by jboullion | Feb 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Trash would be converted into electricity at Project Apollo, a renewable energy project proposed for Milwaukee’s north side, developers said Tuesday.
Alliance Federated Energy announced plans to develop a $225 million renewable energy plant that would create 250 construction jobs and 45 full-time jobs. The first phase of the project is expected to be running by 2013.
The plant would use technology developed by Westinghouse Plasma Corp. of Madison, Pa., to convert the waste at high heat into a synthetic gas, or syngas. That, in turn, could be used as a fuel to generate power.
The first phase of the renewable energy facility is expected to process about 1,200 tons of municipal and industrial waste per day. That would generate 25 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power roughly 20,000 typical homes, according to Alliance Federated Energy. A second phase is envisioned that would generate another 25 megawatts of power, company spokesman Josh Morby said.
Alliance is a Milwaukee-based company that focuses on developing and financing renewable energy projects. The company was founded in 2005, and Apollo is its first announced project.
The location of the project hasn’t been announced, but the developer is planning to locate in Milwaukee.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a question-and-answer summary of the Low Carbon Fuels Standard included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill written by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, for Clean Wisconsin:
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (SB 450 and AB 649), announced recently by Governor Doyle, has been introduced by both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by the governor’s Climate Change Task Force. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, if adopted, will increase Wisconsin’s use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fuels and cleaner cars. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in the bill would be established based on recommendations currently under development by a broad stakeholder group of the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA).
Below are a series of answers to frequently asked question about how an LCFS will impact biofuels and oil sands (compiled by Pete Taglia of Clean Wisconsin and member of the Midwestern Governors Association’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Advisory Group). If you have questions about the LCFS you can contact Pete Taglia at ptaglia@cleanwisconsin.org.
Question: What is a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)?
A LCFS is a fuel policy that will help break our dependence on foreign sources of oil and promote energy independence by gradually moving Wisconsin toward the cleanest and most efficient sources of transportation fuels. A LCFS rates different types of transportation fuels by their efficiency and carbon footprint and allows fuel providers to choose what mix of fuels will be used to meet the requirement.
Question: What types of fuels qualify for an LCFS?
An LCFS policy is unique in that all transportation fuels are able to compete in the fuel market, including the following resources:
• Ethanol: Alcohol fuel made from corn or cellulose (wood, plant stalks, harvest residues, etc.). Wisconsin has 8 corn ethanol plants producing almost 500 million gallons per year.
• Biodiesel: A diesel substitute (mono alkl ester) made from vegetable and animal oils that is then mixed with petroleum diesel (e.g., B20 is 20% biodiesel). Wisconsin has 8 biodiesel plants that use soybean oil, waste animal fats, and waste grease feedstocks.
• Renewable diesel: A fuel chemically similar to petroleum diesel (a hydrocarbon fuel) but made with renewable resources such as wood waste. Flambeau River Biofuels in Park Falls and New Page in Wisconsin Rapids both received Department of Energy grants to produce renewable diesel from wood waste.
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): Wisconsin has approximately 20 CNG fueling stations and two school district bus systems that use natural gas. ANGI Energy Systems of Milton is a leading manufacturer of CNG fueling systems and Wisconsin leads the nation in the production of biogas from dairy manure and food wastes.
• Electricity: Wisconsin has numerous electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of state, utility and private car fleets. Wisconsin’s largest corporation, Johnson Controls, is a leading battery manufacturer that won a recent contract to supply batteries to Ford’s new electric van and Columbia Parcar of Reedsburg manufacturers a line of electric utility vehicles in WI.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a question-and-answer summary of the Low Carbon Fuels Standard included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill written by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, for Clean Wisconsin:
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (SB 450 and AB 649), announced recently by Governor Doyle, has been introduced by both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by the governor’s Climate Change Task Force. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, if adopted, will increase Wisconsin’s use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fuels and cleaner cars. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in the bill would be established based on recommendations currently under development by a broad stakeholder group of the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA).
Below are a series of answers to frequently asked question about how an LCFS will impact biofuels and oil sands (compiled by Pete Taglia of Clean Wisconsin and member of the Midwestern Governors Association’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Advisory Group). If you have questions about the LCFS you can contact Pete Taglia at ptaglia@cleanwisconsin.org.
Question: What is a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)?
A LCFS is a fuel policy that will help break our dependence on foreign sources of oil and promote energy independence by gradually moving Wisconsin toward the cleanest and most efficient sources of transportation fuels. A LCFS rates different types of transportation fuels by their efficiency and carbon footprint and allows fuel providers to choose what mix of fuels will be used to meet the requirement.
Question: What types of fuels qualify for an LCFS?
An LCFS policy is unique in that all transportation fuels are able to compete in the fuel market, including the following resources:
• Ethanol: Alcohol fuel made from corn or cellulose (wood, plant stalks, harvest residues, etc.). Wisconsin has 8 corn ethanol plants producing almost 500 million gallons per year.
• Biodiesel: A diesel substitute (mono alkl ester) made from vegetable and animal oils that is then mixed with petroleum diesel (e.g., B20 is 20% biodiesel). Wisconsin has 8 biodiesel plants that use soybean oil, waste animal fats, and waste grease feedstocks.
• Renewable diesel: A fuel chemically similar to petroleum diesel (a hydrocarbon fuel) but made with renewable resources such as wood waste. Flambeau River Biofuels in Park Falls and New Page in Wisconsin Rapids both received Department of Energy grants to produce renewable diesel from wood waste.
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): Wisconsin has approximately 20 CNG fueling stations and two school district bus systems that use natural gas. ANGI Energy Systems of Milton is a leading manufacturer of CNG fueling systems and Wisconsin leads the nation in the production of biogas from dairy manure and food wastes.
• Electricity: Wisconsin has numerous electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of state, utility and private car fleets. Wisconsin’s largest corporation, Johnson Controls, is a leading battery manufacturer that won a recent contract to supply batteries to Ford’s new electric van and Columbia Parcar of Reedsburg manufacturers a line of electric utility vehicles in WI.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Josh Stolzenburg (center), owner of North Wind Renewable Energy, LLC, Stevens Point, joined Michael Vickerman (left) and Dave Miller, Wave Wind, LLC, Sun Prairie, in testifying in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill before the Special Assembly Committee on Climate Change. Vickerman leans forward to show the committee members a map of renewable energy installations.
From a summary of Michael Vickerman’s (RENEW Wisconsin)
testimony before the Assembly Special Committee on Clean Energy
February 2, 2010:
RENEW Wisconsin strongly supports the provisions in SB450/AB649 to expand the state’s Renewable Energy Standard to 25% by 2025, which includes a 10% in-state renewable energy set-aside. RENEW has evaluated the availability of specific resources to reach that standard and has concluded that meeting such a target is technically feasible. If adopted, the in-state set-aside will become the most powerful engine for job development and capital investment over the next 15 years.
We expect such a requirement to be achieved through a combination of utility-scale power plants and smaller-scale generating units dispersed throughout Wisconsin. With respect to distributed renewable generation, we note the following:
1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.
2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.
3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Last week, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.
4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.
5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Michael Vickerman, Josh Stolzenburg (center), owner of North Wind Renewable Energy, LLC, Stevens Point, and a spokesman for Wave Wind, LLC, Sun Prairie, testify in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill before the Special Assembly Committee on Climate Change. Vickerman leans forward to show the committee members a map of renewable energy installations.
From a summary of Michael Vickerman’s (RENEW Wisconsin)
testimony before the Assembly Special Committee on Clean Energy
February 2, 2010:
RENEW Wisconsin strongly supports the provisions in SB450/AB649 to expand the state’s Renewable Energy Standard to 25% by 2025, which includes a 10% in-state renewable energy set-aside. RENEW has evaluated the availability of specific resources to reach that standard and has concluded that meeting such a target is technically feasible. If adopted, the in-state set-aside will become the most powerful engine for job development and capital investment over the next 15 years.
We expect such a requirement to be achieved through a combination of utility-scale power plants and smaller-scale generating units dispersed throughout Wisconsin. With respect to distributed renewable generation, we note the following:
1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.
2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.
3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Last week, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.
4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.
5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Summary of Michael Vickerman’s (RENEW Wisconsin)
testimony before the
Assembly Special Committee on Clean Energy
February 2, 2010
RENEW Wisconsin strongly supports the provisions in SB450/AB649 to expand the state’s Renewable Energy Standard to 25% by 2025, which includes a 10% in-state renewable energy set-aside. RENEW has evaluated the availability of specific resources to reach that standard and has concluded that meeting such a target is technically feasible. If adopted, the in-state set-aside will become the most powerful engine for job development and capital investment over the next 15 years.
We expect such a requirement to be achieved through a combination of utility-scale power plants and smaller-scale generating units dispersed throughout Wisconsin. With respect to distributed renewable generation, we note the following:
1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.
2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.
3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Last week, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.
4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.
5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.
In stark contrast to other states, Wisconsin has a well developed market structure for supporting small-scale renewables. Through the ratepayer-funded Focus on Energy program, there is in Wisconsin a human infrastructure that trains and educates thousands of young people to work in the renewable energy arena. Indeed, Wisconsin is a leader in this area. Our expectation is that these workers will apply their skills in the state, fabricating and installing renewable energy equipment in a thoroughly professional manner.
But if we don’t take equal care to create and sustain demand for their skills and services, these workers are apt to leave the state for greener pastures, and Wisconsin’s investment in their education will have gone unpaid. This is why the issue of Advanced Renewable Tariffs is so important to RENEW members.
One final point: Last week several utility representatives recommended that the Legislature strip out the Advanced Renewables Tariff section. RENEW urges you not to heed their advice. While we would support a reworking of this section, including a program cap to limit rate impacts, we cannot support abandoning this initiative altogether and cannot further support a bill that is silent on policies to advance the distributed energy marketplace. That is a bottom-line priority with us.
Submitted by:
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
RENEW Wisconsin
February 2, 2010
by jboullion | Feb 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a letter by Rob Nelson to the editor of the Baraboo News Republic:
If anyone is guilty of espousing “ideology, not reality,” and taking a stand based on “politics rather than science or economics,” it is clearly Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald in his recent column attacking the legislature’s Clean Energy Jobs Act (AB-649).
The bill is based largely on the 2008 report by the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming. After 14 months of research, discussion, and compromise, this diverse group suggested more than 60 wide-ranging policy recommendations in order to enhance Wisconsin’s energy independence and reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Reflecting an extraordinary amount of consensus, 26 members of the Task Force ultimately endorsed the entire document, while three members objected to individual components of the plan.
Keep in mind that this was no mere collection of tree-huggers: The 29 members of the Task Force included representatives from six utilities (MGE, We Energies, Alliant, Xcel Energy, WPPI, and Integrys Energy Group); two of the state’s largest unions (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, United Steel Workers); several of Wisconsin’s most prominent manufacturers (Ariens, SC Johnson, General Motors, NewPage, General Electric, and Plum Creek Timber); plus the Dairy Business Association, the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, and a Democratic senator.
A member of Mr. Fitzgerald’s own party, Rep. Phil Montgomery, (R-Ashwaubenon) was included in this bi-partisan effort and agreed with the Task Force’s recommendations.
Not all of the steps outlined by the Task Force are found in the Clean Energy Jobs Act, but many are, including:
— enhancing statewide energy efficiency and weatherization programs;
— requiring that 25 percent of Wisconsin’s energy come from renewable source by 2025;
— offering incentives for producers of agricultural energy crops;
— promoting carbon sequestration in Wisconsin forests; and
— a guarantee that utilities purchase electricity from small-scale generators at fair, reliable prices.
The Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence estimates the Green Energy Jobs Act “will create a minimum of 15,000 new jobs for Wisconsin by 2025, and more than 1,800 of those jobs will be realized in the first year.”
by jboullion | Jan 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
A legislative alert and free offer from the Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin:
WISCONSIN NEEDS THE CLEAN ENERGY JOBS BILL THIS SESSION!
You are invited to join your neighbors who intend to “pack the house” at the state Capitol as the Legislature holds public hearings on the Wisconsin Clean Energy Jobs Act (AB 649/SB 450). We urge you to take advantage of a free bus ride to make your voice heard in Madison.
Date: Tuesday, February 2
Where: Bus leaves from the McKinley Marina parking lot, across from Alterra Café at the Lake, 1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive. Parking is free.
Time: Bus leaves Milwaukee at 8:00 a.m.
Return: Bus begins the return trip from Madison at 3:00 p.m., arriving in Milwaukee at about 5:00 p.m.
What will Happen: Info about the Clean Energy Jobs Act will be provided on the bus, and you will get a chance to meet with your legislators once you get to the Capitol. This is a great opportunity to travel to the capitol and back at no expense and make your voice heard.
How to Reserve a Seat: Call Katy at Clean Wisconsin: 608-251-7020, Extension 28. Leave a message saying you’d like to be on the bus and provide your name, phone number, and street address. Or RSVP your name, phone, and address to RSVP@cleanwisconsin.org.
The WI Clean Energy Jobs Act is based on recommendations developed by the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force. The Act creates critical energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation policies to reduce the threat of climate change and revitalize our economy. Learn more on the Sierra Club’s website at: http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/Involve/action.asp.
We have just three months to pass this bill, and it is vital that we show strong citizen support for taking real action on climate change.
by jboullion | Jan 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a letter from RENEW Wisconsin to Senators Jeff Plale and Mark Miller, co-chairs of the Select Senate Committee on Clean Energy, who held a hearing on the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill on January 27:
Dear Senators Miller and Plale:
Thank you for holding a hearing yesterday of the Select Committee on Clean Energy on SB 450 (the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill). You heard a great deal of substantive commentary about much of the bill, particularly the sections dealing with energy efficiency and the expanded Renewable Energy Standard.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the discussion on the proposal to institute Advanced Renewable Tariffs in Wisconsin. Early in the hearing, a speaker framed the issue as “asking a little old lady in Cudahy to subsidize an expensive system in Mequon.” From that point, the discussion devolved into a kind of semi-orchestrated gang-tackling on this issue that continued unabated until I was called upon to speak, some seven hours and forty five minutes after the hearing began. While RENEW members who work for or with solar, wind and biogas energy installation companies were present during the hearing and had registered to speak, none were called prior to myself. All but two (Full Spectrum Solar and Ed Ritger) had to leave before the hearing ended.
Now, I don’t believe the first speaker, a labor leader, had intended to belittle the companies that install customer-sited renewable energy systems or dismiss their contribution to Wisconsin’s economy and environment. Nevertheless, the “little old lady from Cudahy” theme took a life of its own, and as a result, the very important issues of how to support these systems through utility rates and whether these rates should be mandated had become thoroughly trivialized by the end.
Allow me to repeat some of the points I made at yesterday’s hearing:
1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.
2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.
3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Yesterday, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.
4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.
5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.
by jboullion | Jan 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Danielle Begalke in The Country Today:
EAU CLAIRE – The Clean Energy Jobs Act is aimed at amping up energy efficiency and conservation, curbing dependence on nonrenewable resources and creating more jobs in Wisconsin.
That’s according to Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen, who expressed support for the bill during a Jan. 21 visit to northwestern Wisconsin.
The bill, which Gov. Jim Doyle introduced earlier this month, implements recommendations from his Global Warming Task Force to address climate change and ramp up the state’s “green economy,” a Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection news release said.
Nilsestuen visited with Wisconsin Farmers Union members in Chippewa Falls Jan. 21 before speaking at the joint Midwest Value-Added Agriculture Conference and Local Food Summit in Eau Claire.
“With the Clean Energy Jobs Act we’ll put together a framework for moving Wisconsin toward becoming a much greener and cleaner state,” Nilsestuen told conference attendees.
The proposed legislation calls for 20 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020 – and 25 percent by 2025.
“We consume $16 billion worth of out-of-state fuel for our cars and homes every year,” Nilsestuen said. “You can easily see why we want those dollars to stay here in the state.”
The secretary said he hopes to see more alternative fuel options become available for farms of all sizes.
“We have about 30 anaerobic digesters in the state,” Nilsestuen said. He estimated that each digester provides enough energy to fuel 400 homes.
“We need to make these options more available, to make them sustainable and profitable for small farmers,” he said.
