by jboullion | Mar 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
A letter to the editor of the Wausau Daily Herald:
Over the past two months, several hundred area residents have taken time to engage with us in positive, open conversations about the sustainable biomass energy plant that we’re proposing to build in Rothschild. Unfortunately, some facts continue to be misrepresented.
Fact: While there are many types of biomass that can be used for fuel, our plant will burn wood waste and wood waste only. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permit clearly defines the biomass fuel to be used. Any deviation from that would result in strict penalties. Further, Wisconsin’s abundant forests can provide biomass fuel for many decades to come.
Fact: Our new biomass facility will reduce emissions at the Domtar mill site by approximately 30 percent through the replacement of the mill’s aging boilers with newer, cleaner boilers.
Fact: The project will be constructed by Wisconsin companies — companies that will hire an estimated 400 local workers to build the plant. And importantly, along with the generation of renewable power, a cleaner running paper mill and the addition of 150 jobs related to sustainable wood harvesting, the new biomass plant will boost Domtar’s sustainable papermaking operations. That means the Domtar mill will be better positioned to continue providing quality jobs for future generations of area residents. It is our desire and responsibility to answer your questions and to present the facts and data on this important project in an open and responsible way. We look forward to continuing our conversations.
Al Mihm, We Energies, Milwaukee
by jboullion | Mar 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
76% support policies stronger than those in the Clean Energy Jobs Act
MADISON — More than three-quarters of Wisconsin voters support renewable energy policies requiring 30 percent of our state’s power to come from renewable sources, according to polling data released today by a bipartisan research group.
“An overwhelming majority of Wisconsin’s voters recognize the need to replace our dependence on dirty, imported fossil fuels with new investments in clean, renewable energy,” said Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization celebrating 40 years of service. “With no fossil fuel reserves of our own, transitioning toward renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, crops, and agricultural waste will help Wisconsin become more energy independent and economically prosperous.”
According to the data released today, 76 percent of Wisconsin voters support passing policies “ensuring that 30 percent of the state’s electricity comes from renewable sources.” Known as a renewable electricity standard, current policy ensures that only 10 percent of Wisconsin’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2015. The Clean Energy Jobs Act would set new goals by ensuring that 25 percent of our electricity comes from renewable resources by 2025.
“This data highlights the need to pass a strong renewable electricity standard in the Clean Energy Jobs Act,” said Reopelle. “Spending $16 billion dollars every year on out-of-state fossil fuels drains Wisconsin’s economy. By investing in renewable energy, we can create jobs and keep much of that money right here at home.”
by jboullion | Mar 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
76% support policies stronger than those in the Clean Energy Jobs Act
MADISON — More than three-quarters of Wisconsin voters support renewable energy policies requiring 30 percent of our state’s power to come from renewable sources, according to polling data released today by a bipartisan research group.
“An overwhelming majority of Wisconsin’s voters recognize the need to replace our dependence on dirty, imported fossil fuels with new investments in clean, renewable energy,” said Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization celebrating 40 years of service. “With no fossil fuel reserves of our own, transitioning toward renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, crops, and agricultural waste will help Wisconsin become more energy independent and economically prosperous.”
According to the data released today, 76 percent of Wisconsin voters support passing policies “ensuring that 30 percent of the state’s electricity comes from renewable sources.” Known as a renewable electricity standard, current policy ensures that only 10 percent of Wisconsin’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2015. The Clean Energy Jobs Act would set new goals by ensuring that 25 percent of our electricity comes from renewable resources by 2025.
“This data highlights the need to pass a strong renewable electricity standard in the Clean Energy Jobs Act,” said Reopelle. “Spending $16 billion dollars every year on out-of-state fossil fuels drains Wisconsin’s economy. By investing in renewable energy, we can create jobs and keep much of that money right here at home.”
by jboullion | Mar 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Richard Mial in the La Crosse Tribune:
One hundred high-speed rail advocates, several riding Amtrak from Minnesota, gathered Thursday in La Crosse to promote having the proposed Chicago-to-Twin Cities passenger train follow the river route used by Amtrak.
Billed as a rail “summit,” the event at Train Station BBQ featured Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi and Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel as keynote speakers.
“I really feel that this route will come out on top,” said Winona, Minn., Mayor Jerry Miller, who heads the Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission of officials from communities on Amtrak’s Empire Builder line.
“That route is the only shovel-ready route,” Miller told the group.
But the two state officials were noncommittal about which of three options might be chosen:
•Amtrak’s Empire Builder route through Tomah, La Crosse, Winona and Red Wing into St. Paul.
•Through Rochester to the Twin Cities. Rochester has never had a passenger rail connection to the Twin Cities.
•From Madison north to Eau Claire.
The two state transportation departments will recommend a choice to the Federal Rail Administration in late 2010 or early 2011, said Tom Faella, director of the La Crosse Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Wisconsin has received $8 million in federal stimulus to upgrade the Hiawatha route between Milwaukee and Chicago, and to begin planning an extension to the Twin Cities from Madison, which will have passenger rail service from Milwaukee.
by jboullion | Mar 19, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Richard Mial in the La Crosse Tribune:
One hundred high-speed rail advocates, several riding Amtrak from Minnesota, gathered Thursday in La Crosse to promote having the proposed Chicago-to-Twin Cities passenger train follow the river route used by Amtrak.
Billed as a rail “summit,” the event at Train Station BBQ featured Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi and Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel as keynote speakers.
“I really feel that this route will come out on top,” said Winona, Minn., Mayor Jerry Miller, who heads the Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission of officials from communities on Amtrak’s Empire Builder line.
“That route is the only shovel-ready route,” Miller told the group.
But the two state officials were noncommittal about which of three options might be chosen:
•Amtrak’s Empire Builder route through Tomah, La Crosse, Winona and Red Wing into St. Paul.
•Through Rochester to the Twin Cities. Rochester has never had a passenger rail connection to the Twin Cities.
•From Madison north to Eau Claire.
The two state transportation departments will recommend a choice to the Federal Rail Administration in late 2010 or early 2011, said Tom Faella, director of the La Crosse Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Wisconsin has received $8 million in federal stimulus to upgrade the Hiawatha route between Milwaukee and Chicago, and to begin planning an extension to the Twin Cities from Madison, which will have passenger rail service from Milwaukee.
by jboullion | Mar 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a guest column in The Country Today by Rick Adamski, an organic dairy farmer near Seymour, Outagamie County:
As a dairy farmer, I understand that wise investments reduce operating costs. On our farm we have seen the need to save energy as a means to flourish in a changing economy.
The state needs to learn this lesson. We can create opportunities in rural Wisconsin to become net energy producers through some common-sense policies such as the advanced renewable portfolio standard, the low-carbon fuel standard and the Energy Crop Reserve Program, three policies being considered in the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Assembly Bill 649 and Senate Bill 450). All of these policies encourage adoption of more renewable energy sources and open up a market for Wisconsin farmers.
But I especially want to emphasize the importance of another common-sense policy being considered: advanced renewable tariffs.
Advanced renewable tariffs are essentially a statewide, uniform buyback rate for renewable energy that is fed into the grid. Locally owned, small-scale energy systems won’t happen without these tariffs. Individuals need to know how much they will be paid for their energy before they invest.
I was fortunate to have had a We Energies experimental small wind buyback rate, which allowed me to build a wind turbine on our farm. It is unfortunate that there are people across the state with better wind resources than ours but worse buyback rates that keep them from producing renewable energy and earning a return. We need this bill to allow entrepreneurs to have fair access, no matter what utility they have.
While it seems an advanced renewable tariff is just common sense, some interests are actively trying to defeat this policy. Perspective is a quality that seems to be absent in so many political debates today, and the debate around the Clean Energy Jobs Act is no exception. It sure seems to me like the critics of this bill have a different understanding of the past or a lack of memory of the past.
At the basis of their argument is their belief that fossil fuels are cheap and will always be cheap. Both of those beliefs are wrong. We forget we are subsidizing fossil fuels. In the case of coal, currently 10 percent of the gross production is exempt from taxation. That is hardly a market-driven force.
by jboullion | Mar 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
A letter to the editor of The Capital Times by Keith Spruce of Milwaukee:
Dear Editor: Some opposition to the Clean Energy & Jobs Act (SB 450 & AB 649) rests on allegations of increases in the cost of energy under the act. This opposition could not find more contradiction when compared with the recent energy cost study report by Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission.
The Feb. 19 PSC study concludes that in all likelihood Wisconsin will be spending more on electricity in the long run if we don’t act to embrace renewable portfolio standards and take more aggressive action on energy efficiency. Somehow the cited a Wisconsin Policy Research Institute/Beacon Hill Institute study used as a basis to argue increased energy costs by some of the opposition could not be more off-key from our own state’s PSC analysis.
Every year, $16 billion leaves Wisconsin to pay for fuel. The Clean Energy Jobs Act is designed to improve our economy, save money and create jobs.
Maybe it’s a good to time to find common ground as we enter the post-peak-oil era and leave behind cheap fossil fuel that threatens us even more than a warm bottle of beer from global warming could.
Keith Spruce
Milwaukee
by jboullion | Mar 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a guest column in The Country Today by Rick Adamski, an organic dairy farmer near Seymour:
As a dairy farmer, I understand that wise investments reduce operating costs. On our farm we have seen the need to save energy as a means to flourish in a changing economy.
The state needs to learn this lesson. We can create opportunities in rural Wisconsin to become net energy producers through some common-sense policies such as the advanced renewable portfolio standard, the low-carbon fuel standard and the Energy Crop Reserve Program, three policies being considered in the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Assembly Bill 649 and Senate Bill 450). All of these policies encourage adoption of more renewable energy sources and open up a market for Wisconsin farmers.
But I especially want to emphasize the importance of another common-sense policy being considered: advanced renewable tariffs.
Advanced renewable tariffs are essentially a statewide, uniform buyback rate for renewable energy that is fed into the grid. Locally owned, small-scale energy systems won’t happen without these tariffs. Individuals need to know how much they will be paid for their energy before they invest.
I was fortunate to have had a We Energies experimental small wind buyback rate, which allowed me to build a wind turbine on our farm. It is unfortunate that there are people across the state with better wind resources than ours but worse buyback rates that keep them from producing renewable energy and earning a return. We need this bill to allow entrepreneurs to have fair access, no matter what utility they have.
While it seems an advanced renewable tariff is just common sense, some interests are actively trying to defeat this policy. Perspective is a quality that seems to be absent in so many political debates today, and the debate around the Clean Energy Jobs Act is no exception. It sure seems to me like the critics of this bill have a different understanding of the past or a lack of memory of the past.
At the basis of their argument is their belief that fossil fuels are cheap and will always be cheap. Both of those beliefs are wrong. We forget we are subsidizing fossil fuels. In the case of coal, currently 10 percent of the gross production is exempt from taxation. That is hardly a market-driven force.
by jboullion | Mar 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Environmental Law & Policy Center:
A new report from the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) demonstrates how farmers and rural small businesses are making clean energy the newest cash crop. From a Pennsylvania syrup maker that cut its energy costs in half, to an Illinois dairy that generates electricity frommanure (using a Wisconsin company’s technology), to a Montana brewery that taps solar power, clean energy is improving the bottom line for rural America.
Farm Energy Success Stories highlights clean energy projects made possible with grants and loan guarantees from the Farm Bill’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The report cover highlights a Wisconsin solar project in Burlington, Wisconsin and another Wisconsin solar project in Oak Creek is highlighted as a Success Story. A previous report highlighted the manure digester at Five Star Dairy in Elk Mound.
Wisconsin has benefitted from this federal program due to our clean energy leadership, as other states struggle to compete. Wisconsin farmers and rural small businesses have received over $15 million (third highest) in funding under the program, with most awards being for manure digesters, helping to make Wisconsin the national leader for (planned) farm digester development.
However, even with REAP funding, many of these digesters have not yet been built because Wisconsin’s farmers often have trouble getting a fair deal from utilities for their clean “cow power.” The Clean Energy Jobs Act — as currently drafted prior to weakening amendments — would change that by providing fair Advanced Renewable Tariffs (a.k.a. “renewable energy buyback rates”) for farm energy projects statewide.
“With the help of farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses, America and Wisconsin can make great strides toward solving our energy problems.” said Andy Olsen, Senior Policy Advocate for ELPC. “A strong Clean Energy Jobs Act can also create rural economic development, energy independence and a cleaner environment one farm at a time.”
by jboullion | Mar 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
A news release from the Public Service Commission:
The Public Service Commission (PSC) today announced appointments to Wisconsin’s Wind Siting Council, an advisory body created by 2009 Wisconsin Act 40 (Act 40). Act 40 directs the PSC to develop administrative rules that specify the restrictions that may be imposed on the installation or use of wind energy systems. The new law also requires the PSC to appoint a Wind Siting Council that will advise the PSC as it develops uniform wind siting standards for Wisconsin.
“I am very pleased to have the Wind Siting Council up and running,” said PSC Chairman Eric Callisto. “Wind siting regulation is complex and sometimes controversial. I look forward to the Council’s input as we develop these rules for Wisconsin, and I thank the Council members for their service.”
Council members were selected to adhere to Act 40’s specific categorical requirements. The following people have been appointed to serve on Wisconsin’s Wind Siting Council:
Dan Ebert, WPPI Energy
David Gilles, Godfrey & Kahn
Tom Green, Wind Capital Group
Jennifer Heinzen, Lakeshore Technical College
Andy Hesselbach, We Energies
George Krause Jr., Choice Residential LLC
Lloyd Lueschow, Green County
Jevon McFadden, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health
Tom Meyer, Restaino & Associates
Bill Rakocy, Emerging Energies of Wisconsin, LLC
Dwight Sattler, Landowner
Ryan Schryver, Clean Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
Larry Wunsch, Landowner
Doug Zweizig, Union Township
