by jboullion | Nov 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a Tom Content post on JSOnline:
We Energies’ newest coal-fired plant is generating power, after “significant progress” in construction over the past three months, the company’s chairman said Thursday.
The coal plant consists of two coal-fired boilers next to an older coal plant on Lake Michigan in Oak Creek. The first new boiler began burning coal earlier this month and has been running at 25% of maximum power in recent days, said Gale Klappa, We Energies chairman and chief executive.
Bechtel Power Corp., the contractor on the project, also has made progress on building the second boiler, which is now 74% complete, Klappa said.
The $2.3 billion project is the most expensive construction project in state history, as it’s roughly double the combined cost of building Miller Park and rebuilding the Marquette Interchange.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Dane County’s first community manure digester, the first cooperative project of its kind in Wisconsin, will be built and operated by a Milwaukee-based company that plans to finance most of the project itself.
By letting Clear Horizons, in partnership with SCC Americas, a global developer of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, operate the Waunakee community digester, the county is avoiding the financial risks and rewards.
“That was important to the farmers (who wanted) a separate company operating the digester,” Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said of the county’s decision. “We’ve chosen this model because Clear Horizons brings significant private dollars.”
Clear Horizons plans to privately finance everything except a $3.3 million state earmark. The state included $6.6 million in its latest budget for the Waunakee digester and another being planned near Middleton. The county planned to borrow $1.4 million for the project, but now won’t have to spend anything to build the first digester.
Clear Horizons general manager Dan Nemke said construction is expected to cost about $11 million. After designs are finalized and a site is selected on one of three participating farms, the company expects to break ground in the spring and begin processing manure by the fall.
A manure digester is essentially a mini power plant that uses bacteria to convert cow manure into mostly methane gas, a fiber material and a liquid fertilizer. The methane is burned to generate electricity and the fiber can be used as cow bedding.
The Waunakee digester is expected to generate $2 million worth of electricity every year, and Clear Horizons plans to sell the fiber material.
Dane County’s 400 dairy farms and 50,000 dairy cows – a $700 million industry – produce more than 2 billion pounds of manure each year. Much of that is spread on fields in the winter and the resulting runoff into creeks and rivers has killed thousands of fish in the past.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
An announcement from the Sierra Club’s campaign Moving Wisconsin Beyond Coal:
Eau Claire, WI
Host: Richard S.
When: 3:00 PM, November 14, 2009
We will share refreshments, snacks, and conversation while watching Coal Country, a documentary about mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachia. Click here for more details.
Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop-removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. Produced by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller, Coal Country brings us inside the lives of Appalachian residents who are directly threatened by mountaintop-removal, a destructive mining practice where mountaintops are blasted away to expose the coal; the waste is then dumped in the waterways of nearby communities. As it takes us through each stage of coal mining and processing, Coal Country reveals the shocking true cost of America’s over-reliance on coal.
The State of Wisconsin owns 15 coal plants across Wisconsin – including eight UW campuses and three health facilities. Governor Doyle agreed to clean up two in Madison.
Wisconsin’s State-Owned Coal Plants
1.Capitol Heat & Power (Madison)*
2.Hill Farms (Madison)
3.Mendota Health Institute (Madison)
4.Northern Wisconsin Center (Chippewa Falls)
5.UW-Eau Claire
6.UW-LaCrosse
7.UW-Madison*
8.UW-Oshkosh
9.UW-Platteville
10.UW-River Falls
11.UW-Stevens Point
12.UW-Stout
13.UW-Superior
14.Waupun Correctional Institution
15.Winnebago Mental Health Institute (Oshkosh)
*Governor Doyle committed these facilities to burn biomass and natural gas instead of coal.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
An announcement from the Sierra Club’s campaign Moving Wisconsin Beyond Coal:
Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop-removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. Produced by Mari-Lynn Evans and Phylis Geller, Coal Country brings us inside the lives of Appalachian residents who are directly threatened by mountaintop-removal, a destructive mining practice where mountaintops are blasted away to expose the coal; the waste is then dumped in the waterways of nearby communities. As it takes us through each stage of coal mining and processing, Coal Country reveals the shocking true cost of America’s over-reliance on coal.
Holmen, WI
Host: Marilyn P.
When: 8:00 PM, November 11, 2009
Please call Marilyn to confirm attendance and get directions: 608-317-9698.
La Crosse, WI
Host: Elizabeth W.
When: 5:00 PM, November 13, 2009
Sign up here.
The State of Wisconsin owns 15 coal plants across Wisconsin – including eight UW campuses and three health facilities. Governor Doyle agreed to clean up two in Madison.
Wisconsin’s State-Owned Coal Plants
1.Capitol Heat & Power (Madison)*
2.Hill Farms (Madison)
3.Mendota Health Institute (Madison)
4.Northern Wisconsin Center (Chippewa Falls)
5.UW-Eau Claire
6.UW-LaCrosse
7.UW-Madison*
8.UW-Oshkosh
9.UW-Platteville
10.UW-River Falls
11.UW-Stevens Point
12.UW-Stout
13.UW-Superior
14.Waupun Correctional Institution
15.Winnebago Mental Health Institute (Oshkosh)
*Governor Doyle committed these facilities to burn biomass and natural gas instead of coal.
by jboullion | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
SOLAR THERMAL ’09 is a national conference and expo for the solar thermal professional. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association invites you to the only professional level conference devoted to solar heating and cooling.
Installers, manufacturers, site assessors, dealers, distributors, state agency representatives, and policy makers will not want to miss this one-of-a-kind conference.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
•Solar hot water, solar hot air, and solar space heating sessions
•Manufacturer and dealer updates
•Best practices on residential and commercial applications
•New control and balance of system options
•Structural considerations
•State policy and incentive updates
Register here.
by jboullion | Nov 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Midwest Renewable Energy Association:
SOLAR THERMAL ’09 is a national conference and expo for the solar thermal professional. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association invites you to the only professional level conference devoted to solar heating and cooling.
Installers, manufacturers, site assessors, dealers, distributors, state agency representatives, and policy makers will not want to miss this one-of-a-kind conference.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
•Solar hot water, solar hot air, and solar space heating sessions
•Manufacturer and dealer updates
•Best practices on residential and commercial applications
•New control and balance of system options
•Structural considerations
•State policy and incentive updates
Register here.
