Manufacturing the future TODAY
A welcome video from AWEA to those attending WindPower2012 in Atlanta.
Manufacturing the future TODAY
A welcome video from AWEA to those attending WindPower2012 in Atlanta.
Solar Power Happy Hour, May 24
Solar Power Happy Hour, May 24
Erin’s Snug Irish Pub
4601 American Parkway, between Madison & Sun Prairie
Please join Don Wichert and Michael Vickerman for a discussion and feedback of energy issues affecting the renewable energy market at the Solar Power Happy Hour, today from 5:00 – 6:00 at Erin’s Snug Irish Pub. (See map.)
Topics for discussion include:
- Focus on Energy funding
- Third Party Ownership
- Net Metering
Simplified interconnection - Policy goals for 2013
RENEW Rips WPS’s Net Metering Proposal
For immediate release
May 23, 2012
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044, ext. 2
Another example of company backsliding on renewables
In documents filed in conjunction with its pending rate case, Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) proposed several rollbacks to its net metering service that would, if approved, sharply restrict a customer’s ability to generate electricity from renewable energy resources and sell a portion of it back to the utility.
Net metering allows customers to sell the unused output from their solar electric or other renewable energy system back to the utility at the full retail rate from month to month, so long as the surplus electricity is less than or equal to the customers’ usage in a 12-month period.
Currently, WPS customers may install solar or wind energy systems on their premises up to 100 kilowatts (kW). Beginning in January 2013, WPS would roll back that capacity limit to 20 kW.
WPS has also proposed to cap the overall size of its net metering offering at one-half of one percent of 2011 summer peak. No other Wisconsin utility has ever sought to impose capacity-based limits to its net metering service.
“What WPS proposes would be a really bad deal for customers installing small renewable energy systems serving their homes or businesses,” said Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy organization promoting renewable energy use in Wisconsin.
“These service changes are clearly intended to discourage its customers from investing in solar and small wind energy systems,” Vickerman said. “If WPS gets its way, the renewable energy marketplace in that part of Wisconsin will slow down significantly.”
“At a time when the customers and communities in WPS territory are looking to renewable energy to support new jobs and manage their energy costs, the company is doing its level best to take that option away from them,” Vickerman said.
As an intervenor in WPS’s rate case, RENEW Wisconsin will ask the Public Service Commission to:
• Reject WPS’s proposal to impose a system-wide cap on net metering service;
• Maintain the current maximum system size at 100 kW; and
• Base WPS’s calculation of net energy on annual usage instead of monthly usage.
“What we will ask for is a standard of service that is already offered by two Wisconsin utilities: Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) and Xcel Energy,” Vickerman said. “WPS’s proposal is a particularly egregious example of company backsliding.”
Vickerman noted that MGE, which also has a pending rate proceeding before the Public Service Commission, did not propose any changes to its net metering service for 2013 and 2014.
“We urge the PSC to work toward a uniform net metering policy for the state using MGE’s and Xcel’s service as a template,” Vickerman said.
Vickerman added: “WPS, it should be remembered, was the driving force behind the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act,” which was signed into law in 2011. That law lets utilities apply the energy they purchase from large Canadian hydropower sources toward their renewable energy requirements, at the expense of in-state renewable energy providers. Within that context, WPS’s net metering proposal constitutes another slight to Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace.”
END
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that leads and represents businesses and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
RENEW Rips WPS’s Net Metering Proposal
For immediate release
May 23, 2012
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044, ext. 2
Another example of company backsliding on renewables
In documents filed in conjunction with its pending rate case, Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) proposed several rollbacks to its net metering service that would, if approved, sharply restrict a customer’s ability to generate electricity from renewable energy resources and sell a portion of it back to the utility.
Net metering allows customers to sell the unused output from their solar electric or other renewable energy system back to the utility at the full retail rate from month to month, so long as the surplus electricity is less than or equal to the customers’ usage in a 12-month period.
Currently, WPS customers may install solar or wind energy systems on their premises up to 100 kilowatts (kW). Beginning in January 2013, WPS would roll back that capacity limit to 20 kW.
WPS has also proposed to cap the overall size of its net metering offering at one-half of one percent of 2011 summer peak. No other Wisconsin utility has ever sought to impose capacity-based limits to its net metering service.
“What WPS proposes would be a really bad deal for customers installing small renewable energy systems serving their homes or businesses,” said Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy organization promoting renewable energy use in Wisconsin.
“These service changes are clearly intended to discourage its customers from investing in solar and small wind energy systems,” Vickerman said. “If WPS gets its way, the renewable energy marketplace in that part of Wisconsin will slow down significantly.”
“At a time when the customers and communities in WPS territory are looking to renewable energy to support new jobs and manage their energy costs, the company is doing its level best to take that option away from them,” Vickerman said.
As an intervenor in WPS’s rate case, RENEW Wisconsin will ask the Public Service Commission to:
• Reject WPS’s proposal to impose a system-wide cap on net metering service;
• Maintain the current maximum system size at 100 kW; and
• Base WPS’s calculation of net energy on annual usage instead of monthly usage.
“What we will ask for is a standard of service that is already offered by two Wisconsin utilities: Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) and Xcel Energy,” Vickerman said. “WPS’s proposal is a particularly egregious example of company backsliding.”
Vickerman noted that MGE, which also has a pending rate proceeding before the Public Service Commission, did not propose any changes to its net metering service for 2013 and 2014.
“We urge the PSC to work toward a uniform net metering policy for the state using MGE’s and Xcel’s service as a template,” Vickerman said.
Vickerman added: “WPS, it should be remembered, was the driving force behind the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act,” which was signed into law in 2011. That law lets utilities apply the energy they purchase from large Canadian hydropower sources toward their renewable energy requirements, at the expense of in-state renewable energy providers. Within that context, WPS’s net metering proposal constitutes another slight to Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace.”
END
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that leads and represents businesses and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
RENEW Rips WPS’s Net Metering Proposal
For immediate release
May 23, 2012
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044, ext. 2
Another example of company backsliding on renewables
In documents filed in conjunction with its pending rate case, Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) proposed several rollbacks to its net metering service that would, if approved, sharply restrict a customer’s ability to generate electricity from renewable energy resources and sell a portion of it back to the utility.
Net metering allows customers to sell the unused output from their solar electric or other renewable energy system back to the utility at the full retail rate from month to month, so long as the surplus electricity is less than or equal to the customers’ usage in a 12-month period.
Currently, WPS customers may install solar or wind energy systems on their premises up to 100 kilowatts (kW). Beginning in January 2013, WPS would roll back that capacity limit to 20 kW.
WPS has also proposed to cap the overall size of its net metering offering at one-half of one percent of 2011 summer peak. No other Wisconsin utility has ever sought to impose capacity-based limits to its net metering service.
“What WPS proposes would be a really bad deal for customers installing small renewable energy systems serving their homes or businesses,” said Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy organization promoting renewable energy use in Wisconsin.
“These service changes are clearly intended to discourage its customers from investing in solar and small wind energy systems,” Vickerman said. “If WPS gets its way, the renewable energy marketplace in that part of Wisconsin will slow down significantly.”
“At a time when the customers and communities in WPS territory are looking to renewable energy to support new jobs and manage their energy costs, the company is doing its level best to take that option away from them,” Vickerman said.
As an intervenor in WPS’s rate case, RENEW Wisconsin will ask the Public Service Commission to:
• Reject WPS’s proposal to impose a system-wide cap on net metering service;
• Maintain the current maximum system size at 100 kW; and
• Base WPS’s calculation of net energy on annual usage instead of monthly usage.
“What we will ask for is a standard of service that is already offered by two Wisconsin utilities: Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) and Xcel Energy,” Vickerman said. “WPS’s proposal is a particularly egregious example of company backsliding.”
Vickerman noted that MGE, which also has a pending rate proceeding before the Public Service Commission, did not propose any changes to its net metering service for 2013 and 2014.
“We urge the PSC to work toward a uniform net metering policy for the state using MGE’s and Xcel’s service as a template,” Vickerman said.
Vickerman added: “WPS, it should be remembered, was the driving force behind the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act,” which was signed into law in 2011. That law lets utilities apply the energy they purchase from large Canadian hydropower sources toward their renewable energy requirements, at the expense of in-state renewable energy providers. Within that context, WPS’s net metering proposal constitutes another slight to Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace.”
END
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that leads and represents businesses and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
RENEW Rips WPS’s Net Metering Proposal
For immediate release
May 23, 2012
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044, ext. 2
Another example of company backsliding on renewables
In documents filed in conjunction with its pending rate case, Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) proposed several rollbacks to its net metering service that would, if approved, sharply restrict a customer’s ability to generate electricity from renewable energy resources and sell a portion of it back to the utility.
Net metering allows customers to sell the unused output from their solar electric or other renewable energy system back to the utility at the full retail rate from month to month, so long as the surplus electricity is less than or equal to the customers’ usage in a 12-month period.
Currently, WPS customers may install solar or wind energy systems on their premises up to 100 kilowatts (kW). Beginning in January 2013, WPS would roll back that capacity limit to 20 kW.
WPS has also proposed to cap the overall size of its net metering offering at one-half of one percent of 2011 summer peak. No other Wisconsin utility has ever sought to impose capacity-based limits to its net metering service.
“What WPS proposes would be a really bad deal for customers installing small renewable energy systems serving their homes or businesses,” said Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy organization promoting renewable energy use in Wisconsin.
“These service changes are clearly intended to discourage its customers from investing in solar and small wind energy systems,” Vickerman said. “If WPS gets its way, the renewable energy marketplace in that part of Wisconsin will slow down significantly.”
“At a time when the customers and communities in WPS territory are looking to renewable energy to support new jobs and manage their energy costs, the company is doing its level best to take that option away from them,” Vickerman said.
As an intervenor in WPS’s rate case, RENEW Wisconsin will ask the Public Service Commission to:
• Reject WPS’s proposal to impose a system-wide cap on net metering service;
• Maintain the current maximum system size at 100 kW; and
• Base WPS’s calculation of net energy on annual usage instead of monthly usage.
“What we will ask for is a standard of service that is already offered by two Wisconsin utilities: Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) and Xcel Energy,” Vickerman said. “WPS’s proposal is a particularly egregious example of company backsliding.”
Vickerman noted that MGE, which also has a pending rate proceeding before the Public Service Commission, did not propose any changes to its net metering service for 2013 and 2014.
“We urge the PSC to work toward a uniform net metering policy for the state using MGE’s and Xcel’s service as a template,” Vickerman said.
Vickerman added: “WPS, it should be remembered, was the driving force behind the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act,” which was signed into law in 2011. That law lets utilities apply the energy they purchase from large Canadian hydropower sources toward their renewable energy requirements, at the expense of in-state renewable energy providers. Within that context, WPS’s net metering proposal constitutes another slight to Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace.”
END
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that leads and represents businesses, organizations, and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
Solar Power Happy Hour launches, May 24
Solar Power Happy Hour, May 24, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Erin’s Snug Irish Pub
4601 American Parkway, Madison
RENEW Wisconsin invites solar installers, distributors, manufacturers, related businesses, those with solar systems and other solar stakeholders to the first Solar Power Happy Hour at Erin’s Snug Irish Pub located between Madison and Sun Prairie (see map).
No RSVP is necessary for this event.
We’ve made good progress on the solar initiatives set by participants at RENEW’s Energy Policy Summit last January and we would like to do a quick update and ask for input on how to move forward over the next few months:
- Third party ownership
- Net energy billing
- Focus on Energy funding
- Simplified interconnection
- Policy goals for 2013
In addition, we will review the Grow Solar Wisconsin activities to date and discuss next steps.
Buy a drink and join us from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on May 24.
Come with your suggestions on what we should do next! We want feedback!
RENEW Wisconsin seeks nominations for board of directors
Call for nominations to RENEW Wisconsin board of directors
RENEW Wisconsin invites you to put yourself or another current RENEW member on the ballot for elections to a three-year term on the board of directors.
Your participation would help shape policies and programs to help lead and represent businesses, organizations, and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin.
As a board member, you can have fun and contribute to moving RENEW closer to achieving these solar, wind, and bio-energy goals in 2012:
• Organize stakeholders to articulate public policy messages on clean energy;
• Increase funding for renewable energy in the Focus on Energy program;
• Take the lead on wind permitting issues in Wisconsin;
• Advance third-party ownership of clean renewable energy systems;
• Overhaul and promote consistent net energy billing policies statewide;
• Revive utility commitments to expand renewable energy;
• Promote attractive renewable energy buyback policies;
• Defend and repair Wisconsin’s 10% Renewable Energy Standard.
• Increase funding for renewable energy in the Focus on Energy program;
• Take the lead on wind permitting issues in Wisconsin;
• Advance third-party ownership of clean renewable energy systems;
• Overhaul and promote consistent net energy billing policies statewide;
• Revive utility commitments to expand renewable energy;
• Promote attractive renewable energy buyback policies;
• Defend and repair Wisconsin’s 10% Renewable Energy Standard.
The board meets four times each year. Board members are expected to be actively engaged and to volunteer for at least one standing committee.
There are four board seats that will become available in July. Here’s the schedule for the elections:
• May 25 Deadlines for nominations
• June 5 Deadline for submitting a short statement (50-100 words) to appear on the ballot describing yourself and your interest in serving on the RENEW board
• June 11 Elections open
• June 22 Elections close
• June 26 Candidates notified
• July 5 Elected members attend board meeting
A member of the board of directors must be a member of RENEW. To join RENEW, click here.
To submit a nomination of get more information, contact M ick Sagrillo by email (msagrillo@wizunwired.net) or phone, 920 .837.7523.
RENEW Wisconsin seeks nominations for board of directors
Call for nominations to RENEW Wisconsin board of directors
RENEW Wisconsin invites you to put yourself or another current RENEW member on the ballot for elections to a three-year term on the board of directors.
Your participation would help shape policies and programs to help lead and represent businesses, organizations, and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin.
As a board member, you can have fun and contribute to moving RENEW closer to achieving these solar, wind, and bio-energy goals in 2012:
• Organize stakeholders to articulate public policy messages on clean energy;
• Increase funding for renewable energy in the Focus on Energy program;
• Take the lead on wind permitting issues in Wisconsin;
• Advance third-party ownership of clean renewable energy systems;
• Overhaul and promote consistent net energy billing policies statewide;
• Revive utility commitments to expand renewable energy;
• Promote attractive renewable energy buyback policies;
• Defend and repair Wisconsin’s 10% Renewable Energy Standard.
• Increase funding for renewable energy in the Focus on Energy program;
• Take the lead on wind permitting issues in Wisconsin;
• Advance third-party ownership of clean renewable energy systems;
• Overhaul and promote consistent net energy billing policies statewide;
• Revive utility commitments to expand renewable energy;
• Promote attractive renewable energy buyback policies;
• Defend and repair Wisconsin’s 10% Renewable Energy Standard.
The board meets four times each year. Board members are expected to be actively engaged and to volunteer for at least one standing committee.
There are four board seats that will become available in July. Here’s the schedule for the elections:
• May 25 Deadlines for nominations
• June 5 Deadline for submitting a short statement (50-100 words) to appear on the ballot describing yourself and your interest in serving on the RENEW board
• June 11 Elections open
• June 22 Elections close
• June 26 Candidates notified
• July 5 Elected members attend board meeting
• June 5 Deadline for submitting a short statement (50-100 words) to appear on the ballot describing yourself and your interest in serving on the RENEW board
• June 11 Elections open
• June 22 Elections close
• June 26 Candidates notified
• July 5 Elected members attend board meeting
A member of the board of directors must be a member of RENEW. To join RENEW, click here.
To submit a nomination of get more information, contact M ick Sagrillo by email (msagrillo@wizunwired.net) or phone, 920 .837.7523.