by jboullion | Apr 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
A letter to the editor to the Dodgeville Chronicle by Joel H. Goodman, M. Architecture diploma, MIT; former assistant professor of architecture at the U. of Minnesota:
Solar electric rooftops, covered with PhotoVoltaic (photons-to-volts) solar panels called PV, is a main part of a low carbon electricity infrastructure plan. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas pollution causing global warming, reduce stress on the grid, and create local jobs. Of course, no one wants a large added first cost for installing PV solar panels when paying for the construction of a new building.
Therefore, it would be sensible to design new buildings to be SOLAR PV READY. Design features of new buildings prepared for the future addition of large areas of solar electric PV panels include: roof shape, slope and structure; place for PV system inverters, and connecting electrical conduits. A large area Solar PV READY roof could be attractive for stimulus funds, and something positive for the children’s future.
Link to fact sheets on solar-ready residences and solar-ready commercial buildings.
by jboullion | Apr 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:
(April 27, 2009) – What’s the best way to reduce my home’s cooling costs? Are there tax credits available for my renewable energy project? What’s the most energy efficient hot water heater? Could new lighting fixtures save my business money? These are among the thousands of questions Wisconsin residents are asking themselves every day. Thankfully, there’s an easy and accessible resource where they can get their energy questions answered, as Focus on Energy has launched a new interactive Web site titled ‘Ask Focus on Energy’ (askfocusonenergy.com).
“The purpose of the Web site is to fulfill the public’s growing desire for easily accessible information on the timely topic of energy,” said Kathy Kuntz, program director for Focus on Energy. “Given the economic and energy climate, consumers and businesses are now, more than ever, looking to learn how energy efficiency and renewable energy relates specifically to their needs.”
How the Web site Works
When you visit the ‘Ask Focus on Energy’ Web site you have the opportunity to submit a question, or search other questions that may relate to your area of interest. Once your question is submitted, if it is similar to a question already on the site, the answer will immediately appear. However, if your question is unique from any on the Web site, it will be sent to a panel of Focus on Energy experts for review. If your question is selected, it will be answered by one of our experts and posted on the Web site.
As so many people have similar questions and shared interests, you can also search a variety of energy-related topics to see what other people are asking. And to stay even more connected, you can now find Focus on Energy on Facebook and Twitter. These communities allow you to stay up-to-date on the questions and answers being added to the new Web site, as well as get regular energy saving tips.
by jboullion | Apr 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:
April 27, 2009 – What’s the best way to reduce my home’s cooling costs? Are there tax credits available for my renewable energy project? What’s the most energy efficient hot water heater? Could new lighting fixtures save my business money? These are among the thousands of questions Wisconsin residents are asking themselves every day. Thankfully, there’s an easy and accessible resource where they can get their energy questions answered, as Focus on Energy has launched a new interactive Web site titled ‘Ask Focus on Energy’ (askfocusonenergy.com).
“The purpose of the Web site is to fulfill the public’s growing desire for easily accessible information on the timely topic of energy,” said Kathy Kuntz, program director for Focus on Energy. “Given the economic and energy climate, consumers and businesses are now, more than ever, looking to learn how energy efficiency and renewable energy relates specifically to their needs.”
How the Web site Works
When you visit the ‘Ask Focus on Energy’ Web site you have the opportunity to submit a question, or search other questions that may relate to your area of interest. Once your question is submitted, if it is similar to a question already on the site, the answer will immediately appear. However, if your question is unique from any on the Web site, it will be sent to a panel of Focus on Energy experts for review. If your question is selected, it will be answered by one of our experts and posted on the Web site.
As so many people have similar questions and shared interests, you can also search a variety of energy-related topics to see what other people are asking. And to stay even more connected, you can now find Focus on Energy on Facebook and Twitter. These communities allow you to stay up-to-date on the questions and answers being added to the new Web site, as well as get regular energy saving tips.
by jboullion | Apr 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Quality of Life Alliance:
This Thursday, Joint Finance will be taking up the issue of the Regional Transit Authority for Southeastern Wisconsin. It is widely speculated that there are not enough votes for it to pass as proposed by Governor Doyle. Instead of leaving out all hope of an RTA in this budget, Quality of Life Alliance urges members of Joint Finance to allow for the start of a single County RTA in Milwaukee.
“Instituting the 1% sales tax for Milwaukee County that passed by referendum in November would provide the source of funding needed for a Milwaukee County RTA and could easily accommodate a broader RTA when it is created,” commented County Supervisor Chris Larson, Quality of Life Alliance spokesperson. “Please give us something we can build off of.”
“For the sake of our future, we are asking the Joint Finance Committee to include in the next State budget what the citizens of Milwaukee County have already approved: a one percent sales tax increase that will provide property tax relief and sustainable, dedicated funding for Parks, Transit and EMS,” added Jim Goulee, QLA member.
by jboullion | Apr 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Joe Knight in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram:
Wisconsin has a goal of producing 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2015.
If the state wants to meet that goal, most of that renewable energy will have to come from the wind, says Ryan Schryver of the environmental group Clean Wisconsin.
However, environmental and industry groups say a patchwork of local wind ordinances, including one in Trempealeau County, has stymied wind energy development in many cases.
More than 600 megawatts of planned wind developments are stalled across Wisconsin because of new ordinances or changes in local rules, Schryver said. One megawatt is enough to power 800 to 1,000 homes.
Three relatively large wind farm developments have gone up in southeastern Wisconsin over the past two years.
Wisconsin spends about $22 billion a year importing energy, including what is used in transportation, according to the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence, another strong argument for local wind energy, environmentalists note.
A bill to set statewide standards for siting wind generators is being considered by the Legislature. Among the standards to be considered would be how far a wind generator has to be set back from property lines, roads and houses and how much noise they could make.
The current version of the bill also would create a process for appealing wind energy decisions by local governments to the Public Service Commission. Under Wisconsin law, the commission regulates the largest wind farms, those of 100 or more megawatts, or farms with about 60 or more towers.
by jboullion | Apr 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
Come relax with friends and make some new ones as we get together and discuss environmental issues that are important to YOU at Eau Claire’s first ever Green Drinks! Green Drinks Eau Claire, 6:30-7:30 PM, Haymarket Grill, 101 Graham Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54701
Green Drinks is unique because there is no agenda, there are no dues, there’s no board of directors – it’s just a social opportunity for people to come together and talk with other like-minded environmentalists about ideas, events, and issues going on around our community.
Green Drinks Eau Claire, 6:30-7:30 PM, Haymarket Grill, 101 Graham Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54701
If you have any questions or ideas please email Tom Stolp, tom@conservationvoters.org or call 715-835-4248. For directions or more information on the Haymarket Grill visit http://www.haymarketgrill.com
by jboullion | Apr 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by D.J. Slater in the Marshfield News Herald:
New emission control equipment at the Weston Power Plant has reduced the amount of nitrogen oxide produced at its two oldest generators by 53 percent.
The equipment improves the coal burning process at the plants, decreasing nitrogen emissions. The $7.5 million worth of equipment went on line in March.
“This is part of our company’s overall nitrogen oxide emission reduction control plan … for our older coal-fueled generating units,” said Bruce Bruzina, the assistant vice president of energy supply operations for the plant, in a news release.
Nitrogen oxide is a group of highly reactive gases that contain nitrogen and oxygen. It’s one of the primary ingredients in smog and acid rain, and contributes to global warming and causes respiratory problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The upgrades are part of Wisconsin Public Service Corp.’s effort to meet more stringent state and federal air quality requirements that the EPA established in 2005, said David Capozella, a WPSC representative. The Weston Power Plant had to meet those new standards by 2010, he said.
Wisconsin Public Service Corp., which owns the Weston Power Plant, plans to start installing nitrogen oxide reduction equipment on a third generator in September, with a completion date sometime in mid-2010, he said.
by jboullion | Apr 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jim Leute on GazetteXtra.xom (Janesville):
JANESVILLE — The wind blows and the sun shines across state lines.
And the Great Lakes lap the shores of eight states, not just Wisconsin.
Renewable energy can play a critical role in the economic resuscitation of the Midwest, but only if communities, counties and states are willing to shed the traditions of their parochial past.
“The place to begin is to think across borders in terms of infrastructure, taxation, planning and education,” said Richard Longworth, author of “Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism.”
Published in 2008, Longworth’s book paints a grim picture of the Midwest’s losing battle with foreign competition. The former chief foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune has become a popular speaker in Midwestern communities—large and small—that are withering away.
Thursday, Longworth was in Janesville as the keynote speaker for an “Opportunities in Renewable Energy Summit.” Wednesday, he’ll be back in town to speak at a Professional Development Day at Blackhawk Technical College.
Longworth said the Midwest rested much too comfortably on its roots in agriculture and heavy industry manufacturing. The Industrial Age, he said, was very good to the Midwest, but it’s over, and the area is now a global backwater.
“The Midwest did two things really well, and globalization has tossed them both into the air,” he said. “We’re not coping with that very well …
“This sense of splendid isolation is one we can no longer afford.”
Regional collaboration, particularly in attracting emerging renewable energy industries, will help the resource-rich Midwest compete in a global economy, said Longworth, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and distinguished visiting scholar at DePaul University.
by jboullion | Apr 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story on WXOW-TV (La Crosse):
LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) -Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is taking a tour of the Gundersen Lutheran hospital, a facility she says is a good example of a insitution striving for energy independence.
Baldwin says, “I had heard some time ago that this is one of the few hospitals and clinics that was really analyzing their energy usage.”
The tour featured the hospital’s efforts to leave a smaller carbon footprint.
Thompson says, “Some of them are really pretty simple. It’s exhaust fans that are running 24 hours a day that need to be on 6 to 12 hours a day, replacing old chillers with new ones that are twice efficient.”
Other examples… Gundersen Lutheran is also partnering with La Crosse City Brewery to turn its waste methane discharge into electricity for the hospital.
And has installed solar panels on Gundersen Lutheran’s new parking ramp to help power the structure.
Thompson says, “There is some cost to some of these, but we think of it as an investment.”
by jboullion | Apr 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Rachel Zwirlein on Wisbusiness.com:
VERONA – Motorists have used carports for decades to shield vehicles from the ravages of weather, including paint-fading sun. Now comes an idea for using solar-collecting carports to help power vehicles.
Solar Carport Canopy is a product that can provide an innovative solution for businesses looking to economically power plug-in hybrid vehicles while reducing costs and their carbon footprints.
As a contestant in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, Farhat Iqbal of Verona developed the idea for the Solar Carport and was one of 50 entrants to move to the semi-final phase of the competition.
Iqbal is the president of Silica Solar LLC in Verona. The idea for Solar Carport came from her desire to create a tangible way to use solar energy to generate electricity for plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Solar Carport would be leased to individual firms to recharge company-owned and employee plug-in hybrids throughout the Madison area and beyond.
Although it is mechanically and structurally engineered for Wisconsin winds and snow, Iqbal said, Solar Carport can be used in any location where there is a need.
Businesses are going to start looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprints and non-polluting solutions. “Solar is one of the options,” Iqbal said.
