by jboullion | Aug 25, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a story by Michael Seidel on OnMilwaukee.com:
“Now, when he has enough, he’ll stop,” Sister Janet Weyker says. She’s holding a baby robin; the bird chirp excitedly as Weyker feeds him worms out of a tin of compost and wild black raspberries from a cup. Since the robin’s mother disappeared, Weyker has taken over, tending to the fledling’s hunger at mealtimes.
This type of stewardship is precisely what motivated Weyker and several other sisters of the Racine Dominican order to found the Eco-Justice Center, a 15-acre learning center, farm and homestead located at 5635 Erie St. in Racine.
As a whole, the Racine Dominicans, a Catholic community of vowed women and lay associates, are committed to the ideas of education and justice. But back in 2000, the nuns saw a gap in their order’s efforts to extend those concepts to the environment.
“(We thought) the environment is in crisis and we should really do something,” Sister Janet says, “I didn’t want to just talk about it anymore, I really want to make that dream a reality. . . .”
“Fifty-five solar panels produce all the energy that we use in the summertime,” Weyker explains. Additionally, the house uses geothermal heating for its heating and air conditioning. “Geothermal is a system where there are pipes buried in the ground 9.5 feet deep, and there’s a constant temperature of 55 degrees. . . .”
by jboullion | Aug 22, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:
The first wind turbine gear Milwaukee Area Technical College purchased got scorched in a California brush fire and it took months to find a replacement.
The equipment, a used Vestas Wind Systems 90 kilowatt turbine, was in storage at Halus Power Systems’ facility waiting to be refurbished for use at the MATC Mequon campus when a fire blew through in 2006. Halus had to get another set of gear, and the technical college had to pay another few thousand dollars because there was a shorter supply of the gear a year later, said Al Evinrude, director of construction services for the campus.
The Mequon turbine, envisioned to be a demonstration project and educational tool, has been in the works since 2005. But, after delays caused by the fire and a year-long delay after MATC’s original contractor dropped out of the project, PieperPower, Milwaukee, on Wednesday began to install the gear atop a turbine tower.
There were some unique challenges with the Mequon project, but all plans to build smaller-scale turbines, as opposed to wind farms, require a lot of lead time, said Mick Sagrillo, wind specialist for Focus on Energy. Focus on Energy gave grants to the MATC project in 2005.
He said before anybody hits the market to buy the gear, they need two permits — zoning approval to build the structure and permission from the local utility to connect it to the power system.
“Once you’ve got those two documents in hand, now you’ve got basically permission to build a wind turbine,” he said. “And until you have those two pieces of paper in your hand, you don’t want to put any money down.”
Lakeshore Technical College will visit the Cleveland Plan Commission on Sept. 3 to ask permission to build two 65-kilowatt wind turbines. The college built a turbine in 2005, so it already has negotiated the zoning picture, said Doug Lindsey, Lakeshore Tech dean of agriculture, apprenticeships, trade and industry.
by jboullion | Aug 21, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a media release issued by Focus on Energy:
Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, is helping businesses statewide become more energy independent by offering large, one time only grants to help finance the installation of innovative renewable energy systems. Eligible businesses must submit grant proposals to Focus on Energy by Oct. 29, 2008. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis and are meant to support one project in each of the following technologies:
Industrial or Municipal Anaerobic Digesters
Many industries and wastewater treatment facilities are looking for a solution to both organic waste management and a source of on-site energy production. Anaerobic treatment of industrial or municipal wastewater can offset waste treatment costs by collecting and using biogas for energy applications. This grant will fund the installation of a commercially available anaerobic digester system in the $2 to $4 million range. The grant will reward up to 25 percent of the installed project cost, or a maximum of $500,000.
Biomass Combustion
Biomass Combustion can serve as on-site energy production for many industries and commercial facilities. The technology offsets energy costs by burning biomass for energy applications. Biomass combustion systems can help supply space heating, process heating, cooling and electricity. This grant will fund the installation of a commercially available biomass combustion system in the $2 to $4 million range. The grant will reward up to 25 percent of the installed project cost, or a maximum of $500,000.
Solar Water Heating
The sun’s energy can be used to heat water for commercial and industrial applications. Businesses interested in implementing solar water heating can use this grant for the installation of one large, commercially-available solar water heating system or a group of systems owned by the same entity and installed simultaneously. This grant will fund the installation of a solar hot water system that offsets more than 10,000 therms per year. The grant will reward up to 25 percent of the installed project cost for tax-paying entities and up to 35 percent for nonprofits, or a maximum of $100,000.
Solar Electric
Solar energy can be converted directly to electricity with photovoltaic (PV) cells. As light strikes the PV cell, it creates an electrical potential that generates a current of electricity. To implement solar electricity, businesses can use this grant for the installation of a large solar electric system or groups of systems that are innovative and very visible. This grant will fund the installation of a PV system that produces more than 50 kilowatts (kW) per year. The grant will reward up to 25 percent of the installed project cost for tax-paying entities and up to 35 percent for nonprofits, or a maximum of $100,000.
Wind Energy
The energy present in wind can be converted into electricity with a wind turbine. Wind passing over the turbine creates a rotary motion that turns an electric generator and creates electricity. This grant will provide financial support for the installation of one commercially available wind energy system that demonstrates a new type of turbine, has a special type of application and/or provides very high visibility and educational value. To be eligible the project must produce 20 kW to 100 kW per year. This grant will reward up to 35 percent of the installed project cost, or a maximum of $100,000.
“These grants offer a one time opportunity for businesses and non-profits to apply for projects that are twice as large as those normally accepted by Focus on Energy. We believe there is an emerging demand for renewable energy systems at this larger level, offering businesses a way to mitigate the effects of fossil-fuel-based energy use, reduce pollution and lessen America’s dependence on energy from overseas,” said Don Wichert, program director for Focus on Energy’s Renewable Energy Program.
by jboullion | Aug 20, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Matthew Inda in The Lake Country Reporter:
City of Oconomowoc – Saving and conserving energy is easier than you might think.
Turning off the water when it’s not in use and recycling are two simple things everyone can do right at home.
But a local effort under the guidance of Oconomowoc Utilities intends to spread even more conservation endeavors across the city just as easily – by following their lead.
Earlier this spring, Oconomowoc Utilities announced it had been granted a pilot program known as Leading by Example, a program to help better educate and demonstrate the effectiveness of energy efficiency, conservation and renewable resources development around the community.
The program was awarded by Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI) because of Oconomowoc’s strong leadership in these areas.
The initiative has already made some differences.
Helping to implement the program is a conservation committee composed of community leaders and citizens.
“Our major purpose is to educate the community what they can do to conserve energy and water,” said committee member and former Oconomowoc Mayor Floss Whelan.
Spearheaded by Oconomowoc Utilities Operations Manager Dennis Bednarski, the program and its committee also includes Bob Duffy, city director of economic development; Mike Barry, Oconomowoc School District assistant superintendent of business services; Alderman David Nold; and Mike Farrell, chairman and chief executive officer of Sentry Equipment Corp.
“We have a diverse group of community members that can help us give a view of what concerns are here in Oconomowoc,” Bednarski said.
“It’s about local action,” he added.
Already, the group has implemented and nearly completed a light conservation effort at the high school tennis courts, changing the lights to solar power energy.
And coming soon, the group will work with the public library to also make its lighting and lighting costs more effective and efficient.
”We’re starting a project to relight the library with (light-emitting diode) LED fixtures,” Bednarski said.
LED lights are increasingly popular as it uses less energy but operates with as much brightness as a conventional bulb.
by jboullion | Aug 19, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kevin Murphy in The Capital Times:
Milwaukee-based WE Energies wants to build a 90-turbine, 234-megawatt wind farm located between the Columbia County villages of Cambria and Friesland.
In an application filed Monday with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, WE Energies proposes to locate the turbines with a hub height of up to 262 feet generally north and west of Friesland and northeast of Cambria in the towns of Randolph and Scott.
The project would gather power from up to 90 turbines, each with a half-acre footprint, by using up to 50 miles of 50-foot-wide corridors for collector cables. Twenty miles of permanent roads would be used to access the turbine sites, according to the application.
WE Energies acquired an option on the site from Florida Power and Light when it sold its interest in the Point Beach nuclear plant, said Brian Manthey, a WE Energies spokesman.
“The area was already sited for its potential for wind power, once we decided to (exercise the option) we saw that it was a good possibility for us, a good area for wind power production,” Manthey said.
Construction costs haven’t been finalized for the wind farm, now called the Randolph Wind Project, because the number and type of wind turbines haven’t been determined. WE Energies plans to submit those costs to the Public Service Commission within a few months, Manthey said.
He compared the new proposal to the company’s $300 million, 88-turbine wind farm spread across 10,600 acres in Fond du Lac County. The Blue Sky Green Field wind project, which became operational in May, has a 145-megawatt capacity, enough to power 36,000 homes, according to WE Energies.
It used turbines that are 397 feet tall from foundation to the blade tip.
Ryan Schryver, Clean Wisconsin’s wind power advocate, called the proposal a great example of the “choice that we have to make regarding our energy production.”
by jboullion | Aug 18, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a media release issued by Focus on Energy:
MADISON, Wis. – On Sept. 4, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, will host a conference demonstrating how businesses and organizations can take advantage of Wisconsin’s most abundant natural resource – wood. The one-day conference titled “Work Smarter with Wood, Renewable Wood Energy,” will be held at the Best Western Midway Hotel in Green Bay, Wis., and will offer attendees information and tours highlighting how wood can be used to generate bioenergy. In addition, the conference is being presented as a precursor to the 63rd Annual Lake States Logging Congress – the Midwest’s largest forestry tradeshow – presented by the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association September 4 – 6. . . .
Focus on Energy’s conference will consist of information sessions and keynotes, including speakers from the Office of Energy Independence, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, the Pellet Fuel Institute, and Focus on Energy. There will also be tours of two area facilities that are benefiting from the use of renewable wood energy, ST Paper and Pomp’s Service. Attendees will have a chance to tour a biomass combustion system located at ST Paper and Pomp’s Service’s wood brokering facility (ST Paper acquires their wood fuel from Pomp’s).
Complete workshop details here.
by jboullion | Aug 15, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a letter to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by John Moses:
Milwaukee should recognize that one of its finest natural resources is local philanthropy. Joseph Zilber wants to write a $5 million check to the city of Milwaukee in each of the next 10 years. He’s asking other area benefactors to quadruple that amount.
So here’s the idea: Using some of that money, create a private fund to subsidize the purchase of photovoltaic solar arrays for home electricity generation by Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin homeowners. Lure an established or start-up solar cell company to Milwaukee, with the promise of a guaranteed local market for, at the very least, a significant portion of its production capacity.
Offer the usual government incentives for the construction of a photovoltaic manufacturing plant in Milwaukee’s inner city. Begin recruiting homeowners in the area. A typical set-up with 25 panels can run up to around $25,000. Create subsidies of at least 50%, depending on people’s ability to pay.
We Energies has promised everyone higher utility rates. The possibility that homeowners actually would see their meters running backwards (i.e. selling power back to the grid) on a sunny summer day, with an initial investment cost that could mean that they’ll recoup their money within a decade, might be enough incentive to get people on board.
by jboullion | Aug 14, 2008 | Uncategorized
August 13, 2008
Dear Editor:
What is the likelihood of a 200-foot wind tower coming near city of Madison residents, as discussed in Mike Ivey’s story in the July 30-Aug. 5 Cap Times? Consider the following facts.
1. There are no residential-scale wind turbines operating in Madison.
2. There are no residential-scale wind turbines in Wisconsin that are more than 165 feet tall. Any turbine taller than 170 feet would exceed the maximum height that would qualify for Wisconsin Focus on Energy incentives for renewable energy systems. Moreover, most jurisdictions would treat a 200-foot turbine as a commercial wind generator, requiring a conditional use permit.
3. At any elevation reachable with today’s turbines, Madison’s wind resource is too feeble to be economically viable for generating electricity.
4. Utilities like Madison Gas & Electric offer much higher rates for solar power than wind energy.
Even if there were 200-foot wind turbines available for residential use, anyone proposing to install one in Madison would be committing economic suicide. Of course, no one has and no one will, but that doesn’t stop elected officials who ought to know better from voicing these phantom threats as if they were real.
While it may be fun to conjure up headline-grabbing visions of ordinary Madisonians being terrorized by alien wind generators looming over their houses, it has no basis in reality. Such tactics can’t help but retard the city of Madison’s laudable effort to adopt an ordinance for permitting solar and wind energy systems in a manner consistent with state law.
Ed Blume
Communications director
RENEW Wisconsin
by jboullion | Aug 14, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:
Vehicles, sidewalks and medians are stuck in a battle for right-of-way as the state and cities push for new bike lanes with road projects.
On the 76th Street reconstruction project in Milwaukee, for example, the state and city might need to take a chunk from the median to make room for bike lanes, said Dave Schlabowske, Milwaukee bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the Department of Public Works. But the city and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation must weigh priorities, such as whether a narrower median leaves enough room for cars to wait while making left turns, he said.
“You have to balance everything out,” Schlabowske said. “So we’re taking a closer look at it, and it looks like WisDOT is willing to flex a little bit on their lane widths.”
WisDOT is making bike lanes a priority on its projects along local roads because the Federal Highway Administration is tying its money to complete street requirements, Schlabowske said.
The desire to create complete streets for walkers, bikers and drivers is stirring up residents in Shorewood who don’t want trees cut down to widen the right-of-way. Shorewood is considering a long-range plan for a network of bike routes with bike lanes and directions sending bikers to roads that are wide or quiet enough to be safe.
Bikes are a hot topic, and many communities are creating long-range plans to establish bike routes because it’s politically correct and gas prices are driving more people to pedal, said Mary Beth Pettit, project manager of the Shorewood plan for Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer and Associates Inc., Milwaukee. She said the focus on bikes creates problems if the right-of-way doesn’t have enough room for bike lanes.
And a story by Dorie Turner in The Chicago Tribune reports that Ripon College, among others, will provide bicycles to students who don’t bring a car to campus:
Cycling already has a foothold at many colleges, where hefty parking fees, sprawling campuses and limited roads make it tough to travel. Still, most students are reluctant to leave their cars parked.
“They’re using them to drive from residence halls to class, which is a two- or three-block commute,” said Ric Damm, an administrator and cycling coach at Ripon College, which is giving away $300 bikes to freshmen who leave their cars at home. “We thought, ‘How can we provide an incentive to get them out of that behavior?'”
Damm’s school, outside Oshkosh, Wis., has spent $26,000 on its free bike program, which so far has signed up half of the 300-student freshman class, Damm said.
“I think a big draw is the just the environmental aspect,” said freshman Regina Nelson, who readily signed up for a free bike. “And, honestly, I think that anything free when you’re in college is good, especially something like a bike that is worth something.”
by jboullion | Aug 13, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
With all of the praise over the settlement reached this week on We Energies’ Oak Creek power plants, one might be tempted to ask, “What’s wrong with this picture?” Turns out, apparently nothing is. The deal allows We Energies and its two utility partners in the Oak Creek project to finish construction in a timely manner, provides needed help for Lake Michigan and expands renewable energy in Wisconsin.
And while the $105 million settlement will be paid for by electric customers ($100 million) and shareholders ($5 million), the price tag will be far less than it could have been under a protracted legal battle over the plant’s cooling system. We hope that next time the issues can be settled without going to court, but the utilities involved and the environmental groups who fought the plant deserve credit for reaching a compromise that serves everyone.
The issue settled this week was a dispute over the water intake system that We Energies will deploy to draw 1.8 billion gallons of Lake Michigan water per day for cooling at the new power plant. Environmental groups opposed the intake pipe and were demanding that the utility construct more expensive cooling towers.
