by jboullion | Dec 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:
(December 21, 2009) — Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide resource for energy efficiency and renewable energy, in partnership with We Energies, awarded Ace Industrial Properties $77,300 after it completed several major green building initiatives at its new 484,000 square-foot Muskego warehouse.
Together the projects will save more than 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually compared to a conventional building of its size – saving enough energy to power 125 Wisconsin homes for a year. Ace Industrial Properties will also benefit from saving approximately $95,000 on its energy bills at the warehouse each year. . . .
The cash incentives from Focus were used to install major energy savers including:
· More than 1,000 high-performance T8 electronic fixtures, which can save up to 40 percent more energy, last 4,000 hours longer, and provide a better light quality than standard systems.
· Motion-controlled occupancy sensors installed on all light fixtures, which can reduce the lighting system operating time by up to 50 percent.
· High-efficiency cooling was also installed in a few areas throughout the building.
Not only do these upgrades save the property management company money, but they are also environmentally-friendly. The annual environmental benefits are equivalent to offsetting more than 2,400 barrels of oil from being burned – eliminating 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere.
by jboullion | Dec 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kristin Tillotson in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
As the biggest storm of the season so far descends on the Twin Cities, some lucky homeowners are getting expert help battening down the hatches and lowering their utility bills. The bonus? It’s costing them peanuts.
The Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE) in Minneapolis and Neighborhood Energy Connection (NEC) in St. Paul, both nonprofits dedicated to energy efficiency, began pilot programs in the fall in select neighborhoods. Their crews replace light bulbs, wrap fiberglass blankets around water heaters and weatherstrip doors. All the homeowners receiving these customized services had to do was attend a free workshop, then pay $30. Besides the installed products, they get utility-bill savings averaging $127 a year.
Xcel Energy Inc. and CenterPoint Energy pay both programs’ labor costs as part of their efforts to meet state-mandated conservation goals. But in January the two utilities will begin offering Home Energy Squad, their own joint program, to other customers in the seven-county metro area. It will be a limited version of the neighborhood-focused visits offered by NEC and CEE, and will expand over the next three years. You must be a customer of Xcel electric and either Xcel gas or CenterPoint gas to be eligible. This is the first time the utilities have collaborated on such a broad scale, said Todd Berreman, who oversees CenterPoint’s conservation programs.
by jboullion | Dec 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Lisa Kaiser in the Shepard Express (Milwaukee):
Supporters of a proposed clean energy bill promise that not only will the new green energy standards help the environment, but that they will also help the state’s bottom line.
If passed by the state Legislature, the proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act would increase the amount of electricity to be generated by renewable energy, change building codes, implement new energy standards for appliances and cars sold in the state, revise the state’s requirements for new nuclear power plants, and require the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to consider greenhouse gas emissions when planning a new transportation project.
The bill, built on recommendations from the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming, would require 25% of the state’s energy to be produced from renewable sources by 2025 and encourage businesses and residents to conserve energy and increase energy efficiency measures.
Taken together, the bill’s provisions would cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 22% by 2022 and 75% by 2050.
The bill will be introduced in the state Legislature after the winter break, and supporters would like to deliver it to the governor’s desk by April 22, 2010, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
by jboullion | Dec 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
An article on RENEW’s president Jenny Heinzen from the Wisconsin Education Association:
Jenny Heinzen’s job isn’t a breeze – though it does rely on it. As a Wind Energy Technology instructor at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis., Heinzen not only teaches about harnessing an alternative form of energy, she’s been part of the push for new wind farms in Wisconsin.
In September, Governor Jim Doyle signed into law a bill calling for uniform standards for wind farms. The bill will create a set of rules overruling any local ordinances on wind farms, potentially setting up a boon for wind projects in the state. Heinzen is part of a group called Wind for Wisconsin, which spurred the legislation. Heinzen said she wants to create wind farms to move Wisconsin forward and keep wind energy technology students in the state.
“The bill, and consequently the new law, was absolutely necessary in order to move forward,” Heinzen said. “The last thing I want is to ship all of my graduates to other states. I want them to have jobs available here at home. And I want Wisconsin to start using more renewable energy, as we have no coal, gas, oil or uranium. But we’ve got wind, sun, water and agricultural wastes that can be used to produce electricity. . . .”
Heinzen is also the president of nonprofit clean energy organization RENEW Wisconsin, and said a state set of standards for wind farms is crucial for their development.
“This has been one of our main topics for the past two years,” she said. “The bill was created in response to a plethora of local ordinances that ultimately restricted, and sometimes killed, wind power projects in this state.”
Heinzen said the best part of her job is watching her students learn and climb, as well as setting them up for success later in life.
“Even better is when they get their job as a technician after, and sometimes before, graduation,” she added.
by jboullion | Dec 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Gena Kittner in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Photovoltaic panels installed last week on the roof of Mount Horeb’s Grumpy Troll will soon enable the bar and restaurant to harness solar power to fuel everything from beer-brewing to pizza-making.
“A lot of the energy will be used for the brewery, as well as everything else that we do,” said owner Doug Welshinger, adding the beer mash itself will still be boiled using natural gas.
Once the switch is flipped , probably by the end of the month, Welshinger said the business will use about 95 percent of the electricity generated by the solar panels. “We do consume a lot of energy, there’s no question about it,” he said.
The Mount Horeb Utilities will purchase all of the energy generated by the 38 solar electric panels – most at 30 cents a kilowatt hour – about three times the rate that a business customer would pay for the same electricity.
The Grumpy Troll, at 105 S. Second St., will continue to purchase all of its electricity from the local utility at the normal rate, but will receive a monthly bill credit for the green power generated by the panels, helping to offset its total energy costs.
The higher rate for sending electricity to the utility is part of an incentive program offered by Sun Prairie-based WPPI Energy, which includes Mount Horeb Utilities as a member. The higher rate will last about 10 years, said Ann Rodriguez, spokeswoman with WPPI Energy.
by jboullion | Dec 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Steve Prestegard on Marketplace Magazine:
The Manitowoc Common Council Monday [December 21] approved Orion Energy Systems’ request to build a wind turbine at the power technology enterprises’ Woodland Drive world headquarters.
Orion’s wind turbine is expected to generate 20 kilowatts of electricity that will be used to help power the company’s technology center and manufacturing facility. The electricity generated by the wind turbine is enough to regularly power the equivalent of four to five homes a year. The turbine, manufactured by Oshkosh-based Renewegy LLC, will be 115 feet tall.
“We’re excited to be bringing the first urban wind project to Manitowoc County,” said Orion CEO Neal Verfuerth. “By installing this technology adjacent to our facility where the electricity will be used, we are demonstrating how renewable generating sources can be connected directly to the customer load.
“At the same time, we’re supporting a Wisconsin-based company — investing in Wisconsin workers and investing in our state’s economy.” The wind turbine will be erected in early spring 2010 just north of Orion’s technology center.
by jboullion | Dec 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:
An Examination of Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s Bogus Methodology
Madison, WI (December 22, 2009) In response to a recent report from the Wisconsin Public Research Institute (WPRI) concluding that policies to increase renewable energy production would be prohibitively expensive, RENEW Wisconsin, a leading sustainable energy advocacy organization, today issued a critique documenting the faulty assumptions and methodological errors that undermine the credibility of that finding.
WPRI’s report, titled “The Economics of Climate Change Proposals in Wisconsin,” reviewed the proposal in the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force to increase the state’s renewable energy requirements on electric utilities to 25% by 2025, and estimated a total cost in excess $16 billion. RENEW’s analysis uncovered a disturbing pattern of “methodological sleight-of-hand, assumptions from outer space, and selective ignoring of facts” that render WPRI’s cost estimate to be completely unreliable.
“It appears that WPRI’s $16 billion number was pulled out of thin air, and that its analysis is nothing more than a tortured effort at reverse-engineering the numbers to fit the preordained conclusion,” said Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin executive director.
Specifically, RENEW identified four significant errors in WPRI’s analytical approach. The critique says:
+ It relies on a grossly inflated electricity sales forecast that is completely detached from current realities.
+ The final cost estimate includes all the generation built to comply with the current renewable energy standard, a clear-cut case of double-counting.
+ The authors fail to account for existing renewable generation capacity that is not currently being applied to a state renewable energy standard.
+ There is a high likelihood that the savings from the renewable energy standard are undervalued, because the authors fail to model plant retirements in their analysis.
by jboullion | Dec 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:
An Examination of Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s Bogus Methodology
Madison, WI (December 22, 2009) In response to a recent report from the Wisconsin Public Research Institute (WPRI) concluding that policies to increase renewable energy production would be prohibitively expensive, RENEW Wisconsin, a leading sustainable energy advocacy organization, today issued a critique documenting the faulty assumptions and methodological errors that undermine the credibility of that finding.
WPRI’s report, titled “The Economics of Climate Change Proposals in Wisconsin,” reviewed the proposal in the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force to increase the state’s renewable energy requirements on electric utilities to 25% by 2025, and estimated a total cost in excess $16 billion. RENEW’s analysis uncovered a disturbing pattern of “methodological sleight-of-hand, assumptions from outer space, and selective ignoring of facts” that render WPRI’s cost estimate to be completely unreliable.
“It appears that WPRI’s $16 billion number was pulled out of thin air, and that its analysis is nothing more than a tortured effort at reverse-engineering the numbers to fit the preordained conclusion,” said Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin executive director.
Specifically, RENEW identified four significant errors in WPRI’s analytical approach. The critique says:
+ It relies on a grossly inflated electricity sales forecast that is completely detached from current realities.
+ The final cost estimate includes all the generation built to comply with the current renewable energy standard, a clear-cut case of double-counting.
+ The authors fail to account for existing renewable generation capacity that is not currently being applied to a state renewable energy standard.
+ There is a high likelihood that the savings from the renewable energy standard are undervalued, because the authors fail to model plant retirements in their analysis.
by jboullion | Dec 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 22, 2009
MORE INFORMATION
Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Madison, WI (December 22, 2009) In response to a recent report from the Wisconsin Public Research Institute (WPRI) concluding that policies to increase renewable energy production would be prohibitively expensive, RENEW Wisconsin, a leading sustainable energy advocacy organization, today issued a critique documenting the faulty assumptions and methodological errors that undermine the credibility of that finding.
WPRI’s report, titled “The Economics of Climate Change Proposals in Wisconsin,” reviewed the proposal in the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force to increase the state’s renewable energy requirements on electric utilities to 25% by 2025, and estimated a total cost in excess $16 billion. RENEW’s analysis, which is online, uncovered a disturbing pattern of “methodological sleight-of-hand, assumptions from outer space, and selective ignoring of facts” that render WPRI’s cost estimate to be completely unreliable.
“It appears that WPRI’s $16 billion number was pulled out of thin air, and that its analysis is nothing more than a tortured effort at reverse-engineering the numbers to fit the preordained conclusion,” said Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin executive director.
Specifically, RENEW identified four significant errors in WPRI’s analytical approach. The critique says:
+ It relies on a grossly inflated electricity sales forecast that is completely detached from current realities.
+ The final cost estimate includes all the generation built to comply with the current renewable energy standard, a clear-cut case of double-counting.
+ The authors fail to account for existing renewable generation capacity that is not currently being applied to a state renewable energy standard.
+ There is a high likelihood that the savings from the renewable energy standard are undervalued, because the authors fail to model plant retirements in their analysis.
“In the final analysis, it would be too generous to describe the analytical approach taken here as incompetent or slipshod,” Vickerman said. “What we have here instead is disinformation, pure and simple, and it should be called out as such, especially as the Legislature begins consideration of arguably the most important economic development and environmental protection initiative in many years.”
END
RENEW Wisconsin (www.renewwisconsin.org) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives.
by jboullion | Dec 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Telkonet:
GERMANTOWN, MD–(Marketwire – December 21, 2009) – Telkonet, Inc. (OTCBB: TKOI), a Clean Technology company that develops and manufactures proprietary energy management and SmartGrid networking technology, is conducting a restructuring which includes the relocation of its offices from Germantown, Maryland to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This transition is part of an ongoing focus to competitively position the company within the $50 billion SmartGrid and Clean Technology industries while achieving favorable cost reductions. . . .
Jason Tienor, President and CEO, commented, “The decision to consolidate Telkonet’s operations demonstrates our continued commitment to realign our business and operations, helping us achieve our growth and expansion goals. With this relocation strategy, we’re able to optimize our resources, positioning the Company to more effectively address the needs of the growing Clean Technology market. In addition, we look forward to becoming a significant part of the Clean Technology landscape in Wisconsin. This transition demonstrates our dedication to Wisconsin and further meets the conditions of our funding with the State to increase employment within
Wisconsin.
