by jboullion | Dec 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the newly released handbook on “Community Wind Financing,” published by the Environmental Law & Policy Center:
. . . community wind [i]s any project up to 20 MW which was “initiated and (at least partially) owned locally.”
Community wind power projects represent a relatively small, but growing, share of the wind energy market. As of July 2008, community wind projects accounted for at least 736 MW of the total installed wind energy projects in the United States, primarily in the Midwest, and more have been developed in the last year. These projects are largely owned by farmers and other local investors, schools, tribes and municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. Such local ownership generates powerful economic and social benefits for rural areas. . . .
This updated Handbook provides the latest information on financing community wind projects, including ownership structures, roles of financial intermediaries, and sources of federal and state financial support. Although building these projects has become easier over time as landowners have benefited from the experiences of the community wind pioneers, understanding and accessing financing opportunities remains perhaps the most important requirement for a successful project.
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the newly released handbook on “Community Wind Financing,” published by the Environmental Law & Policy Center:
. . . community wind [i]s any project up to 20 MW which was “initiated and (at least partially) owned locally.”
Community wind power projects represent a relatively small, but growing, share of the wind energy market. As of July 2008, community wind projects accounted for at least 736 MW of the total installed wind energy projects in the United States, primarily in the Midwest, and more have been developed in the last year. These projects are largely owned by farmers and other local investors, schools, tribes and municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. Such local ownership generates powerful economic and social benefits for rural areas. . . .
This updated Handbook provides the latest information on financing community wind projects, including ownership structures, roles of financial intermediaries, and sources of federal and state financial support. Although building these projects has become easier over time as landowners have benefited from the experiences of the community wind pioneers, understanding and accessing financing opportunities remains perhaps the most important requirement for a successful project.
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the newly released handbook on “Community Wind Financing,” published by the Environmental Law & Policy Center:
. . . community wind [i]s any project up to 20 MW which was “initiated and (at least partially) owned locally.”
Community wind power projects represent a relatively small, but growing, share of the wind energy market. As of July 2008, community wind projects accounted for at least 736 MW of the total installed wind energy projects in the United States, primarily in the Midwest, and more have been developed in the last year. These projects are largely owned by farmers and other local investors, schools, tribes and municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. Such local ownership generates powerful economic and social benefits for rural areas. . . .
This updated Handbook provides the latest information on financing community wind projects, including ownership structures, roles of financial intermediaries, and sources of federal and state financial support. Although building these projects has become easier over time as landowners have benefited from the experiences of the community wind pioneers, understanding and accessing financing opportunities remains perhaps the most important requirement for a successful project.
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the newly released handbook on “Community Wind Financing,” published by the Environmental Law & Policy Center:
. . . community wind [i]s any project up to 20 MW which was “initiated and (at least partially) owned locally.”
Community wind power projects represent a relatively small, but growing, share of the wind energy market. As of July 2008, community wind projects accounted for at least 736 MW of the total installed wind energy projects in the United States, primarily in the Midwest, and more have been developed in the last year. These projects are largely owned by farmers and other local investors, schools, tribes and municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives. Such local ownership generates powerful economic and social benefits for rural areas. . . .
This updated Handbook provides the latest information on financing community wind projects, including ownership structures, roles of financial intermediaries, and sources of federal and state financial support. Although building these projects has become easier over time as landowners have benefited from the experiences of the community wind pioneers, understanding and accessing financing opportunities remains perhaps the most important requirement for a successful project.
by jboullion | Dec 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
The 2010 Green Energy Summit will take place at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, March 24-26, 2010. Topics include Renewables, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability, Green Business, Social Responsibility, Urban Green Career Pathways, and Water.
See website for more details.
by jboullion | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Alliant Energy:
December 1, 2009 – The Alliant Energy Foundation is offering scholarships to recognize outstanding community leadership in young people and help first-time college students attain their academic goals. Up to 25 $1,000 scholarships will be awarded in the fall of 2010 through the Alliant Energy Foundation Community Service Scholarship Program.
“We believe in supporting education throughout our Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin communities and one of many ways we can do that is through awarding scholarships to deserving young adults,” said Julie Bauer, Alliant Energy Foundation Executive Director. “We are proud to offer these scholarships to benefit talented students and their families.”
To be eligible, scholarship applicants must have participated in a leadership role in community service work or volunteer activities. They must also meet the following criteria:
+ Be age 24 or under;
+ Be a dependent child of a current customer, or be a current customer, of one of Alliant Energy’s utility subsidiaries (Interstate Power and Light or Wisconsin Power and Light);
+ Reside within the Alliant Energy service territory at the time of application; and
+ Plan to enroll in, for the first time, beginning in the fall of 2010, a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two- or four-year college or university, or vocational-technical school located within Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin.
by jboullion | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a guest column my Keith Reopelle in the Wausau Daily Herald:
As our elected leaders in Madison draft the details of a clean energy jobs bill and legislators in Washington debate climate change legislation, it is important to note that strong legislation pushing the transition toward clean energy will not only protect north central Wisconsin’s environment but also help bolster its economy.
With its abundance of natural resources, strong workforce and entrepreneurial spirit, the Wausau area could help lead the transition to a clean energy economy, creating new businesses and much-needed jobs for area residents.
One need look no further than We Energies’ proposed biomass-fueled power plant at the Domtar Corporation’s paper mill in Rothschild to see how climate legislation can have a positive economic impact in north-central Wisconsin. We Energies predicts that this proposed plant will create approximately 400 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs. This single project would be a long-lasting boon for the local community, and represents merely one of hundreds of projects in north-central Wisconsin that could help strengthen our economy.
Without a current state law that requires utilities to produce 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015, it is unlikely that this job-creating project ever would have been proposed.
Passing a state clean energy jobs bill and passing a strong federal climate change bill would help spark more economic growth in the Wausau area by producing even greater demand for clean, renewable energy. Residents of north central Wisconsin could go to work installing solar panels on homes, erecting residential wind turbines, making homes and businesses more energy efficient and manufacturing the parts needed to construct renewable energy systems.
by jboullion | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Heidi Clausen in The County Today:
TURTLE LAKE – An anaerobic cogeneration facility being proposed in Turtle Lake could help solve a growing problem for area dairy processing plants.
GreenWhey Energy, a privately held company spearheaded by Lake Country Dairy founder and project manager Tom Ludy, would recycle about 330,000 gallons of high-strength wastewater daily.
Initially, the waste would come from at least five northwestern Wisconsin processing plants within about 60 miles of Turtle Lake.
Eventually, it could be feasible to expand the facility so it could take in wastewater from as many as 11 regional plants, Ludy said.
The project would generate enough electricity to power about 1,500 homes along the Xcel Energy grid and create 242 million BTUs of heat a day. Underground pipes would transfer the heat to businesses and other buildings throughout the village.
GreenWhey plans to donate a free heat supply to the Turtle Lake School District and provide nutrient-rich solids that could be sold as fertilizer to farmers.
After the digestion process, an aerobic digestion system would clean the water so it could be discharged above ground.
Plans are to have the digester project up and running by next November on property near Lake Country Dairy in Turtle Lake, Ludy said .
by jboullion | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Sandler in the Milwaukee Jounral Sentinel:
The Milwaukee area’s newest government body started work this week with the realization that it doesn’t have the power to accomplish its only mission.
In essence, the members of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority were told that the state had put them in an impossible position, and only the state can get them out of it.
The 2009-’11 state budget created the new RTA to oversee the planned KRM Commuter Link rail line. It did not give the new body any power to fund or coordinate local bus systems.
Yet Federal Transit Administration officials have said they won’t approve the $207.5 million commuter railroad until the financial problems of the Milwaukee County Transit System and its Racine and Kenosha counterparts are solved, Ken Yunker, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, told RTA members.
Therefore, the RTA and the KRM will be doomed to fail without additional help from Madison, said Milwaukee County Supervisor Michael Mayo, an RTA member.
Lawmakers are working with Gov. Jim Doyle to draft new legislation that would create more transit authorities with the power to levy various taxes to support the bus systems, said Dan Kanninen, Doyle’s legislative director. Kanninen said the bill could be introduced by the end of the year, for action when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
This isn’t what Doyle wanted, Kanninen stressed. In his recommended budget, the governor proposed a single body that would oversee both the KRM and public buses in Milwaukee, Kenosha and eastern Racine counties, funded by a 0.5% sales tax.
But legislators shot down that idea in the face of heavy sales tax opposition from Racine County.
by jboullion | Nov 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
From RENEW Wisconsin’s brief filed with the Public Service Commission in support of the Glacier Hills Wind Park:
The design of the proposed Project is in the public interest first and foremost because it will be powered by wind rather than fossil fuels. Wind energy is a locally available, self-replenishing, emission-free electricity source. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, must be imported, are available in limited quantities, and emit pollutants. Moreover, using wind energy furthers the State’s policy goal that all new installed capacity for electric generation be based on renewable energy resources to the extent cost-effective and technically feasible. Wis. Stat. § 1.12(3)(b).
In his direct testimony, RENEW Wisconsin witness Michael Vickerman outlined a number of other public policy objectives that would be advanced by the construction of Glacier Hills. These include:
1. Helping Wisconsin Electric Power Company (“WEPCO”) meet its renewable energy requirements under Wis. Stat. § 196.378(2)(a)(2)d;
2. Securing adequate supplies of energy from sustainable sources;
3. Protecting ratepayers from rising fossil fuel prices;
4. Reducing air and water emissions from generation sources;
5. Preserving working farms and pasture land;
6. Generating additional revenues for host towns and counties;
7. Reducing the flow of capital out of Wisconsin for energy purchases; and
8. Investing Wisconsin capital in a wealth-producing energy generating facility within its borders.
