by jboullion | Nov 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a Tom Content post on JSOnline:
We Energies’ newest coal-fired plant is generating power, after “significant progress” in construction over the past three months, the company’s chairman said Thursday.
The coal plant consists of two coal-fired boilers next to an older coal plant on Lake Michigan in Oak Creek. The first new boiler began burning coal earlier this month and has been running at 25% of maximum power in recent days, said Gale Klappa, We Energies chairman and chief executive.
Bechtel Power Corp., the contractor on the project, also has made progress on building the second boiler, which is now 74% complete, Klappa said.
The $2.3 billion project is the most expensive construction project in state history, as it’s roughly double the combined cost of building Miller Park and rebuilding the Marquette Interchange.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Dane County’s first community manure digester, the first cooperative project of its kind in Wisconsin, will be built and operated by a Milwaukee-based company that plans to finance most of the project itself.
By letting Clear Horizons, in partnership with SCC Americas, a global developer of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, operate the Waunakee community digester, the county is avoiding the financial risks and rewards.
“That was important to the farmers (who wanted) a separate company operating the digester,” Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said of the county’s decision. “We’ve chosen this model because Clear Horizons brings significant private dollars.”
Clear Horizons plans to privately finance everything except a $3.3 million state earmark. The state included $6.6 million in its latest budget for the Waunakee digester and another being planned near Middleton. The county planned to borrow $1.4 million for the project, but now won’t have to spend anything to build the first digester.
Clear Horizons general manager Dan Nemke said construction is expected to cost about $11 million. After designs are finalized and a site is selected on one of three participating farms, the company expects to break ground in the spring and begin processing manure by the fall.
A manure digester is essentially a mini power plant that uses bacteria to convert cow manure into mostly methane gas, a fiber material and a liquid fertilizer. The methane is burned to generate electricity and the fiber can be used as cow bedding.
The Waunakee digester is expected to generate $2 million worth of electricity every year, and Clear Horizons plans to sell the fiber material.
Dane County’s 400 dairy farms and 50,000 dairy cows – a $700 million industry – produce more than 2 billion pounds of manure each year. Much of that is spread on fields in the winter and the resulting runoff into creeks and rivers has killed thousands of fish in the past.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
An announcement from the Sierra Club’s campaign Moving Wisconsin Beyond Coal:
Eau Claire, WI
Host: Richard S.
When: 3:00 PM, November 14, 2009
We will share refreshments, snacks, and conversation while watching Coal Country, a documentary about mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachia. Click here for more details.
Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop-removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. Produced by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller, Coal Country brings us inside the lives of Appalachian residents who are directly threatened by mountaintop-removal, a destructive mining practice where mountaintops are blasted away to expose the coal; the waste is then dumped in the waterways of nearby communities. As it takes us through each stage of coal mining and processing, Coal Country reveals the shocking true cost of America’s over-reliance on coal.
The State of Wisconsin owns 15 coal plants across Wisconsin – including eight UW campuses and three health facilities. Governor Doyle agreed to clean up two in Madison.
Wisconsin’s State-Owned Coal Plants
1.Capitol Heat & Power (Madison)*
2.Hill Farms (Madison)
3.Mendota Health Institute (Madison)
4.Northern Wisconsin Center (Chippewa Falls)
5.UW-Eau Claire
6.UW-LaCrosse
7.UW-Madison*
8.UW-Oshkosh
9.UW-Platteville
10.UW-River Falls
11.UW-Stevens Point
12.UW-Stout
13.UW-Superior
14.Waupun Correctional Institution
15.Winnebago Mental Health Institute (Oshkosh)
*Governor Doyle committed these facilities to burn biomass and natural gas instead of coal.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
An announcement from the Sierra Club’s campaign Moving Wisconsin Beyond Coal:
Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop-removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. Produced by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller, Coal Country brings us inside the lives of Appalachian residents who are directly threatened by mountaintop-removal, a destructive mining practice where mountaintops are blasted away to expose the coal; the waste is then dumped in the waterways of nearby communities. As it takes us through each stage of coal mining and processing, Coal Country reveals the shocking true cost of America’s over-reliance on coal.
Holmen, WI
Host: Marilyn P.
When: 8:00 PM, November 11, 2009
Please call Marilyn to confirm attendance and get directions: 608-317-9698.
La Crosse, WI
Host: Elizabeth W.
When: 5:00 PM, November 13, 2009
Sign up here.
The State of Wisconsin owns 15 coal plants across Wisconsin – including eight UW campuses and three health facilities. Governor Doyle agreed to clean up two in Madison.
Wisconsin’s State-Owned Coal Plants
1.Capitol Heat & Power (Madison)*
2.Hill Farms (Madison)
3.Mendota Health Institute (Madison)
4.Northern Wisconsin Center (Chippewa Falls)
5.UW-Eau Claire
6.UW-LaCrosse
7.UW-Madison*
8.UW-Oshkosh
9.UW-Platteville
10.UW-River Falls
11.UW-Stevens Point
12.UW-Stout
13.UW-Superior
14.Waupun Correctional Institution
15.Winnebago Mental Health Institute (Oshkosh)
*Governor Doyle committed these facilities to burn biomass and natural gas instead of coal.
by jboullion | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
SOLAR THERMAL ’09 is a national conference and expo for the solar thermal professional. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association invites you to the only professional level conference devoted to solar heating and cooling.
Installers, manufacturers, site assessors, dealers, distributors, state agency representatives, and policy makers will not want to miss this one-of-a-kind conference.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
•Solar hot water, solar hot air, and solar space heating sessions
•Manufacturer and dealer updates
•Best practices on residential and commercial applications
•New control and balance of system options
•Structural considerations
•State policy and incentive updates
Register here.
by jboullion | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
SOLAR THERMAL ’09 is a national conference and expo for the solar thermal professional. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association invites you to the only professional level conference devoted to solar heating and cooling.
Installers, manufacturers, site assessors, dealers, distributors, state agency representatives, and policy makers will not want to miss this one-of-a-kind conference.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
•Solar hot water, solar hot air, and solar space heating sessions
•Manufacturer and dealer updates
•Best practices on residential and commercial applications
•New control and balance of system options
•Structural considerations
•State policy and incentive updates
Register here.
by jboullion | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Steve Cahalan in the La Crosse Tribune:
“Cap and trade” legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives passed in June and a similar version pending in the Senate were praised Tuesday at a La Crosse forum by Peter Taglia, staff scientist with the Clean Wisconsin environmental group.
Federal legislation is needed, agreed Brian Rude, a vice president with La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative. But the House and Senate bills have major flaws, Rude argued at The Economic Forum at the Radisson Center.
Legislation sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass., calls for imposing mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and industrial facilities and cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020. Polluters would be given emission allowances they could trade among themselves to ease the transition from fossil fuels.
by jboullion | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the page of Active Installation Date on the Web site of We Energies:
We Energies Renewable Energy Development Program partners with Fat Spaniel Technologies to show real-time production data from solar photovoltaic, solar hot water and wind renewable energy generation systems in the We Energies service territory.
The Web page has links to the data on renewable energy production at the following installations:
Solar Electric Photovoltaic
Ascension Lutheran Church
Cooper School
Energy Producing Home
GE Healthcare
GE Research Park
HOPE Christian School
Johnson Foundation
Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School
Milwaukee Area Tech College – Oak Creek
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District
MSOE: Fat Spaniel Tech MSOE Monitor
North Shore Presbyterian Church
Our Savior Lutheran Church
Outpost Natural Foods
Racine City Hall Annex
Racine Eco Justice Center
St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Shoreland Lutheran High School
Shorewood School District
Still Point Zen Center
The Order of Julian Norwich
Town of Menasha
Unitarian Universalist Church West
United Community Center
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin – Parkside
Urban Ecology Center
Village of Wind Point
Walden III Middle and Senior High School
Waukesha Area Technical College
Wisconsin State Fair Park
Solar Water Heating
Fort Atkinson High School Solar Thermal
Fort Atkinson Middle School Solar Thermal
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity SHW 1
Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity SHW 2
We Energies HQ: Fat Spaniel Tech Wired Solar
Solar Electric Photovoltaic and Wind
Discovery World
Lakeshore Technical College
Milwaukee Area Tech College – Mequon
by jboullion | Nov 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
A news release from the Dane County Clean Air Coalition:
If you’re burning wood this winter, you can have a cheaper, safer and healthier fire by following these tips:
• Burn only dry, seasoned wood. It’s better for the air and your wallet. Look for wood that is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when hit against another piece of wood. Dry seasoned wood is more efficient at heating your home and can add up to significant savings over the winter.
• Never burn painted or treated wood or trash.
• Maintain your wood stove or fireplace and have a certified technician inspect it yearly. A certified technician can clean dangerous soot from your chimney and keep your wood stove or fireplace working properly, which reduces your risk of a home fire.
• Change to an EPA-certified wood stove or fireplace insert. These models are more efficient than older models, keeping your air cleaner, your home safer and your fuel bill lower, while keeping you warm in the winter. An estimated 12 million Americans heat their homes with wood stoves each winter, and nearly three-quarters of these stoves are not EPA certified. An EPA-certified wood stove emits nearly 70 percent less smoke than older uncertified models. Go to the EPA’s Burn Wise website for more information: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise
• If you have another source of heat, do not use your fireplace or wood stove on days that are forecast to be Clean Air Action Days for fine particle pollution.
by jboullion | Nov 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
A news release from the Dane County Clean Air Coalition:
If you’re burning wood this winter, you can have a cheaper, safer and healthier fire by following these tips:
• Burn only dry, seasoned wood. It’s better for the air and your wallet. Look for wood that is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when hit against another piece of wood. Dry seasoned wood is more efficient at heating your home and can add up to significant savings over the winter.
• Never burn painted or treated wood or trash.
• Maintain your wood stove or fireplace and have a certified technician inspect it yearly. A certified technician can clean dangerous soot from your chimney and keep your wood stove or fireplace working properly, which reduces your risk of a home fire.
• Change to an EPA-certified wood stove or fireplace insert. These models are more efficient than older models, keeping your air cleaner, your home safer and your fuel bill lower, while keeping you warm in the winter. An estimated 12 million Americans heat their homes with wood stoves each winter, and nearly three-quarters of these stoves are not EPA certified. An EPA-certified wood stove emits nearly 70 percent less smoke than older uncertified models. Go to the EPA’s Burn Wise website for more information: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise
• If you have another source of heat, do not use your fireplace or wood stove on days that are forecast to be Clean Air Action Days for fine particle pollution.
