by jboullion | Oct 30, 2015 | Uncategorized
Today, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Peter Anderson overturned a key ruling that would have led to We Energies electric customers who generate some of their own power having to pay extra fees back to the utility. RENEW Wisconsin and The Alliance for Solar Choice joined together to challenge the Public Service Commission (PSC) ruling on this fee.
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Milwaukee solar installers putting
in a rooftop solar system, via energy.gov. |
“The judge today determined that there was not sufficient evidence to support the decision made by the Public Service Commission, and ruled that he is vacating these fees,” said Tyler Huebner, RENEW Wisconsin Executive Director.
In Fall of 2014, We Energies proposed that a customer who creates some of their own power to reduce their usage of electricity would be forced to pay an additional fee of $3.79 per kilowatt of power capacity per month. For a typical 5 kilowatt solar installation on a home, that would have amounted to about $19 a month, or $227 per year, and a 27% reduction in energy bill savings. Customers using biogas or hydropower would have faced a higher fee, $8.60 per kilowatt of power capacity.
The Public Service Commission, Wisconsin’s state agency that regulates utilities like We Energies, approved the proposal in December 2014. They became just the second regulatory agency in the country to do so, after Arizona, where a small $5 per month fee was approved on solar customers.
The fees were set to begin in January 2016, but will not go into effect.
The Judge asked the parties (TASC, RENEW, We Energies, and the PSC) to draft an order consistent with his verbal statement.
The Judge’s decision is the third time in two years that PSC decisions governing customer-owned renewable generation have been overruled by the Dane County Circuit Court.
“Renewable energy is good for Wisconsin. When customers produce their own power, it increases our energy independence. When customers produce their own power, it increases energy security. A growing renewable energy industry will create jobs and bring investment to the state. Renewable energy is growing in states all over the country, and states right next door to us like Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota, and hopefully this decision will enable more of We Energies customers to take advantage of all the benefits of clean energy,” concluded RENEW’s Huebner.
RENEW Wisconsin leads and accelerates the transformation to Wisconsin’s renewable energy future through advocacy, education, and collaboration. More information on RENEW’s web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
by jboullion | Oct 20, 2015 | Uncategorized
For immediate release
October 20, 2015
More
information
Tyler Huebner, Executive Director
Nearly 370 people made public comments. None support
this policy change.
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS), a utility based in Green
Bay, proposed in May to further increase the mandatory fixed charge for
electricity that each residential customer has to pay each month.
In 2014, WPS was approved by state regulators
to raise this fee from $10.40 to $19, and they are now proposing to further
hike the fee to $25 per month.
In total, this represents a 140% increase in the monthly mandatory “fixed charge”
that each customer would have to pay.
Nearly 370 individuals spoke out against this proposal. Of
significant note,
not a single individual or organization who took the time to make a
public comment is in support of these higher mandatory fees. Public comments were accepted online
electronically, in paper format, and taken at a public hearing on September 9th
in De Pere.
“It is clear that Wisconsinites overwhelmingly oppose WPS’ continued attempts
to raise these mandatory fixed charges. These
high fixed charges are a Robin Hood in reverse scheme: the lowest users of electricity end up paying
substantially more, while high users of electricity get a windfall,” said Tyler
Huebner, RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive Director.
In the public
comments, a wide variety of concerns were aired, from seniors, low-income,
fixed-income, energy conservation, and renewable energy perspectives. These
perspectives can be seen from sample comments included below:
– “The senior community often live on the edge. With expenses for food, rent,
medications & utilities constantly rising, saving money to pay these bills
is extremely difficult. It is impossible
to save on utilities when the base rate keeps rising. Careful usage does
not work in this case. Please be aware of this as you decide what to do with
the current rates. We could sit in the dark & our rates would still
increase.” – Laura Frost, Wausau
– “
Even if I turn
down my heat, turn off my lights, and convert to solar or wind power I will be
charged the same amount as someone who doesn’t make any of those efforts.”
– Janis Schmitz, Brussels, WI
– “Every year St. Vincent de Paul runs out of money in their budget that they
have set aside for energy assistance… If
we continue to raise the mandatory rates like this, these organizations that
try to help the poor and the elderly are just going to run out of money,
and they’re going to be left behind without heat.” – Jackie Thiry, Green Bay
– “What about all the people on fixed
incomes? They often have to forego medications to pay utility bills.” – Geri Deprey, Green Bay
– “The increase in the mandatory
customer charge and the modest reduction in energy rates hit low electricity
users harder than high electricity users….
It is contrary to state energy policy. Wisconsin`s energy priority law
states that to the extent feasible and cost-effective, electricity needs should
be met first with energy efficiency and second with non-combustible renewable
energy like solar. By reducing one`s savings from pursuing conservation and
clean energy alternatives, this billing design encourages increased consumption
of fossil fuels.” – Christine Morrissey, Appleton
– “I am living on a fixed income. I am 73 years old. I am already struggling to
keep up with my rent, day to day needs and my electricity as it now stands. You will create a very uncomfortable and no
win situation for me if I have to keep coming up with more money. I am
required to keep my electric current to continue living in my apartment. I have
no where else to go if I get evicted.” – Judith Specht, Green Bay
– “My family lives on my disability payment alone, as my wife must spend the
majority of her time tending to me. Anything
that impacts our budget has an extraordinary effect on our lives, literally
taking food from our table. Please consider all of the families like ours
that will be effected by this proposed rate hike, if it is granted. Thank You.”
–Scott Horton, Oshkosh
“I believe that we are paying enough. Period. I live
and work in a rural area. Many of my students struggle for basic needs. How can
you justify another raise in our rates? When is enough–enough?
We are talking basic necessities — we
need light, we need heat. Our incomes are not keeping pace with the increases
that are forced upon us. Please, stop.”- Jann Sharpe, Oconto
Analysis by RENEW Wisconsin shows Wisconsin is an outlier on this issue. “Although 35 utilities across 19 different
states have proposed increases in mandatory fixed fees in the past two years,
only in Wisconsin have large hikes been granted. Fourteen utilities have been denied entirely,
while eighteen have been granted small increases, from $0.10 to $4.30 a month
for customers,” concluded RENEW’s Tyler Huebner.
The graphic above depicts 35 investor-owned
utilities which have requested increases to the monthly fixed charge each
customer must pay in 2014 or 2015. The
14 utilities on the left-hand side were completely denied their request to
increase the charge. The middle 18
utilities were granted increases from $0.10 to $4.30 per month. To the right, the three largest blue bars,
all for Wisconsin utilities, show higher fixed charge increases of $6/month and
more. The two red bars depict 2015
proposals from Wisconsin utilities.
-END-
by jboullion | Oct 5, 2015 | Uncategorized
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| Photo by Pamela Powers of the Eau Claire Leader Telegram |
The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram featured an excellent editorial on Xcel Energy’s proposal to increase mandatory monthly customer charges, claiming that the proposal harms “frugality” by giving customers less control over their monthly bill, and also quotes RENEW’s Michael Vickerman.
See the full article here.
by jboullion | Oct 1, 2015 | Uncategorized
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| Vernon Electric Cooperative Community Solar |
Madison Gas & Electric filed an application this week to launch a pilot program, which, if approved, would result in the construction of a 500-kilowatt array atop the
Middleton Municipal Operations Center under construction. Under the
proposal, MG&E will market the output from this array in 250 watt
increments to residential customers, up to a maximum of 3 kW per
household. Participating customers would pay a one-time up-front payment
to MG&E and then receive, at a partially fixed price over a 25-year
period, output up to one-half of their annual electric usage. Under
current rates, the price of electricity received through the Community
Solar array would be close to the levels that Green Power Tomorrow
customers pay for their renewable electricity.
As was done with other utility community solar initiatives,
RENEW plans to submit comments on
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| Eau Claire Electric Cooperative Community Solar Array |
this pilot program to the Public Service Commission. The agency’s decision should occur before the end of October—check back with us to find out if the PSC approved MGE’s Community Solar tariff. For more information on this proposal, you can review the application here. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote a short article on MG&E’s proposal, which can be accessed here.
by jboullion | Sep 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
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| Gaea’s Farm Wind Turbines |
Our 3rd annual Ride with RENEW took place this past Sunday, September 20th and was a great success! We had beautiful weather, saw some great renewable energy installations, and not only did we meet our $15,000 fundraising goal, we passed it!
RENEW would like to thank all of you who sent your support and donations to us for our Ride with RENEW bike tour event. So far, 212 of you donated over $15,000 to support this event and work toward a clean, renewable energy future in Wisconsin. Thanks to you, we were able to meet John and Mary Frantz’s fundraising challenge of $15,000 which they agreed to match, bringing our total to over $30,000! We are humbled by John and Mary’s continued generosity towards RENEW Wisconsin, and thank them for all their support over the years.
We also had our highest biker turn out ever, with 36 riders joining us in Lake Geneva! Thank you to everyone who came out and rode for renewable energy.
We want to share with you some of the highlights of the bike ride, so we created a photo album on our Facebook page.
The 2015 Ride, our third annual, was our biggest and best one yet!
– 6 excellent renewable energy stops
– 36 riders
– 24 miles ridden by each rider
– 4 riders rode an extra 12 miles out to the solar farm, while the rest met us there by car
– About 850 kilowatts of renewable energy capacity visited
– Special thanks to our sponsors featured below, plus Potbelly’s and Jimmy Johns for lunch:
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| Johnson LEED Platinum House |
We began our journey with the toughest segment of hills, up to the LEED Platinum certified house of Steve & Karen Johnson of Convergence Energy, our co-host. Steve showed us his beautiful home, as well as the solar PV installation on his garage.
From there we ventured over to Gaea’s Farm on State Line Road. Gaea’s Farm provides stable space for horse owners, and also has an arena for shows. The net-zero energy facility includes 100 kW of solar, two small wind turbines, and geothermal pipes which keep the horse barn cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Next, we stopped by Easy Living Equine Sanctuary, a horse rescue operation. Here, we not only viewed another excellent solar installation, but we had lunch (thanks Convergence Energy, Jimmy Johns, and Potbelly for your contributions!) with a great view and made friends with some of the horses.
After that, we visited Engerman Contracting, who installed its own solar panels after installing clean energy for several clients. Our last stop on the main loop was the Franke residence, an Engerman client with solar shingles on their roof.
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| Solar Farm at Osborn Property |
Then, four people biked and the rest of us drove out to the Convergence Energy solar farm, hosted on the property of Dan and Sandy Osborn. The solar farm is 680 kilowatts of solar, one of the largest solar installations in the state of Wisconsin.
All in all, it was a fantastic Sunday at the end of September, riding for a really great cause and fun adventure. Many thanks to all who participated as riders, sponsors, supporters, logistic planners, and renewable site owners. Special thanks to John and Mary Frantz who are doubling the efforts of all our Ride sponsors with their match, and also to John Kivlin and Steve Johnson of Convergence Energy, who did a wonderful job planning our route and stops for the day.
If you donated $35 or more, you are now considered a member of RENEW and we are happy to have you with us. You will receive e-newsletters from us and can keep up to date via our website and blog. We have a number of events coming up around the state, so be sure to check out our events calendar.
by jboullion | Sep 16, 2015 | Local Government, Local Initiatives, Utilities
Consistent with other Wisconsin investor-owned utilities in recent years, Xcel Energy is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) to increase mandatory monthly customer charges from $8 to $18. As reported in an article in today’s Eau Claire Leader Telegram, an Eau Claire City Commission voted 6-0 on Tuesday to oppose the utility’s electric rate proposal. The resolution will soon be taken up by Eau Claire’s City Council.
As of today, the PSCW is the only state utility commission in the nation to have approved radically higher monthly fixed charges for small customers.
Utilities in other states are seeking higher fixed charges, consistent with the industry playbook to protect their revenue, reduce the savings from energy conservation efforts, and discourage customers from tapping into the power of the sun.
However, as highlighted by the table below, other utility commissions have rejected similar proposals to radically redesign rates, and their decisions dramatically depart form the regressive example set by the PSCW.
When compared with the rate design decisions reached in other states, Wisconsin is clearly the outlier here.
Below are links to some great news coverage of yesterday’s Public Hearing on Xcel’s proposal in Menomonie, where residents and members of AARP and local social justice group JONAH spoke in opposition of the proposal as unfairly harming those on low or fixed incomes:
–Eau Claire’s WEAU
–The Chippewa Herald
See the tables below for approved monthly charge increases in Wisconsin and the nation.
by jboullion | Sep 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
Alex Nussbaum of Bloomberg News published an article on Wednesday telling the nation what we Wisconsinites already know: when it comes to renewables, Governor and Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker has made it harder for renewable energy businesses here than any other Midwestern state.
The article opens: “Scott Walker’s up-and-down campaign for the Republican presidential nod has produced at least one constant: As far as wind and solar developers are concerned, the Wisconsin governor may be the worst man for the job.”
Read the full article here, which includes quotes from RENEW’s Executive Director Tyler Huebner, and Board Member Amy Heart of The Alliance for Solar Choice.
Below are some graphs from the Bloomberg article showing how Wisconsin is lagging behind our Midwestern neighbors in both wind and solar development under Governor Walker’s administration.
by jboullion | Aug 31, 2015 | Uncategorized
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s editorial board published this past Sunday a commentary in praise of Alliant Energy’s solar research project on its Madison headquarters. In so doing, the editorial board criticized the various anti-solar policies now established in Wisconsin. As it noted, “the solar movement took a hit last fall when the Public Service Commission voted to allow utilities to impose sharp increases in the fixed charge on customers’ monthly bills, pay less for clean power that customers generate, and charge customers and extra fee for installation solar collectors on their roofs.”
Read the full article here!
by jboullion | Aug 24, 2015 | Uncategorized
The Wisconsin State Journal wrote
an article featuring Sun Prairie-based Statz Brothers, the host of this year’s Farm Technology Days, detailing their expansion project that includes a second manure digester, making it one of the state’s most sustainable dairy operations. They are also becoming one of the most technologically advanced with the addition of a state-of-the-art milking parlor and feed operation and three freestall barns that can each house 800 cows. They have the look of a bovine day spa with high-quality bedding created by the digesters, overhead fans and cool-water misters.
Further in the article, there is a discussion on the economics of generating electricity from manure. The reporter was confused about the terminology used in pricing power. Here is the translation: Alliant pays Statz Bros. 10 cents/kilowatt-hour for electricity produced from the first digester. However, it offered Statz only three cents/kilowatt-hour for power from the second biodigester, which is why Alliant is using all the power from the second biodigester in house.
Also from the article: “Richard [Statz] said he plans to mention that to Gov. Scott Walker, who is expected to make an appearance at Farm Tech Days. “Farmers want to be good stewards of the environment but we can’t go broke doing it,” Richard said.”
Read the full article here, and also see this article from Biomass Magazine for more details on the second biodigester at the Statz Brothers operation.
IF YOU GO
Wisconsin Farm Technology Days runs
Tuesday through
Thursday at 5966 Town Hall Dr., Sun Prairie, WI. 53590. Event hours are
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Admission is $6 per person. Youth under 12 are admitted free. Parking is free. For traffic and parking information, visit
www.dancecofarmtech.com.
by jboullion | Aug 17, 2015 | Uncategorized
La Crosse Channel 8000 highlights two new solar installations: both Kickapoo Coffee Roasters in Viroqua and the Old Oak Family Farm in Bangor were able to choose solar for their businesses after receiving grants from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), reducing the cost of their installation.
See the video and learn more below!
http://www.news8000.com/news/local-companies-reduce-carbon-footprint-through-federal-grants/34539072
