The spring edition of RENEW’s newsletter includes the following articles:
Legislature to Tackle Wind Permitting
The Importance of Doing the Math
Stimulus Package 101
Policy Drives Solar Hot Water Market
PSC Investigates Renewable Tariffs
Open Letter from RENEW President
Calendar
Editor’s note: Legislative committees will hold a hearing on the bill (Senate Bill 185 and an identical companion Assembly Bill 265) on May 12 in the State Capitol.
From an article by Brad Bryan in The Country Today:
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state Senate last week seeks to make it easier for developers to build wind turbines in Wisconsin.
Authored by State Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, Rep. Jim Solestki, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, the bill would keep local municipalities from putting in place restrictive, anti-wind ordinances.
Tremplealeau County and the towns of Magnolia and Union in Rock County recently adopted ordinances that make it difficult, if not impossible, to construct wind turbines.
In 2007, Trempealeau County adopted an ordinance with a 1-mile setback limit from any occupied dwelling, which some have called the strictest anti wind power regulations in the country.
“There literally isn’t one square inch in Trempealeau County where you can lawfully place a turbine,” said Ryan Schryver, an advocate with Clean Wisconsin. “It’s no accident that every municipality uses different setbacks. There are no standards.”
Senate Bill 185 would establish statewide setback and other standards and would require a Public Service Commion-led stakeholder committee to oversee the process.
“I think everyone will get a seat at the table,” Schryver said. Among those at the table would be non-compensated landowners, PSC representatives, developers and other state agencies.
The bill would not, however, automatically roll back the strict standards already in place in some towns and counties.
“It’s not going to trump any existing ordinances without taking them into consideration,” Schryver said.
Ron Winn of Ettrick hopes the bill would roll back existing ordinances.
Winn is suing Trempealeau County for the right to build a turbine on his property.
Winn, who is suing on his own behalf, is a partner in the development company AgWind Energy Partners, which had erected test towers near Ettrick before a wave of backlash killed the project.
Because of the pushback it received in Trempealeau County – and the resulting expense – the company has set its sights on other wind projects, including one near Alma in Buffalo County.
Editor’s note: Legislative committees will hold a hearing on the bill (Senate Bill 185 and an identical companion Assembly Bill 265) on May 12 in the State Capitol.
From an article by Brad Bryan in The Country Today:
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state Senate last week seeks to make it easier for developers to build wind turbines in Wisconsin.
Authored by State Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, Rep. Jim Solestki, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, the bill would keep local municipalities from putting in place restrictive, anti-wind ordinances.
Tremplealeau County and the towns of Magnolia and Union in Rock County recently adopted ordinances that make it difficult, if not impossible, to construct wind turbines.
In 2007, Trempealeau County adopted an ordinance with a 1-mile setback limit from any occupied dwelling, which some have called the strictest anti wind power regulations in the country.
“There literally isn’t one square inch in Trempealeau County where you can lawfully place a turbine,” said Ryan Schryver, an advocate with Clean Wisconsin. “It’s no accident that every municipality uses different setbacks. There are no standards.”
Senate Bill 185 would establish statewide setback and other standards and would require a Public Service Commion-led stakeholder committee to oversee the process.
“I think everyone will get a seat at the table,” Schryver said. Among those at the table would be non-compensated landowners, PSC representatives, developers and other state agencies.
The bill would not, however, automatically roll back the strict standards already in place in some towns and counties.
“It’s not going to trump any existing ordinances without taking them into consideration,” Schryver said.
Ron Winn of Ettrick hopes the bill would roll back existing ordinances.
Winn is suing Trempealeau County for the right to build a turbine on his property.
Winn, who is suing on his own behalf, is a partner in the development company AgWind Energy Partners, which had erected test towers near Ettrick before a wave of backlash killed the project.
Because of the pushback it received in Trempealeau County – and the resulting expense – the company has set its sights on other wind projects, including one near Alma in Buffalo County.
From an article article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chicago – Anyone looking for signs that sectors of the economy have found some shelter from the recession needed only to walk the halls of the McCormick Place convention center Thursday.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the world’s largest trade show for the wind power industry saw record attendance in its bid to prove that energy from wind has escaped the label “alternative.”
“When you look at this show, you wouldn’t know there’s a slowdown in the economy,” Kim Zuhlke, an executive at Alliant Energy Corp., said while standing between massive booths at the conference Thursday.
Organizers of Windpower 2009, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, weren’t sure how their conference would do, but the show ended up attracting more than 20,000 people. That’s 60% more than attended last year in Houston, the association said.
The recession has hit the wind power industry just like every other sector of the economy, as projects stalled for lack of financing. In an industry forecast earlier this year, the association said the wind industry is likely to slow this year after setting records for new projects last year.
“Everyone’s been in a holding pattern. It’s not just wind energy – the entire country had taken a pause,” said Ellen Shafer of Broadwind Energy, based near Chicago.
But the mood at the convention this week has been one of optimism, said Shafer, whose company has two Wisconsin subsidiaries – TowerTech, a Manitowoc maker of wind towers, and Badger Transport of Clintonville, a trucking company specializing in hauling the oversized components that are the of a wind farm development.
From an article article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chicago – Anyone looking for signs that sectors of the economy have found some shelter from the recession needed only to walk the halls of the McCormick Place convention center Thursday.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the world’s largest trade show for the wind power industry saw record attendance in its bid to prove that energy from wind has escaped the label “alternative.”
“When you look at this show, you wouldn’t know there’s a slowdown in the economy,” Kim Zuhlke, an executive at Alliant Energy Corp., said while standing between massive booths at the conference Thursday.
Organizers of Windpower 2009, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, weren’t sure how their conference would do, but the show ended up attracting more than 20,000 people. That’s 60% more than attended last year in Houston, the association said.
The recession has hit the wind power industry just like every other sector of the economy, as projects stalled for lack of financing. In an industry forecast earlier this year, the association said the wind industry is likely to slow this year after setting records for new projects last year.
“Everyone’s been in a holding pattern. It’s not just wind energy – the entire country had taken a pause,” said Ellen Shafer of Broadwind Energy, based near Chicago.
But the mood at the convention this week has been one of optimism, said Shafer, whose company has two Wisconsin subsidiaries – TowerTech, a Manitowoc maker of wind towers, and Badger Transport of Clintonville, a trucking company specializing in hauling the oversized components that are the ingredients of a wind farm development.
From an article by Liz Welter in The Stevens Point Journal:
MARSHFIELD — A ranch-style home under construction in Marshfield’s Prairie Run subdivision will be central Wisconsin’s first verified “green-built” home.
“That means it meets the national standards for green building and it will be certified” during different steps in the construction process, said Jeff Redetzke, owner of JR Builders of Marshfield, which is constructing the house.
“A green-built home is a good value for a home buyer,” Redetzke said. Using geothermal energy cuts a natural gas bill by 50 percent to 70 percent, he said.
There are a multitude of components considered and used in building a home that maximizes energy efficiency while diminishing its carbon impact on the Earth, Redetzke said.
“We try to use materials that will last for 50 years and are recyclable afterwards. Like a metal roof is very green. It lasts for the life of the house and later can be recycled,” he said.
Geothermal energy and other energy efficiency building standards are practices embraced by the developers and owners of Prairie Run, said Dan Helwig, one of the development’s owners.
“We’re just totally excited. This is the kind of home that hasn’t been seen in this marketplace,” Helwig said.
Prairie Run was conceived to utilize green or sustainable concepts in developing the site and in building a variety of homes and businesses, Helwig said.
“I’ve wanted to do something like this, and Prairie Run is the right place,” Redetzke said.