by jboullion | Aug 12, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Betsy Bloom in the La Crosse Tribune:
Outdated power plant cooling systems take a major toll on fish and other wildlife in the upper Mississippi River, according to a Sierra Club report released Thursday.
The report refers to the plants’ open-cycle cooling systems as“giant fish blenders” that also spew out heated water harmful to aquatic habitats.
The plants suck in millions of gallons of water each day from the river that is circulated to help cool equipment, then released back into the river, according to the report.
Larger fish can become trapped against screens at the mouths of intake pipes, while smaller fish and other organisms are churned through the system and succumb to the high-temperature water, the report claims.
Mentioned in the region were Dairyland Power Cooperative’s plants at Genoa and Alma, along with the Alliant Energy plant at Lansing, Iowa.
The four coal-fired plants on the Wisconsin side of the river combined draw in more than 890 million gallons of water a day, according to the report.
The Sierra Club faults not only the power companies but also the Environmental Protection Agency for not requiring the plants to upgrade to a closed-cycle cooling system it contends uses 95 percent less water.
Dairyland Power spokeswoman Katie Thomson disagreed with the report’s conclusions, saying the plants have a “a very minimal impact on the Mississippi River.”
by jboullion | Aug 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
Immediate release
August 8, 2011
More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Statement of Michael Vickerman
Executive Director – RENEW Wisconsin on
Alliant’s Iowa Wind Energy Project
Alliant Energy, parent company of Wisconsin Power and Light, disclosed its intention last week to build a 100-megawatt wind energy facility in Franklin County, Iowa, and place it in service before December 2012. For the moment at least, the costs of this investment will not be borne by Alliant’s Iowa or Wisconsin ratepayers, but rather the parent company’s shareholders.
Moving forward now on this project locks in the favorable pricing terms for the wind turbines that Alliant had negotiated several years ago with Vestas, a Danish turbine manufacturer with a plant in Colorado.
We at RENEW support Alliant’s renewable energy venture so long as it operates as either a merchant plant, selling the electricity into the Midwest wholesale market, or a dedicated source of renewable electricity serving Alliant’s Iowa ratepayers.
However, RENEW firmly believes that utility-owned generating assets should be located in the same state where the ratepayers who are underwriting the project reside. In other words, if there comes a time when Alliant needs a new wind project to meet its Wisconsin renewable energy requirements, it should either build that installation in Wisconsin or purchase electricity from a new nonutility-owned installation located in Wisconsin.
There is a fully permitted wind project in Alliant’s Wisconsin territory that is ready to serve Wisconsin Power and Light customers. Located in Lafayette County, the Quilt Block project, developed by EDP Renewables, an independent wind developer, is licensed to be a 99-megawatt facility that could be operational before the end of 2012. The economic benefits to Lafayette County and Wisconsin as a whole from pursuing local wind projects like Quilt Block far exceed what can be obtained from more distant sources of renewable electricity.
END
by jboullion | Aug 5, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
We Energies customers could see a small increase in electric bills in 2012 linked to the higher price of coal and other power plant fuels expected next year, the company said Wednesday.
The state’s largest utility filed a plan with the state Public Service Commission that said costs linked to power plant fuels are projected to rise by about $50 million in 2012.
The utility wants to delay an increase in non-fuel rates until 2013. Whenever that increase hits customers’ bills, it would result in a hike of about 6%, the utility projects.
Under the utility’s plan, rates would rise in 2012 only because of power plant fuel prices, and the bottom line for customers would be an overall 2012 increase of less than 1%.
Residential customers would see a 0.7% increase, adding 77 cents a month for a typical residential customer now paying $104.90 a month for electricity, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said. Business customers would see increases of about 1% to 1.1%. . . .
The higher price of coal is projected to lead to $28 million in higher costs next year, including the price of the fuel itself and cost to deliver it by train to Wisconsin. Other increases include $10 million for power it buys from the Point Beach nuclear plant and about $8 million for natural gas.
Offsetting these increases somewhat is the state’s newest and largest wind farm, set to open late this year. Generation from the Glacier Hills Wind Park would decrease 2012 fuel costs by more than $12 million, We Energies said.
by jboullion | Aug 4, 2011 | Uncategorized
From a story by Lindsey Hayes on WXOW, La Crosse:
LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW)– It’s the largest academic building on the UW-La Crosse campus and its name is Centennial Hall.
The facility will officially open on the September 6th for the first day of classes, yet on Wednesday UWL’s Chancellor Joe Gow lead a tour to introduce the new state of the art building.
Centennial Hall is 189,000 square feet.
It houses 44 classrooms, two auditoriums and offices for fourteen departments.
Each classroom is equipped with advanced technology, has flexible seating for interactive teaching, and 90 percent of the building has natural lighting.
This $40 million facility also has special interior design.
Much of the furniture, carpet and even the solar panels on the roof were based on input from students and staff.
by jboullion | Aug 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by by Jason Smathers, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, posted on WisconsinWatch.org:
State feeds national fracking boom; health, environmental concerns rise
TUNNEL CITY — Retiree Letha Webster’s voice briefly cracks when she talks about leaving the town she and her husband have called home for 56 years. But she says selling her land to an out-of-state mining company was the best move she could have made.
The 84-year old was approached in late June by a Connecticut-based company, Unimin, that planned to build a sand mine in the area and was paying a good price for houses in the way.
Webster’s struggle to maintain her home and 8.5 acres of land while caring for her husband, Gene, who has Alzheimer’s, meant she would need to move soon anyway. Webster, whose property was valued last year at $147,400, says she has agreed to sell for more than double that amount: $330,000.
Others in the area are selling, too. . . .
This western Wisconsin community is in the midst of a land rush — call it a sand rush — fueled by exploding nationwide demand for fine silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing. In this process, nicknamed “fracking,” sand, water and chemicals are blasted into wells, creating fissures in the rock and freeing hard-to-reach pockets of oil and natural gas. . . .
[Fracking has been a contentious issue in most states that have fracking operations. Critics argue that chemicals used in fracking may be contaminating water supplies. And it’s the subject of a documentary titled Gasland.]
Health effects feared
Residents in several Wisconsin counties say they have been alarmed by the speed with which mining companies have snapped up land.
Some communities lack local land-use controls such as zoning that would allow them to manage the land rush. And despite concerns about the health and environmental impacts of such facilities, the state Department of Natural Resources has only a few regulations for sand mining operations.
Mining companies must file a reclamation plan with the county that spells how much land will be disturbed and how it will be rejuvenated once mining is completed, and they apply to be covered under a general DNR permit covering stormwater and wastewater. Other permits regulating air emissions and groundwater use may be required from the DNR.
But none specifically limits how much crystalline silica gets into the air, the main health worry for those living near the facilities. Drew Bradley, Unimin’s senior vice president of operations, says that while the risks of crystalline silica are well known in an occupational setting, there’s no evidence that ambient exposure poses any threat.
by jboullion | Jul 28, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A solar financing program for city residents will be unveiled Thursday at a community kickoff event at South Shore Park Pavilion.
Under the new program, Milwaukee Shines will partner with Summit Credit Union to help homeowners finance the installation costs for solar panels.
The city says a study of solar installers found financing options were a key barrier to homeowners installing panels.
“We have seen the number of solar installations increase over the past two years since our solar program began, but financing the installation can still be a challenge for homeowners,” said Amy Heart, who manages the Milwaukee Shines solar program.
Solar installers and organizers of the city’s solar program and the city energy efficiency program will join Mayor Tom Barrett and Ald. Tony Zielinski at the kickoff event, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Heart said she hoped that Summit Credit Union’s involvement in the program would help spur a long-term change in how local lenders view investment in renewable energy.
The first 20 participants in the loan program will receive $1,000 off the cost of the solar installation. The financing arrangement will supplement incentives that homeowners and owners of multifamily dwellings with up to three units can receive, Heart said.
The loans will be available for solar electric or hot water systems. Homeowners can also take advantage of a 30% federal tax credit and a Focus on Energy incentive, Heart said.
“Between a homeowner being interested in solar and moving forward, it can be about three years,” she said. “This will help a lot of installers and site assessors working in the area, and help us add solar to folks’ homes around the area.”
