by jboullion | Apr 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by WPPI Energy:
Black River Falls – As Earth Week approaches, many homeowners will be considering how to incorporate “green” principles into their own homes. One Black River Falls couple is leading the way.
Tom and Verona Chambers will celebrate the completion of their net zero energy home during a 4:00 p.m. ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony on Thursday, April 16. The Chambers’ net zero energy home combines state-of the art, energy efficient construction and appliances with renewable energy systems to produce as much
energy as the home consumes, achieving a “net zero” impact on our nation’s energy supply.
Through WPPI Energy’s GreenMax Home initiative, the Chambers have designed and constructed the first owner-designed and inhabited net zero energy home in the region that can be reasonably and affordably replicated in a cold climate. The couple’s home demonstrates a wide variety of practical, energy-saving
approaches that any homeowner could adopt to save energy and help protect the environment.
Present for the ribbon cutting will be:
+ Homeowners Tom and Verona Chambers
+ Representative Mark Radcliffe (D-Black River Falls)
+ Utility representatives, contractors, project partners and other service providers for the home
+ Local government officials.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
4:00 p.m.
118 James Street
Black River Falls, Wisconsin
by jboullion | Apr 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a post by Andrew Alt on SmelserTownship.com:
A former supervisor of mine keeps a sign posted in his office to this day. It reads, “In God We Trust; all others bring data.” As a senior engineer at one of our nation’s premiere medical device manufacturers, I have learned the value of these words. Millions of people around the world count on our products to work, leaving no room for errors in judgment when it comes to product quality and reliability. That is why we employ only the best and brightest people who utilize cutting-edge tools and techniques to make informed, data-driven decisions in everything we do.
Using data to make decisions has become second nature to me thanks in no small part to the fine education I received from Saint Rose School, Cuba City High School, and UW-Platteville. That’s why I get frustrated when I see or hear of people from my hometown area making poor decisions based on bad information rather than concrete evidence. Case in point: people against wind energy.
by jboullion | Apr 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an announcement from the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, Custer, WI:
Enjoy Earth Day with friends and help support the MREA! Move Some Earth Day brings together volunteers to help improve our demonstration site, so we can better promote and educate others about renewable energy and sustainable living.
We have a variety of projects and need a variety of skills. Bring tools such as rakes, shovels, chainsaws, etc. All volunteers should bring gloves.
We need help in the following areas:
• Cleaning the ReNew the Earth facility
• Landscaping and mowing
• Preparing the pond for spring
• Cleaning shower trailer at campground
• Turning compost & Many other projects!
Move Some Earth Day happens rain or shine.
by jboullion | Apr 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
MEETING NOTICE
The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union will be having it’s first April 2009 meeting at Brewing Grounds – 2008 N. Farwell Av. on April 11, 2009 at 11:15 a.m.
by jboullion | Apr 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Craig Reber in the Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, Iowa):
TOWN of SMELSER, Wis. — Voters returned two of three incumbents in the contentious Smelser Township Board of Supervisors race — an election that essentially put a controversial wind farm proposal on the ballot.
Incumbent Town Chairman Gabe Loeffelholz retained his seat, turning back a bid by challenger Greg Brandt, 204-193.
Incumbent supervisor Arnold Rawson kept his post with 295 votes. He was joined on the board by challenger Robert Droessler, who tallied 199 votes.
Incumbent James Kraus had 172 votes, and Mike Reese received 67, neither garnering enough votes to win the supervisor seats.
“I survived one,” said Loeffelholz, who previously served in the state legislature representing the 49th Assembly District. “I’m used to winning and I’m used to losing. That’s all a part of life — like work, religion and politics.”
Wind Capital Group, headquartered in St. Louis, wants to build about 61 towers in portions of three townships: Smelser, Paris and Hazel Green. The proposed White Oak Wind Farm would have a total capacity of 100 megawatts.
by jboullion | Apr 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a post by Don Albinger, VP of Renewable Energy, on the blog of Johnson Controls:
I was very pleased to be one of the speakers at the recent Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit in Milwaukee. The session topic was the Role of Local Governments in Moving Towards Energy Independence with Renewable Energy – and I was honored to appear with a distinguished group of people who are doing just that:
Larry Nelson, Mayor of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Larry talked about the work he and his colleagues are doing to demonstrate that cities can be fiscally and environmentally responsible at the same time. . . .
Jeanne Hoffman, Facilities and Sustainability Manager for the City of Madison, Wisconsin. Jeanne talked about MadiSUN – the city’s solar energy program aimed at doubling installations of solar electric and solar hot water systems by 2001. . . .
Dave Merritt, Dane County, Wisconsin. Dave correctly pointed out that “the key to energy independence and climate change is local.” And he provided an excellent example of how Dane County is doing more than giving that lip service: Cow Power is the County’s program to build two digester systems to turn cow manure from a number of dairy farms in the County into electricity. . . .
And Ann Beier, director of the City of Milwaukee Office of Environmental Sustainability. Ann painted a clear picture of the critical role Milwaukee city government is playing in energy independence by setting the right example, testing new technologies, and developing innovative programs and policies. Ann talked about the progress the city is making in meeting its goal to reduce energy use by 15% by 2012 by installing solar electric and geothermal systems in municipal buildings, and converting city stoplights to high-efficiency LED fixtures – a step the city is also studying for municipal parking garages. . . .
In my mind, the stories told by each one of these speakers demonstrate how we already have the means, the funding mechanisms, the technologies and the expertise to put energy efficiency and renewable energy to work in city halls and county courthouses across America to save money, create jobs and protect the environment.
Waukesha, Madison, Dane County and Milwaukee – they’re all leading the way. A lot more like them need to find the will to join in.
What do you think?
by jboullion | Apr 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a letter to the editor by Chamomile Nusz, Amherst, and Bill Christofferson of The Capital Times:
Dear Editor: As co-chairs of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, a statewide network of 165 organizations working for social justice and a sustainable world, we ask Gov. Jim Doyle and members of the Legislature to continue Wisconsin’s long-standing and reasonable limitations on the construction of nuclear plants.
Although Doyle’s Task Force on Global Warming recommended changes to the nuclear power plant law, we believe that the current law provides vital protections to Wisconsin’s consumers, environment, and future generations — protections the proposed change would remove.
Current law requires that before the Public Service Commission can authorize the construction of a nuclear plant, “a federally licensed facility … with adequate capacity to dispose of high-level nuclear waste from all nuclear power plants operating in this state will be available, as necessary, for disposal of the waste.”
For more than 50 years, the nuclear industry and the federal government have failed to solve this critical problem.
Christofferson and Nusz co-chair the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
by jboullion | Apr 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
Prairie Solar Power & Light, headed by Rich Bannen (in the cowboy hat, third from right), installed the solar system for Reedsburg Utility.
From a news release issued by Reedsburg Utility:
Electric customers in Reedsburg are benefitting from a new application of solar power in the city. The community-owned utility recently installed an array of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at the Reedsburg Area High School.
Reedsburg Utility installed a dual axis tracker with a peak output of 3.584, providing approximately 6,000 kilowatt-hours of emissions-free electricity each year.
“It is our objective to be a model for the use of renewable energy,” said Jim Schieble, Energy Services Representative. “By supporting community-wide renewable projects, Reedsburg Utility is illustrating the practical use of renewable energy and enticing customers to do the same.”
Solar PV systems collect energy from sunlight and convert it into electricity, providing renewable, emissions-free energy. These highly visible projects demonstrate the technology, while educating the community on their benefits, operation and performance. The solar unit will provide education and student involvement for many years to come at RAHS, said Dave Mikonowicz, General Manager of Reedsburg Utility.
Reedsburg Utility pursued various grant opportunities, including funding from its power supplier WPPI Energy, to help fund the purchase and installation of the solar PV systems. The project is contracted through Prairie Solar Power & Light of Priarie Du Chien and became operational on March 30, 2009.
by jboullion | Apr 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Megan VerHelst in the Jackson County Chronicle:
The city of Black River Falls is testing a new kind of street light bulb that could ultimately save taxpayers money and provide a more efficient way keep the streets lit.
Four LED, or light-emitting diode, street lights were recently installed on N. Eighth Street for a trial run. City Utility Manager Jerry Ewert said the city decided to try out the alternative lights after WPPI Energy made the technology available to Wisconsin cities at a discounted price.
“We’re experimenting with them,” Ewert said. “Other communities are experimenting with them as well.”
The utility, in conjunction with the city of Black River Falls, decided to try out the LED lights because they are supposed to decrease both energy and maintenance costs, compared to the high-pressure sodium bulbs the city uses now.
The city currently sets a $70,000 budget for street lighting, said City Clerk Bill Arndt. Homeowners in Black River Falls pay, on average, $35 per year for street light costs.
“The street light budget was getting so high, so we are looking at something we can do,” Arndt said.
The city purchased the four LED lights — two with a strength of 30 LED and two with 40 — and installed them in the 500th block of North Eighth Street. Each light cost $600 and gives out a whiter, clearer light than the high-pressure sodium bulbs throughout the rest of the city.
Ewert said the main disadvantage to the LED lights are the initial cost. The four installed now were offered to the city at a discounted price, and Ewert said a standard LED replacement unit could cost up to $800 — 10 to 15 times the cost of a high-pressure sodium bulb.
But if the city were to replace all 439 street lights with the LED technology, it would be worth it in the long run, Ewert said.
“The expected life of one (LED light) is 30 to 40 years,” Ewert said. “The high-pressure sodium bulbs are significantly lower than that. Three to four years is about average.”
by jboullion | Apr 7, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a post by Jeramey Jannene on Urban Milwaukee:
We’ve unveiled a Google Maps implmentation of Mayor’s Tom Barrett’s proposed streetcar system for downtown Milwaukee. Take a look yourself, we think it’s a little more exciting than a PDF.
The route is likely to change as the planning process continues, and we’ll track those changes on our map.
