by jboullion | Oct 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Rick Barrett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A group of local businessmen have proposed using a waste treatment facility at the former Maple Leaf Farms in Yorkville to process food waste into electricity.
Maple Leaf was one of the nation’s largest duck farms. It closed in 2008, resulting in the shutdown of its manure-to-energy methane digester.
DF-1 Associates is a group of Racine-area businessmen involved in restaurant grease recycling. They’re hoping to reopen the methane digester and fuel it with restaurant garbage and waste from food-processing plants. The company would make money by hauling away the waste from restaurants and food processors and selling electricity generated from the digester.
by jboullion | Oct 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
by Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
October 2009
After reviewing several proposals, Focus on Energy selected two locations for showcasing this particular solar energy application.
One of the Focus on Energy-funded demonstration sites is the Cooperative Educational Service Agency, located in Chippewa Falls.
Better known as CESA 10, this agency provides energy management services to 30 school districts in northwest Wisconsin. A low-rise building with plenty of unshaded roof space, the CESA 10 office presents an ideal setting to test a solar application that could very well be a good technology fi t for the schools served by this agency.
“We hope this installation will enable us to practice what we preach,” said Todd Wanous, an energy manager at CESA 10 and the driving force behind this demonstration. Placed in service in August 2009, CESA 10’s innovative installation features Wisconsin’s first example of a modular rooftop air heating system called SolarDuct®.
On the roof are three banks of corrugated collector panels, each connected to the building’s air handling system. The dark-colored panels are covered with ventilation holes that draw in outside air. Sunlight striking the panels warms the air passing through the holes. Through the ducts running behind the arrays, ventilation fans draw the preheated air into the building’s air handling system.
CESA 10’s SolarDuct® unit is designed to supplement, not replace, the natural gas furnaces that used to be the sole source of space heat.
However, this system does not necessitate additional fans or blowers to move the preheated air throughout the building. As a result, there is no parasitic energy loss to factor in.
Continued.
This article first appeared in Sustainable Times, October 2009
by jboullion | Oct 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in Sustainable Times:
After reviewing several proposals, Focus on Energy selected two locations for showcasing this particular solar energy application.
One of the Focus on Energy-funded demonstration sites is the Cooperative Educational Service Agency, located in Chippewa Falls.
Better known as CESA 10, this agency provides energy management services to 30 school districts in northwest Wisconsin. A low-rise building with plenty of unshaded roof space, the CESA 10 office presents an ideal setting to test a solar application that could very well be a good technology fi t for the schools served by this agency.
“We hope this installation will enable us to practice what we preach,” said Todd Wanous, an energy manager at CESA 10 and the driving force behind this demonstration. Placed in service in August 2009, CESA 10’s innovative installation features Wisconsin’s first example of a modular rooftop air heating system called SolarDuct®.
On the roof are three banks of corrugated collector panels, each connected to the building’s air handling system. The dark-colored panels are covered with ventilation holes that draw in outside air. Sunlight striking the panels warms the air passing through the holes. Through the ducts running behind the arrays, ventilation fans draw the preheated air into the building’s air handling system.
CESA 10’s SolarDuct® unit is designed to supplement, not replace, the natural gas furnaces that used to be the sole source of space heat.
However, this system does not necessitate additional fans or blowers to move the preheated air throughout the building. As a result, there is no parasitic energy loss to factor in.
by jboullion | Oct 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story in The Capital Times:
With winter approaching, Alliant Energy is urging qualified utility customers to apply for energy assistance.
The company says more households are eligible for assistance due to the economic downturn, so people are urged to apply as soon as possible through the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP). Residents can apply with their local county office through May 15, 2010, or until funds are exhausted.
The dollar amount of the payment varies, but the program will help households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the state median income. This means a family of four that makes about $45,000 or less per year, or a two-person household making $30,600 or less, may qualify for assistance.
Frank Galle, Alliant Energy senior manager of customer support, recommends that customers who think they may qualify apply right away.
“In these challenging economic times, it’s important that people know that they do not have to wait until they are behind on their utility bills to receive energy assistance,” said Galle. “We encourage customers to check their eligibility now and apply as soon as possible if they qualify for funds.”
Customers can find their nearest county agency by calling 1-866-432-8947 or by visiting http://www.homeenergyplus.wi.gov.
by jboullion | Oct 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story in The Capital Times:
With winter approaching, Alliant Energy is urging qualified utility customers to apply for energy assistance.
The company says more households are eligible for assistance due to the economic downturn, so people are urged to apply as soon as possible through the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP). Residents can apply with their local county office through May 15, 2010, or until funds are exhausted.
The dollar amount of the payment varies, but the program will help households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the state median income. This means a family of four that makes about $45,000 or less per year, or a two-person household making $30,600 or less, may qualify for assistance.
Frank Galle, Alliant Energy senior manager of customer support, recommends that customers who think they may qualify apply right away.
“In these challenging economic times, it’s important that people know that they do not have to wait until they are behind on their utility bills to receive energy assistance,” said Galle. “We encourage customers to check their eligibility now and apply as soon as possible if they qualify for funds.”
Customers can find their nearest county agency by calling 1-866-432-8947 or by visiting http://www.homeenergyplus.wi.gov.
by jboullion | Oct 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Bivins in the Marshfield News Herald:
WASHINGTON — As a member of the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division’s main support battalion in 2003, Robin Eckstein hauled fuel and water for the military in Iraq.
Through that experience, she said, she began to think about how dangerously dependent America was on foreign oil and the need for an alternative energy source.
“I ran missions every day, if not twice a day,” Eckstein said. “It was just apparent that having only one source of energy to refuel our trucks was a problem because it meant more runs, and that meant more risks.”
For Eckstein, a policy addressing clean energy and climate change became a national security issue, just as it has for scores of other current and former military personnel. But that’s not the only reason the 32-year-old Appleton native is on the road in support of energy policy legislation Congress is considering.
Eckstein also is jobless and says she believes the bill the House has passed and a Senate bill would create jobs.
“We have the manufacturing base in Wisconsin,” she said, “where I think we could really use these clean-energy jobs.”
Last weekend, Eckstein was in Washington to help make a commercial for Operation FREE, a coalition of veterans and national security organizations, on climate change and national security.
