by jboullion | Oct 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Steve Cahalan in the La Crosse Tribune:
With the flip of a switch Wednesday, a new renewable energy system at City Brewery’s wastewater pretreatment plant began generating electricity from methane gas previously flared off as waste.
The Gundersen Lutheran-owned system resulted from a unique partnership between the health care provider and the brewery.
It is part of Gundersen Lutheran’s plan to lower its energy costs and be energy independent by 2014, through conservation efforts and renewable energy projects.
The brewery project is expected to generate about
3 million kilowatt hours a year, about 8 percent of the electricity used at Gundersen Lutheran’s La Crosse and Onalaska campuses. That also is enough electricity to power 299 homes, Gundersen Lutheran officials said.
With the new system, biogas from the brewery’s pretreatment plant is cleaned by removing water and impurities. What’s left is methane gas that is burned in the system’s engine.
Heat generated from the engine is captured and recycled back to produce heat for the brewery’s waste treatment process.
Brewery waste goes to its pretreatment plant before being sent to the city of La Crosse’s nearby wastewater treatment plant. Gundersen Lutheran officials said Wednesday it’s possible that biogas from the city’s plant also might be used to create electricity in the future.
by jboullion | Oct 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Christine Won in the Racine Journal Times:
RACINE – Bernie Hoff, 59, of Racine, said she and her family enjoyed the comforts of commuter rail when they were living in a Chicago suburb 24 years ago before they moved to Racine.
“We saw commuter rail is such an asset to the area,” said Hoff, who was at a transit forum Wednesday night. “We can’t understand why they don’t have it here.”
More than 130 people attended the community forum “Tapping into Transit as a Game-Changer” Wednesday night at the DeKoven Center, 600 21st St. The forum, hosted by Racine Transit Task Force and Transit NOW, highlighted the benefits of public transit and specifics of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project. The Task Force is a group working to improve transit for Racine.
Different community leaders appealed on the behalf of the community, businesses, labor unions and students for a public transit system.
Mayor John Dickert, one of the speakers, stressed the importance for interconnectivity of commuter rail, high-speed rail and buses to work together to move Racine forward. He addressed concerns about how much the commuter rail project would cost and pointed out putting in another lane in I-94 is costing $1 billion.
by jboullion | Oct 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
We Energies welcomes nationally recognized solar-electric code expert John Wiles to Milwaukee on Nov. 18. Wiles, a program manager at the Southwest Technology Development Institute at New Mexico State University, has many years of experience assisting the PV industry, electrical contractors and electrical inspectors in understanding the PV requirements of the National Electrical Code (NEC). For more information, contact Connie Lindholm.
by jboullion | Oct 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tony DiZinno in the Marquette Tribune:
Two major points came out of Tuesday’s business forum on future green job growth in Wisconsin.
A panel of experts said more money needs to arrive as expected from part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — commonly known as the stimulus package — and potential candidates to fill the new jobs require higher levels of education and skill sets.
Before the panel spoke, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett gave a speech on his blueprint of the green job movement.
“Green jobs are a continuum of what jobs are now,” Barrett said. “Since work is done at the local levels, it is important to us to be involved in this. We have such a need for business development.”
Money appropriated as a part of the stimulus package, the panelists said, has been slow to arrive and will largely determine the future of green jobs in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
“There’s been a lot of talk, but very little has actually entered the market,” said Tom Boldt, chief executive officer of Oscar J. Boldt Construction in Appleton. He added that he expects 2010 and 2011 to attract more funds.
Clay Nesler, vice president of global energy and sustainability for the building efficiency sector of Johnson Controls, said the stimulus package had the unintended consequence of halting projects that were in progress because workers and investments slowed while waiting for the “free money.”
He added he hopes companies can attract matching funds and create projects with “seed money,” funds that can be extrapolated over a longer period of time.
The described longer period of time involves integrating the new workers into the workplace. The jobs that have the potential to be created offer higher salaries on average, but require a corresponding higher level of available skills, the panel said.
by jboullion | Oct 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
It’s August. The forecast calls for weather in the 90s. You pull into a parking ramp downtown and plug your hybrid-electric car into a charging station.
By midafternoon, with air conditioners all over town running full tilt, the local electric utility can’t keep up with the demand. So instead of charging up, your car’s battery begins feeding power back to the grid – saving the city from a brownout.
That night, an app on your cell phone confirms how much money you saved on your electric bill by helping out.
This scenario may have seemed far-fetched just a few years ago. But today, more and more utilities are working with transportation researchers on developing the infrastructure for an advanced way for Americans to fuel their cars and trucks.
And some lawmakers and businesses are working to position the Milwaukee region as a leader in the industry.
“This is an area that’s going to be growing in national importance, and there are some really unique opportunities that we are well-positioned to take advantage of,” said state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale).
by jboullion | Oct 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Draig D. Reber of the Herald Tribune (Dubuque, Iowa):
TOWN OF SMELSER, Wis. — To paraphrase a southwest Wisconsin lawmaker, now the devil is in the details.
On Wednesday, Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill that calls for state regulators to come up with statewide rules for wind farms.
The state Public Service Commission’s rules will trump any local ordinances, including several moratoriums enacted by the Smelser Town Board of Trustees.
A moratorium enacted on June 8 resulted in charges being brought against Arnie Rawson, of rural Platteville, and Robert Droessler, of rural Cuba City, for violating open meetings law. They are accused of taking action on a matter without public notice.
“It was a minor mistake, we tried to rectify it (at our next meeting), and we couldn’t, according to state law,” Rawson said. “It’s happened before in other places. It’s no new thing.”
The board later went on to enact a moratorium in August on the White Oak wind project that includes parts of Smelser, Hazel Green and Paris townships. However, Senate Bill 185 and the ensuing action by Doyle to enact a uniform siting law trump the moratorium.
Wind developers say local officials have created a patchwork of regulations across the state that are so restrictive they are suffocating their projects. Local leaders say they are just looking out for people’s health.
by jboullion | Oct 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wausau Daily Herald:
As leaders of a Wisconsin Rapids company finalize logistics of a planned local manufacturing plant, they have their sights set on an even larger project.
Officials with Energy Composites Corp. are developing a group to build wind farms on the Great Lakes, said Sam Fairchild, chief executive officer.
“There have been a lot of groups trying to align some interest in the Great Lakes in terms of energy,” Fairchild said Friday. “The problem is no one is trying to build wind farms in the Great Lakes. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Two weeks after announcing plans to form what it’s calling a Great Lakes Consortium, Energy Composites already has attracted the attention of state and federal officials, outside energy companies and power utilities in states surrounding the lakes, Fairchild said. Because of that, company leaders are trying to acquire federal funding for wind development.
by jboullion | Oct 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
Visit homes and businesses with renewable energy systems during the Wisconsin Solar Tour!
Self-Guided Tours
Businesses – Friday, October 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Homes – Saturday, October 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tour sites are owned, lived in, and worked in by ordinary people. They are helping others open the door to renewable energy. The Wisconsin Solar Tour is part of the National Solar Tour coordinated by the American Solar Energy Society.
Click here for a list of businesses and houses open in southwestern Wisconsin.
by jboullion | Oct 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story by Bridget Fargen on WJFW 12:
Many people use solar energy as a way to help the environment.
This weekend you can check out some homes and businesses that are using this type of technology.
The Wisconsin Solar Tour goal is to show new people how beneficial going “green” can be for your home or business. “This is where we have the most sun right here.”
This is one of the solar panels that provides energy for Mark Yeager’s Sugar Camp home.
Yeager tells Newswatch 12, “This whole system, the whole property is totally off grid, totally unconnected to the utility.”
Yeager’s home is one of 17 homes and businesses on this years Wisconsin Solar Tour. The two-story house is still under construction and draws all it’s electricity and water heat from the sun.
He says, “We’re attempting to build the most energy efficient home we can.”
What makes it so unique? It’s run off a micro-grid design.
Yeager says, “It’s a European design, that’s not done a lot here yet, it’s just starting to catch on in technology and so we have both on-grid and off grid technology.”
by jboullion | Oct 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nick Halter in the Wausau Daily Herald:
On warm summer days, landscaper Tom Girolamo showers in the yard of his Mosinee home using rainwater stored in a 2,500-gallon tank heated by solar power. The used shower water is then sent to his chickens or to water his plants.
Also in the yard of Girolamos’ home is a 120-foot wind turbine, a wood-fueled sauna and a wood-fired brick oven that he and his wife, Kathy, use for summer meals or to bake pizza for their guests.
The Girolamo’s home is one of several in Marathon County that will be open for tours this weekend when the Midwest Renewable Energy Association sponsors its annual Wisconsin Solar Tour. The tour showcases businesses and homes that are energy efficient, sustainable or powered with renewable energies.
Organizers expect a big turnout this year as more and more people look to make energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes and consider alternative energy. On top of normal grants given out by Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is giving additional tax incentives — typically up to 30 percent — to people doing such projects.
Girolamo’s home has been on the tour for five years. The 50-year-old UW-Stevens Point graduate owns a landscaping company called Eco-Building & Forestry that designs environmentally friendly and sustainable landscapes.
