by jboullion | May 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a blog post by Tom Content on JSonline:
Energy Composites Corp. will receive $45 million of tax-exempt bonds to assist in the construction of its wind power blade factory in Wisconsin Rapids, Gov. Jim Doyle’s office announced.
The company is receiving Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, which the facility is eligible for under a law that passed earlier this year that allows the state to maximize federal bonds to help fund projects.
Energy Composites, which employs 67 people, projects that its expansion will create up to 600 jobs.
The company’s factory is designed to produce up to 1,500 utility-scale wind blades per year, for use in both onshore and offshore wind farms.
Energy Composites said in a statement that it has completed the purchase of land in Wisconsin Rapids for its new factory. Two different properties were acquired — a 54-acre parcel for the 535,000-square-foot factory and a 41-acre parcel for the company’s logistics center.
The $54.4 million investment will be the first factory in North America designed to produce blades up to 65 meters long, which could position the company to deliver blades for large turbines both on land and offshore, according to the governor’s office.
Site improvements by the city of Wisconsin Rapids are under way, and the city has committed $7.5 million in development incentives toward the project.
by jboullion | May 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:
Planners of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail Monday gave up on waiting for state approval for transit taxes and chose to apply for federal planning money.
The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority will not get federal construction money for the estimated $232.7 million project without a state law letting local governments raise taxes to pay for transit. But the authority is eligible for planning money and, after delaying the application since January, chose to push ahead without the state law.
Lee Holloway, a member of the Southeastern RTA, said the approach will lead to pointless planning for the rail project.
“Why should we be moving forward if we don’t know what is going to take place?” said Holloway, who is chairman of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.
The RTA by June 21 will apply for Federal Transit Authority approval to begin engineering the KRM project.
A change in FTA policy means the agency now will consider an application for engineering money. But the project will not get federal construction grants until the state Legislature approves new taxes, such as a sales tax, for buses in the region, said Ken Yunker, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
The Legislature closed its session in April without Assembly or Senate votes on an RTA bill. The Legislature is unlikely to reconvene to discuss an RTA bill until early 2011, after state elections in November, said state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha.
by jboullion | May 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Crews will begin site preparation next week for the largest wind farm in Wisconsin, after state regulators finalized plans for the Glacier Hills Wind Park northeast of Madison.
We Energies of Milwaukee said it will erect 90 turbines at the wind farm, two more than it installed on its first large wind farm, near Fond du Lac, in 2008.
The cost of the Glacier Hills project came in at $367 million, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said. By comparison, the 88-turbine Blue Sky Green Field wind farm that opened two years ago cost $295 million.
The tab for We Energies’ customers isn’t yet known, but the company will seek to collect construction costs from ratepayers beginning in 2012, Manthey said.
Friday’s announcement came after the state Public Service Commission approved the sale of two Columbia County homes to We Energies. Both homes would have had at least nine turbines within one-half mile, and the commission directed We Energies to negotiate with the two property owners.
We Energies also had to reconfigure its turbine layout after the commission established bigger setbacks from the turbines for neighboring property owners than the utility had proposed.
Those larger setbacks addressed concerns about noise and shadow flicker – a phenomenon created by wind turbines’ rotating blades. The Coalition of Wisconsin Environmental Stewardship had raised concerns about the impact of turbines on property values and homeowners’ qualify of life.
The project is expected to be completed by late 2011 and generate 162 megawatts of power, or enough over a year’s time to supply 45,000 typical homes.
Both projects are needed to help diversify the utility’s energy mix and add more renewable power to comply with the state mandate requiring 10% of Wisconsin’s electricity to come from wind turbines, landfill gas projects and other types of renewable power by 2015, up from 5% this year.
Vestas Wind Systems is supplying turbines to We Energies for the Glacier Hills project, after supplying 88 turbines for the Fond du Lac County project.
Three Wisconsin firms have been hired to handle the project’s construction: The Boldt Co. of Appleton; Michels Corp. of Brownsville; and Edgerton Contractors of Oak Creek.
by jboullion | May 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Public Service Commission:
MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) is seeking public comment on the proposed wind siting rules, issued today by the PSC. The proposed rules will ultimately result in uniform wind siting standards for local units of government in Wisconsin and ensure consistent local procedures for regulation of wind energy systems. . . .
2009 Wisconsin Act 40 (Act 40) requires the PSC to promulgate a variety of rules that specify the conditions a city, village, town, or county (political subdivision) may impose on the installation or use of a wind energy system. If a political subdivision chooses to regulate such systems, its ordinances may not be more restrictive than the PSC’s rules. The PSC will also consider the restrictions specified in these rules when determining whether to grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a wind energy system over 100 megawatts.
The PSC established docket 1-AC-231 to conduct the rulemaking under Act 40. Act 40 requires the PSC to conduct this rulemaking with the advice of the Wind Siting Council. The Wind Siting Council is an advisory body created by Act 40. The Wind Siting Council members have begun to provide input to Commission staff concerning these rules during a series of meetings in early 2010. The PSC will seek comments from the Wind Siting Council on the proposed draft rules issued by the Commission.
Any person may submit written comments on these proposed rules. Comments on the proposed rules will be accepted until July 7, 2010, at noon (July 6, 2010, at noon, if filed by fax). The comments are considered when staff is drafting the rules.
The PSC will hold hearings to take testimony from the public regarding the proposed rules in the Amnicon Falls Hearing Room at the Public Service Commission Building, 610 North Whitney Way, Madison, Wisconsin, on June 30, 2010. Act 40 requires that hearings regarding these rules also be held in Monroe County and a county other than Dane or Monroe, where developers have proposed wind energy systems. The PSC will also hold public hearings on these proposed rules at City Hall, Legislative Chambers, 160 West Macy Street in Fond du Lac on June 28, 2010, and Holiday Inn, 1017 East McCoy Boulevard in Tomah on June 29, 2010.
More information on the Wind Siting Council and the wind siting rulemaking pursuant to Act 40 can be found by visiting the Commission’s website and clicking on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System (ERF) at http://psc.wi.gov. Type case numbers 1-AC-231 in the boxes provided on the ERF system. To comment on the proposed rules, click on the Public Comments button on the PSC’s homepage and scroll down to select Wind Siting Rulemaking.
by jboullion | May 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Public Service Commission:
MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) is seeking public comment on the proposed wind siting rules, issued today by the PSC. The proposed rules will ultimately result in uniform wind siting standards for local units of government in Wisconsin and ensure consistent local procedures for regulation of wind energy systems. . . .
2009 Wisconsin Act 40 (Act 40) requires the PSC to promulgate a variety of rules that specify the conditions a city, village, town, or county (political subdivision) may impose on the installation or use of a wind energy system. If a political subdivision chooses to regulate such systems, its ordinances may not be more restrictive than the PSC’s rules. The PSC will also consider the restrictions specified in these rules when determining whether to grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a wind energy system over 100 megawatts.
The PSC established docket 1-AC-231 to conduct the rulemaking under Act 40. Act 40 requires the PSC to conduct this rulemaking with the advice of the Wind Siting Council. The Wind Siting Council is an advisory body created by Act 40. The Wind Siting Council members have begun to provide input to Commission staff concerning these rules during a series of meetings in early 2010. The PSC will seek comments from the Wind Siting Council on the proposed draft rules issued by the Commission.
Any person may submit written comments on these proposed rules. Comments on the proposed rules will be accepted until July 7, 2010, at noon (July 6, 2010, at noon, if filed by fax). The comments are considered when staff is drafting the rules.
The PSC will hold hearings to take testimony from the public regarding the proposed rules in the Amnicon Falls Hearing Room at the Public Service Commission Building, 610 North Whitney Way, Madison, Wisconsin, on June 30, 2010. Act 40 requires that hearings regarding these rules also be held in Monroe County and a county other than Dane or Monroe, where developers have proposed wind energy systems. The PSC will also hold public hearings on these proposed rules at City Hall, Legislative Chambers, 160 West Macy Street in Fond du Lac on June 28, 2010, and Holiday Inn, 1017 East McCoy Boulevard in Tomah on June 29, 2010.
More information on the Wind Siting Council and the wind siting rulemaking pursuant to Act 40 can be found by visiting the Commission’s website and clicking on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System (ERF) at http://psc.wi.gov. Type case numbers 1-AC-231 in the boxes provided on the ERF system. To comment on the proposed rules, click on the Public Comments button on the PSC’s homepage and scroll down to select Wind Siting Rulemaking.
by jboullion | May 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Public Service Commission:
MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) is seeking public comment on the proposed wind siting rules, issued today by the PSC. The proposed rules will ultimately result in uniform wind siting standards for local units of government in Wisconsin and ensure consistent local procedures for regulation of wind energy systems. . . .
2009 Wisconsin Act 40 (Act 40) requires the PSC to promulgate a variety of rules that specify the conditions a city, village, town, or county (political subdivision) may impose on the installation or use of a wind energy system. If a political subdivision chooses to regulate such systems, its ordinances may not be more restrictive than the PSC’s rules. The PSC will also consider the restrictions specified in these rules when determining whether to grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a wind energy system over 100 megawatts.
The PSC established docket 1-AC-231 to conduct the rulemaking under Act 40. Act 40 requires the PSC to conduct this rulemaking with the advice of the Wind Siting Council. The Wind Siting Council is an advisory body created by Act 40. The Wind Siting Council members have begun to provide input to Commission staff concerning these rules during a series of meetings in early 2010. The PSC will seek comments from the Wind Siting Council on the proposed draft rules issued by the Commission.
Any person may submit written comments on these proposed rules. Comments on the proposed rules will be accepted until July 7, 2010, at noon (July 6, 2010, at noon, if filed by fax). The comments are considered when staff is drafting the rules.
The PSC will hold hearings to take testimony from the public regarding the proposed rules in the Amnicon Falls Hearing Room at the Public Service Commission Building, 610 North Whitney Way, Madison, Wisconsin, on June 30, 2010. Act 40 requires that hearings regarding these rules also be held in Monroe County and a county other than Dane or Monroe, where developers have proposed wind energy systems. The PSC will also hold public hearings on these proposed rules at City Hall, Legislative Chambers, 160 West Macy Street in Fond du Lac on June 28, 2010, and Holiday Inn, 1017 East McCoy Boulevard in Tomah on June 29, 2010.
More information on the Wind Siting Council and the wind siting rulemaking pursuant to Act 40 can be found by visiting the Commission’s website and clicking on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System (ERF) at http://psc.wi.gov. Type case numbers 1-AC-231 in the boxes provided on the ERF system. To comment on the proposed rules, click on the Public Comments button on the PSC’s homepage and scroll down to select Wind Siting Rulemaking.
by jboullion | May 13, 2010 | Uncategorized
From the announcement of keynote speakers for the Energy Fair of the Midwest Renewable Energy Associaiton:
On Saturday, June 19, 2010, join us to hear an inspirational keynote address from noted environmentalist, activist and author, Bill McKibben. Bill is the founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign. He frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstrations against global warming in American history.
Bill has written many books including The End of Nature and is a frequent contributor to various magazines including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside. He is also a board member and contributor to Grist Magazine. Bill has a new book out, Eaarth, that details how we can’t continue the unsustainable consumer culture and gives us hope for a more sustainable future.
Visit Bill McKibben’s website to learn more.
by jboullion | May 13, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a post by Jeff Sherman, president of OnMilwaukee.com, on Milwaukee Biz Blog:
One of the many things I truly love about Milwaukee is its commitment to its past and its steady, although sometimes too slow and sure, movement through its innovative present and onward to its future.
Streetcars, no doubt, are a testament to a city’s past but also to its success. Look at any modern, successful city and nearly all have integrated transportation systems that involve roads, sidewalks, highways, rail, streetcars, bikes, busses and more.
Milwaukee’s lagged way behind in the past 30 years, but now it’s poised to move forward in the transportation game. I know some cry about the costs. Honestly, its infrastructure that we need. I live downtown and rarely use the Marquette Interchange, but I pay for it and see its need. Sidewalks, roads and highways – they don’t “make money” but they do provide quality-of-life that we must have in greater Milwaukee.
I also realize that we can battle back and forth on ridership. Projections, though, show that Milwaukee’s 3.6-mile modern streetcar line is estimated to generate daily ridership of 3,800 passengers, a level that exceeds the ridership of all 11 MCTS Freeway Flyer routes and 12 of the 29 MCTS regular routes.
All numbers aside, it’s time once and for all to put petty politics behind and improve transportation in Milwaukee.
Transportation isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue; it’s a simple, quality-of-life matter.
So, here are my 8 reasons why you should look forward to the new streetcar system in downtown Milwaukee . . .
by jboullion | May 13, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — The massive coal-fired power plant Weston 4 must limit the visibility of pollutants leaving its main smokestack but does not need tighter controls for other emissions, an appeals court ruled today.
A three-judge panel of the District 4 Court of Appeals agreed with the Sierra Club that the state Department of Natural Resources erred when it did not require the smokestack for the plant’s main boiler to follow a federal visibility standard for pollutants on its air pollution permit.
Limiting the visibility of emissions effectively limits the amount of harmful particulate matter that becomes airborne. The DNR and the plant’s operator, Wisconsin Public Service Corp. of Green Bay, argued the visibility standard was unnecessary because emissions of particulate matter and sulfuric acid from the boiler were controlled in other ways.
The appeals court sided with the environmental group, which argued that the visibility standard was clearly required under the Clean Air Act. The rule will require continuous monitoring to ensure the pollution leaving the smokestack meets an opacity standard — that it is much closer to invisible than a thick black cloud of dust.
The court rejected the Sierra Club’s argument that the plant needs to install different technology to further reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The court found the limits set by the DNR were appropriate.
The $774 million plant near Wausau opened in 2008. It is owned by WPS and Dairyland Power Cooperative of La Crosse, and they say it is one of the cleanest coal plants in the nation.
The Sierra Club says it is nonetheless one of the largest pollution sources in central Wisconsin and has fought for years to strengthen the air permit.
by jboullion | May 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a post by Milwaukee Alerman Robert Bauman on the Milwaukee Biz Blog:
Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki has floated the idea of establishing a high-speed rail station in western Milwaukee County in the vicinity of the Milwaukee County Research Park. This is an excellent idea that deserves serious consideration by the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
In addition to the research park, this station would serve dense commercial development along Mayfair Road and the Milwaukee County Medical Complex. Employment in this area is second only to downtown Milwaukee. Moreover, this station would serve relatively dense suburban residential communities as well as west side Milwaukee neighborhoods.
A station on the high-speed rail line in the vicinity of Watertown Plank Road and Mayfair Road would be easily accessible via major arterial roads and within one mile of I-94 and Highway 45 interchanges and within one mile of busy Mayfair Mall. This station location would also be accessible to existing Milwaukee County Transit routes and could serve as an intermodal terminal for enhanced local transit service.
In short, this station location would generate significantly higher ridership than a stop in Brookfield.
