From the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
Interested in showcasing your new renewable energy installation at your home or business? Sign-up for the Wisconsin Solar Tour, October 3 & 4, 2008. Open your doors, and help others learn about renewable energy, green building and sustainable practices. Fill out the online application.
An editorial from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Former Vice President Al Gore’s recent call for the nation to produce all electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources within 10 years appears unattainable, energy wonks have been quick to note.
And we appear to be part of that naysaying pack.
In the editorial above, we commend Gov. Jim Doyle’s Task Force on Global Warming for setting goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 22% by 2022 and a 75% reduction by 2050. That’s not zero in 10 years.
We commend those Wisconsin goals because they are “realistic,” as in doable, but that doesn’t mean that we oppose speeding things up.
We put those quotation marks around the word because we also realize that citing “realism” often has been just another way of slowing progress.
So, here’s the real utility in Gore’s call for speedier progress: It recognizes that deeper commitment can produce speedier results.
Too costly to move quicker? Those costs have to be weighed against those already levied by our reliance on fossil fuels. And the time allowed to break this addiction to oil has to be weighed against how every minute, every hour, every day of carbon emissions brings the world closer to that tipping point that spells global catastrophe.
From the preliminary agenda for the Solar Decade Conference posted on the conference Web site:
9:15 Opening Keynote Addresses: Solar Electric and Solar Thermal Experts
10:30 Breakout Sessions
Residential Solar Case Studies, Moderator TBD
The Future of the Solar Electric Market, Speaker TBD
Introduction to Solar Thermal Systems, Speaker TBD
Starting a Solar Business Panel, Moderator Michael Allen, Energy Law Wisconsin12:15 Lunch with presentations by
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s Solar Decathlon Team
Solar Market Expert1:30 Breakout Sessions
Solar Green Building Case Studies, Moderator Sue Loomans, WGBA
Introduction to Solar Electric Systems, Speaker Clay Sterling, MREA
Solar Thermal – Technical Details, Bob Ramlow, Speaker Artha Sustainable Living Center
Growing Wisconsin’s Solar Businesses Panel, Moderator Niels Wolter, Focus on Energy3:15 Breakout Sessions
Solar Communities, Moderator Tehri Parker, MREA
The Economics of Solar Power, Speaker Niels Wolter Focus on Energy
Market Status of Solar Thermal, Speaker TBD
Marketing: Changing the Solar Dialog, Moderator/Speaker Kelly Lang, Focus on Energy4:45 End of Conference
From an article by David Doege in The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker plans to seek $50 million in federal funds for two bus rapid transit lines that could help break the long-running stalemate over upgrades to the Milwaukee area’s transit system.
The funds would be in addition to the $91.5 million in federal funds allocated to the Milwaukee area in the early 1990s that has gone unspent because Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett cannot agree on a revised mass transit plan. Business and community leaders have been pushing hard in recent months for an upgraded transit system to help the area’s economic development efforts and business climate.
Walker said this week that he will meet in the next few days with officials from the Federal Transit Administration to begin the application process for funding he believes would support one north-south line beginning at Bay Shore Town Center in Glendale and an east-west line beginning on the Milwaukee County Grounds in Wauwatosa.
A bus rapid transit line would use new buses that would operate in a dedicated lane at higher speeds with fewer stops than traditional urban bus systems.
“This would probably be something that we could put in the 2010 budget,” he said.
The funding Walker intends to seek is available under an federal program called Very Small Starts. According to an agency fact sheet, the program targets “simple, low-risk (transit) projects” and features a “highly simplified project evaluation rating process.”
To win approval, projects must be on corridors with more than 3,000 riders daily, offer service at least 14 hours per day, utilize vehicles with signal priority and feature on-peak service every 10 minutes and off-peak service every 15 minutes, among other criteria.
Local governments must provide at least 20 percent of the total cost for approved projects. Walker said that some of that would have to be built into the budget, but that part of it could come through “in kind” design services provided by county personnel who would participate in designing and establishing the system.
“We would have time to work with the County Board to set this up,” Walker said. “There would have to be an appropriation in the budget, but it would not involve a tax increase.”
“We wanted to do something genuine, not phony,” said Bob Chesebro, president of family-owned Wigwam Mills, Sheboygan, about his company’s decision to install a solar energy system.
Initially, Chesebro wasn’t sure which kind of solar energy system to go with. But the more he delved into the question, the more he came to believe that solar hot water would provide the best fit for the 103-year-old company.
Placed in service in February 2008, Wigwam’s 27 solar collectors supply 47 percent of the hot water used by the company to shrink, bleach, antimicrobial treat, wash and soften 40,000 pairs of socks each day. . . .
Complete story here.
A meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord will meet in Milwaukee, July 29, 2008, 12:30- 4:30PM.
According to the meeting Web site, during the breakout sessions:
. . . a subgroup member will give a short presentation regarding the composition and work of the subgroup. There will also be time allotted where the presenter will solicit questions and comments from the audience.
The Web site also explains the accord:
Last November, nine Midwestern states and a Canadian premier signed the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Accord at a summit of governors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Realizing the unique and major impact that the Midwestern states play in the emissions of carbon, these governors wanted to institute Midwestern practicality in the debate on global warming. While the Midwest has intensive manufacturing and agriculture sectors, making it the most coal-dependent region in North America, it also has world-class renewable energy resources and opportunities to allow it to take a lead role in solving the effects of climate change. The geographical location and ideological-centered beliefs of the Midwestern region provide its leaders with an ability to push the federal policy debate in a productive direction. Through the Accord, these governors agreed to establish a Midwestern greenhouse gas reduction program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their states, as well as a working group to provide recommendations regarding the implementation of the Accord.
From a media release issued by Johnson Controls:
MILWAUKEE, July 21 /PRNewswire/ — The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and Johnson Controls, a global leader in creating smart and sustainable environments, announced new research on energy efficiency in healthcare. The results give the healthcare industry reason to celebrate. Not only do healthcare executives place a higher priority on energy efficiency than
executives in
other industries, they are more likely to expect to make improvements over the coming year. . . .Healthcare executives place greater importance on energy efficiency than others. Only 57 percent of respondents to the multi-industry study called energy efficiency “extremely important” or “very important,” compared with 65 percent of healthcare respondents. Healthcare organizations are consequently more likely than companies in other industries to invest in energy efficiency. Two thirds (67 percent) of healthcare organizations reported plans to spend capital on energy efficiency this year, compared to 56 percent in the multi-industry survey. Moreover, healthcare organizations will tolerate a longer payback period (4.2 years) on energy efficiency projects than other industries (3.6 years).
Skyrocketing Energy Prices Motivate Investment in Energy Efficiency
Survey respondents project energy price increases of 11 percent this year. On average, healthcare organizations will spend eight percent of their capital budgets and six percent of their operating budgets to conserve energy over the coming year. Their drive toward energy efficiency is motivated primarily by cost, with 59 percent of respondents saying that the need to control costs is a greater motivator than environmental responsibility.
“We live in an age of rising energy prices and growing environmental consciousness,” said Clay Nesler, vice president of global energy and sustainability, Johnson Controls. “All industries are investing more aggressively to control energy costs and improve their sustainability. We believe this is a long term trend. . . .”
Interest in Renewable Energy Grows
Healthcare has not adopted renewable energy technology to the same degree as other industries. More than two thirds (68 percent) of respondents to the multi-industry study have invested in renewable technologies or have actively considered investing. Only 38 percent of healthcare organizations reported similar interest in renewable energy. Included in this number, 25 percent of healthcare organizations have looked actively at solar energy, and significant numbers have shown interest in other technologies such as biomass, geothermal and wind.
“Finding sites for energy generating equipment like solar panels and wind turbines can be a challenge for compact urban hospitals, but it is a challenge that can be overcome,” notes Don Albinger, vice present of renewable energy, Johnson Controls. “Our job is to educate healthcare leaders about new, creative and cost effective techniques for incorporating renewable energy in space constrained settings.”
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Alliant Energy Corp. has proposed to build an inefficient, more polluting kind of coal-fired power plant at a time when concerns are rising about emissions from such plants, a key opponent of the project said Wednesday.
Alliant has proposed a $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion coal plant in Cassville in southwestern Wisconsin to help it meet rising demand for power. The utility is seeking state approval for the project, which is the third new, coal-fired power plant proposed in the state this decade.
But Clean Wisconsin staff scientist Peter Taglia called on Alliant to follow the lead of other utilities, such as Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Corp., that have committed not to build new coal plants because of their emissions of greenhouse gases and rising construction costs.
“Anyone right now would think GM (General Motors) would be crazy to build a new Suburban plant,” he said.
“Five years ago, GM was saying fuel prices are going to remain low and everything’s going to be fine. The difference here is that this is a 50-year plant,” he said. “We are entering an era of high fuel prices and climate issues that are unprecedented, and this is the exact worst time to be building something that’s fraught with so many environmental and economic uncertainties.”
Alliant has said it delayed proposing a coal plant in recent years as it worked aggressively to expand in areas such as energy efficiency, renewable power and natural gas-fired power plants.
The utility announced last month that it would step up its investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency, increasing the funding for its efficiency program by 50%.
Alliant says it chose a less-efficient type of technology because that system is more conducive to burning switchgrass, corn stalks and other biomass. The plant will burn 20% biomass and 80% coal.
The utility also said last month that the cost of the project had risen to $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion from earlier projections of $850 million to $950 million.
“When you look at our resource plan as a whole, it’s a plan built around balance,” said Alliant spokesman Rob Crain. “And this plant certainly fits into that balanced plan.”
The Web site of We Energies offers videos on the experiences of real people with wind and solar installations.
