by jboullion | Jan 30, 2017 | Solar, Utility Scale
For immediate release
January 30, 2017
More information
Tyler Huebner, Executive Director
608.255.4044
tyler.huebner@renewwisconsin.org
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One of the Dairyland Power Cooperative arrays at
Taylor Electric Cooperative in Medford, WI.
The NextEra and WPPI project will be approx. 50x as large. |
Today, an agreement was announced between NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and WPPI Energy to build a 100 megawatt solar energy project in northeast Wisconsin. The project, according to the companies, would be located on land adjacent to the existing Point Beach Nuclear Plant which operates in Two Rivers, and serve more than 23,000 people with affordable, clean energy.
RENEW Wisconsin Executive Director, Tyler Huebner, said, “This will by far be the largest solar energy project built in Wisconsin yet, and it builds on the continued growth of solar energy in the state. We congratulate both WPPI Energy and NextEra Energy Resources on the announcement of this project and their leadership in bringing more affordable, clean energy to Wisconsin.”
This project will nearly triple the amount of solar we have built in Wisconsin as of today. According to RENEW Wisconsin estimates, 55 megawatts of solar are built or in construction today, and that is up from 25 megawatts at the end of 2015.
“Along with Dairyland Power Coooperative, which is building 20 MW of solar projects currently, WPPI Energy is showing that solar power is a competitive resource for electricity providers in Wisconsin,” concluded Huebner.
The companies’ press release can be found at: https://wppienergy.org/News/NewsItem?item=47
Media stories on the announcement:
– Op-Ed from Two Rivers City Manager Greg Buckley
– Major solar energy project slated for Wisconsin; Sun Prairie’s WPPI Energy to buy the power
by jboullion | Nov 15, 2016 | Solar, Utility Scale
Anticipating the completion of a dozen solar projects in Wisconsin, La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative signed contracts this month to add three more arrays to its generation
portfolio. With these three arrays Dairyland now has more 20 MW of solar
generation under contract, almost all of it located in the Badger State
(see table below). These arrays will produce emission-free power for
Dairyland’s 25 member distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal
utilities.
Chicago-based SoCore Energy will build and
own the three new arrays. Two of the three arrays will be located in Wisconsin, and the third will go up in northeast Iowa. SoCore is also the developer of 11 of the initial 12 arrays announced by Dairyland in February.
All 15 arrays are located in the service territories of Dairyland’s member distribution cooperatives. In conjunction with Dairyland’s utility-scale arrays, many of the host cooperatives are adding their own panels to these installations, to serve customers who subscribe to their shared solar programs.
The environmental benefits from these arrays will go beyond clean energy. Every project site will be revegetated with native plants to create bee and butterfly habitat. When revegetation is complete, SoCore will seek certification of its projects as “pollinator gardens.”
One of the projects under construction, St. Croix Electric Cooperative’s Sunflower II array in Roberts, provided the backdrop for a solar media day on Monday, November 14th. RENEW’s Michael Vickerman took part in the open house, providing RENEW’s perspective on the rapid growth of solar generation throughout Wisconsin. The Sunflower II project is about 30 miles east of St. Paul, Minn., and 55 miles west of Eau Claire, Wis.
Of the 45-50 MW of Wisconsin-based solar generating capacity likely to be operational by April 2017, Dairyland’s projects will account for nearly 40% of that total. As of today, the only multimegawatt array producing power under contract to a Wisconsin electric provider is the 2.25 MW installation in Rock County owned by Hanwha Q CELLS USA, which supplies electricity to Wisconsin Power & Light.
For more information on Dairyland’s newest solar projects, see: http://www.dairylandpower.com/dcontent/article/DPCannouncesadditionalsolarcontracts.pdf
As a reminder, Barbara Nick, CEO of Dairyland Power Cooperative, will speak at our 2017 Energy Policy Summit, Clean Energy Goes Mainstream, on January 19, 2017. Learn more and register today!
by jboullion | Jul 11, 2016 | Utility Scale, Wind
At an open meeting on July 7th, the PSC met to resolve the specific issues that led St. Croix County Circuit Court Judge Edward Vlack to invalidate the Certification of
Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) granted to the 102.5 MW Highland
Wind Farm in 2014 and remand the matter back to the agency.
Specifically, the judge wanted a firmer foundation for the additional
restrictions on sound levels that were established for six residences
presumed to be occupied by sensitive individuals.
On a 2-0 vote, the PSC ruled that the body of literature examining potential health impacts from wind generators did not support the imposition of a special sound threshold for those six residences. In explaining her decision, Commission Chair Ellen Nowak said that the agency’s review of peer-reviewed studies did not find a causal connection between wind turbines and claims of adverse health impacts. In reaffirming its approval of Highland Wind, the agency removed a stipulation in the permit that specified reduced noise limits from nearby wind turbines for the six residences in question. Instead, the agency agreed to set a uniform sound limit for the entire project, and will rely upon a complaint process to address sound concerns.
Opponents of the project have said they are considering their legal options and plan to “continue to fight against Highland Wind in any way we can.”
by jboullion | Jun 8, 2016 | Utility Scale, Wind
More information
Tyler Huebner, Executive Director
608-575- 2201 (cell)
tyler.huebner@renewwisconsin.org
RENEW Applauds Dairyland Power and EDP Renewables for Wind Energy Expansion
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| Also in southwest Wisconsin, the Montfort Wind Farm |
Madison, WI – June 8, 2016
Today, Dairyland Power Cooperative, based in La Crosse, announced they will purchase power from a new utility-scale wind energy project in Lafayette County in southwest Wisconsin.
The “Quilt Block” wind project will be developed by EDP Renewables, which has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas. The project is approximately 98 megawatts, which when constructed will provide over 15% of Wisconsin’s wind power.
RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive Director, Tyler Huebner, said “We congratulate and applaud Dairyland Power Cooperative and EDP Renewables for this major clean energy venture that will bring a multitude of benefits to southwest Wisconsin and Dairyland Power members throughout the state. Dairyland is making the most of the opportunity at hand to lock in the benefits of low-cost clean energy for its member cooperatives.”
The project will deliver savings to ratepayers as well as stimulate the local economy. Quilt Block will yield an annual revenue stream of nearly $400,000 to Lafayette County and the Town of Seymour, while creating hundreds of family-supporting jobs during construction. All across the Midwest, rural local governments have relied on utility-scale wind generation to minimize property tax increases.
Huebner said, “We also salute EDP Renewables for designing a wind power project that is strongly supported by the local community, and for staying with it for more than a dozen years.”
Concluded Huebner, “Between WPPI Energy’s recent windpower request-for- proposals announcement earlier this week, Dairyland’s multimegawatt solar energy initiative, and its new wind power project, renewable energy is now clearly cost-competitive in Wisconsin.”
Dairyland’s press release can be found at http://www.dairylandpower.com/dcontent/article/DPCWindExpansion75thAnnualMtg2016.pdf
This story was covered in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the La Crosse Tribune.
by RENEW Wisconsin | Sep 26, 2013 | Utility Scale, Wind
An article by Tom Content documents how the PSC reversed course on the Highland Wind Farm project, which has now been approved:
After initially rejecting the plan, Wisconsin energy regulators gave the go-ahead Thursday for Emerging Energies to build a $250 million wind farm in western Wisconsin.
The state Public Service Commission approved the St. Croix County wind farm in a 2-to-1 vote, with commission Chairman Phil Montgomery agreeing to support the project.
Earlier this year, Montgomery and commissioner Ellen Nowak had rejected the plan, saying the developer hadn’t shown it was able to comply with the state’s noise standard for wind turbines.
But they opened the door to Emerging Energies to show how it could comply with the standard, and the developer followed up, indicating it could comply with the standard by curtailing some of the turbines at night.
Montgomery said Thursday he was satisfied with the developer’s curtailment plan, but wanted to see documentation that the wind turbines are programmed to meet the noise standard — and that the project developers follow up “with adequate measurement and monitoring.”
In a statement after the vote, the conservation group Clean Wisconsin praised the panel’s 2-to-1 decision.
“Today’s decision is a victory for cleaner air and water in Wisconsin,” said Katie Nekola of Clean Wisconsin in a statement. “The Highland Wind project will supply enough clean, safe electricity to power hundreds of homes and businesses, and will displace dirty coal power.”
If the project moves forward to construction, the Highland Wind Farm in the town of Forest in St. Croix County would consist of up to 44 wind turbines, generating 102.5 megawatts of electricity.
Look for updates later today on JSOnline.
[READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE]
by RENEW Wisconsin | Sep 20, 2013 | Solar, Utility Scale
Some excellent news out of Jefferson today. A new solar project totaling 1 megawatt of power generated over a seven-acre site. Read the article in the Daily Union below:
JEFFERSON — The City of Jefferson Common Council got a glimpse of a bright future Tuesday as developers took a first glimpse at the soon-to-be-completed solar farm on the city’s north side.
Representatives of Half Moon Ventures, a Chicago-based company that recently purchased the development, presented plans to the council for a renewable energy production facility slated to begin construction three years after talk of a solar field first got under way.
Green States Energy, a Florida-based company, approached the city in summer 2010 with plans to build a 100-acre solar energy farm on city-owned property that would produce 20 megawatts of electricity. That project was slated to be completed by late 2011 or early 2012.
Although construction on that project never moved forward, earlier this summer, Half Moon Ventures, which maintains a Milwaukee office, purchased a 100-percent interest in the project, gaining complete control over the future development. It intends to construct a seven-acre solar park housing 3,600 solar panels to produce 1 megawatt of electricity.
It is scheduled to open in December.
“We have entered into a supplemental agreement with Half Moon Ventures, and that supplemental agreement … also established the lease commencement date as today, Sept. 17,” said City Administrator Tim Freitag. “Earlier this evening, Kevin (Hirsch, Half Moon Ventures chief financial officer) provided a check in the amount of about $123,000 to the City of Jefferson for a 20-year prepaid lease.”
Hirsch said Half Moon, which bills itself as a “pioneer in renewable energy project development,” will approach the project from a financial angle rather than as a construction or engineering challenge.
“Renewable large projects today are chiefly a financing project to produce energy at the lowest possible cost with a renewable resource,” he said. “We were very excited to see this project come in front of us, and we only wish it were 20 Megawatts, as we told Tim countless times. But we still think this can be a wonderful project for the city and I hope you guys will see that, as well.”…
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