local units of government, replacing a patchwork of different rules and moratoriums that have been imposed by counties and towns around the state in relation to small wind power projects.
The public hearings, scheduled around the state this week, were launched by the state Legislature after it passed a uniform siting law in October.
Using citizen input, the PSC will draft legislation touching on controversial issues such as maximum sound levels and setback requirements. Once passed, municipalities considering ordinances for wind farms would not be allowed to make their local ordinance more restrictive than the state model. . . .
“Right now the proposed rules are just a draft; that’s why the public comments are very important. There are a lot of interested parties and we want to make sure this is a balanced process,” said Deborah Erwin, renewable energy policy analyst for the PSC.
Energy slacker
Barnaby Dinges, owner of a public relations firm and member of the American Wind Energy Association, warned that more restrictive rules for siting wind farms would further harm the state’s quest to build its alternative energy portfolio.
“Wisconsin is already an energy slacker. We’re the only Midwest state that doesn’t currently have a major wind energy project under construction,” Dinges said. “New restrictions will make the state even less desirable for development of wind projects.”
He pointed out that the Wisconsin PSC already has a rigorous wind farm approval process in place for wind farms over 100 mega watts.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Tower Tech Systems of Manitowoc will build 90 steel towers for Wisconsin’s largest wind farm, as We Energies adds a “buy-local” flavor to its renewable energy project near Madison.
The Manitowoc maker of wind turbine towers will build the 262-foot tall towers for turbine maker Vestas. The turbines will be erected next year in Columbia County at the $367 million Glacier Hills Wind Park.
The move comes as European companies like Vestas and Ingeteam look to expand their domestic production of wind power components.
Ingeteam last week broke ground on a $15 million wind power generator factory in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley.
For its part, Vestas is ramping up production of turbines, blades and towers at factories in Colorado.
But for this project, Vestas opted to work with Tower Tech Systems, a Manitowoc company that’s part of the wind component firm Broadwind Energy Inc. Including factories in Texas and South Dakota, Tower Tech is the third largest producer of wind towers in North America.
The value of the contract hasn’t been disclosed, but Chief Operating Officer Paul Smith said it will mean job security for employees at the sprawling Tower Tech complex near Lake Michigan.
As wind project development slowed because of the recession, Tower Tech laid off workers. But this contract and other orders placed by Vestas will enable Tower Tech, now employing 160, to bring back about 60 to 80 workers from layoff in the coming months, Smith said.
by jboullion | Jun 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From Madison Gas Electric:
“Many of us have seen giant wind turbines from the road… but very few people get a chance to go inside. In this story, see what’s in the core and climb with us to the very top of the turbine!
It’s a 26 story vertical climb in a very tight space. See how it’s done and find out how energy is transferred from the blades, into the nacell and down the core of the turbine”
by jboullion | Jun 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Rick Olivo in the La Crosse Tribune:
BARKSDALE, Wis. – One of the fundamental tenants of Christianity is the duty of Christians to care for those less well off than themselves.
Indeed, the New Testament plainly states that when one gives food to those who hunger, drink to those who thirst, they do more than aid a fellow human being.
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” reads Chapter 25 of the Book of Matthew.
It is an injunction that a number of bay area residents have taken to heart through the Northern Garden of Life, an effort to provide high quality fruits and vegetables, locally and sustainably grown, available at moderate cost to the general public, with profits and a substantial selection of the crop going to the BRICK ministries. The funds go to assist the BRICK’s programs for the needy and the vegetables and fruit are made available for distribution to families and individuals in need of food.
The Northern Garden of Life is located on a five-acre tract of land on Cherryville Road in the Town of Barksdale. Surrounded by woods, the farm is in its second year of operation and would be the envy of any home gardener. Surrounded by a deer and bear-proof fence, the field is exquisitely maintained by a corps of volunteers who give of their time to grow crops that include tomatoes, potatoes, corn, onions, garlic, squash, watermelons, beans, cucumbers, grapes, carrots, cantaloupes, herbs, cabbage, cauliflower, and a host of other garden delights. Water is supplied to the garden through slow-drip irrigation tubes placed next to the plants and fed from a 5,000-gallon plastic water tank that is, in turn, filled from a well dug on the property specifically to serve the facility. There is also a 2,500-gallon tank stocked with a fertilizer solution available.
The garden is located on land owned by Town of Barksdale resident George Vernon. He says the effort is a natural outgrowth of the beliefs held by the volunteers who keep the Northern Garden of Life going.
by jboullion | Jun 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nick Paulson in the Stevens Point Journal:
Stevens Point in 2009 spent more than $1.5 million on energy, used more than 73,000 million BTUs and emitted more than 21 million pounds of carbon dioxide, according to an inventory taken by the city.
As the city develops and implements a plan to cut its energy use, that inventory will be used as a benchmark with which to compare future use.
Where the biggest problems are depends on what the city’s goal ultimately is: decreasing energy use, energy cost or carbon emissions.
Sustainability coordinator Joe Kottwitz said the Stevens Point Energy Team, which is creating the plan, hasn’t decided specifically which to focus on yet. However, decreasing one likely will have positive effects on the others.
“If we use less energy and less electricity, odds are the taxpayers and ratepayers will receive those benefits,” said Mayor Andrew Halverson, who also is a member of the team.
Regardless of which avenue the city chooses, the primary focus likely will be electricity, which has the highest consumption (41 percent), cost (64 percent) and carbon dioxide emissions (71 percent) in the city.
That is because the electricity comes from coal-fueled power plants, Kottwitz said, which kick out a lot of emissions. Lighting is the most expensive use of energy for the city, costing almost $1 million, partially because it is powered by electricity, and partially because about half the streetlights are owned by Wisconsin Public Service, which charges a maintenance fee in addition to electricity fees.
by jboullion | Jun 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news story by Mary Rinzel on WEAU-TV — http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/97103734.html
As they lined up their lawn chairs in Chippewa County, their eyes were to the sky. It was a big day at Sylvan and Leona’s Rothbauer’s Tilden farm. It was a day more than three years in the making.
“I think it’s a good idea, I really do. I think we’re going the right way,” Leona says.
For years, Sylvan and Leona dreamed of putting up a wind turbine. Now, that dream is up and running.
“Every state we went through had wind turbines,” Sylvan says of a Midwest vacation some years back.
It was that vacation that planted an idea in the farmer’s mind. He started saving for a turbine of his own.
“I just decided I was going to get one up, put one up and see what it does anyway,” Sylvan says.
Wednesday, that turbine [Ventura VT10-240] started spinning thanks in part to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program.
“Nationwide, we’re going to fund more than $100 million worth of grants in this program this year. In Wisconsin, that’s going to be about 75 to 100 projects that we will fund this year,” says Jeff Hudson with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Hudson says the Rothbauers will get a $15,750 grant to cover 25 percent of the turbine’s $63,000 cost. The company [SolarWinds, Bloomer, WI] that put up the turbine says federal and state tax credits also help.
by jboullion | Jun 24, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathan Vine in the Stevens Point Journal:
CUSTER — Bill McKibben said he considered himself fortunate to be at the 21st annual Midwest Renewable Energy Fair.
Being in a Midwestern atmosphere that he characterized as “very clear, practical and ready to get things done,” McKibben said it was a great backdrop for the theme of his keynote address at the fair Saturday.
McKibben, an internationally known environmentalist and founder of the 350.org campaign, said those who seek to fight the planet’s climate problems face a difficult task.
“We’re losing, and losing pretty badly to do what we need to make this planet work,” McKibben said. “If we are going to win, it’s going to take an enormous amount of that practical spirit.”
In between being honored by a pair of standing ovations, and the announcement that the MREA had planted a tree in his honor next to others planted for founding members of the event and past speakers at the event, McKibben focused on the work that still needs to be done.
He pointed out that despite the obvious effects of too much carbon in the atmosphere — which now stands at 392 parts per million, and which he hopes to reduce to 350 — from the increase of global temperature to the pollutive effect on the oceans, political forces and the fossil fuel industry have successfully kept substantive change from being made.
“The only way we are going to have the kind of change we need is to radically increase the cost of fossil fuels,” McKibben said. “To do that, we need to be engaging in the political battle that we haven’t been able to.”
McKibben has tried to rally support to that battle through his work with 350.org. In 2009, he and his team coordinated some 5,200 events in 181 countries in one day to bring awareness to the problem of carbon. This year on Oct. 10, they are planning a global work party, where people can take on environmentally friendly projects.
