by jboullion | Jun 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Ryan Whisner in the Jefferson Daily Union:
JEFFERSON – A proposal to build the second-largest solar-generation farm in the United States was presented to City of Jefferson officials Wednesday night.
Green States Energy Inc. of Deerfield Beach, Fla., unveiled plans to build a solar energy farm on 100 acres of the city’s north industrial park that would generate approximately 20 megawatts of electricity.
Jefferson Sun One would have approximately 100,000 individual solar panel modules on the 100-acre parcel. The site – just north of the former Brigg & Stratton plant – would generate approximately 3.5 million kilowatt hours per year, equivalent to generating sufficient electricity for about 3,500 homes. An interconnectivity agreement with Jefferson Utilities and WPPI is intended.
“This is a big deal if it can be brought to fruition and can be built,” said David Jenkins of the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence.
Currently, he noted, Wisconsin has approximately 6.5 megawatts of installed solar capacity. Only two cities in the state are labeled by the U.S. Department of Energy as solar cities.
“Overnight, if this project were built, the City of Jefferson would have three times as much solar energy as there is in the entire state,” Jenkins said. “As far as I’m concerned, if you had 20 megawatts of power here, you would be a solar city.”
Approximately five to six weeks ago, Jefferson city officials were approached by representatives from Green States Energy about locating the solar energy farm in Jefferson. Green States representatives presented its proposal Wednesday to a joint session of the Jefferson Common Council, Jefferson Plan Commission and Jefferson Redevelopment Authority.
“It is an opportunity for us to not only provide a lot of good jobs in the construction phase and also the operational stage, but it is also an opportunity for the City of Jefferson to create an identity of being a nationwide leader in renewable energy,” Mayor Dale Oppermann said. “We have the task, the challenge and the opportunity to reinvent the economy of Jefferson and the surrounding area.”
He said Green States Inc. is offering the city the chance to get involved with state-of-the-art technology and create an identity for the city as being clean and green.
Green States Energy Inc. chief executive officer Jeffrey Lord described the company as a group of people who have come together under a common principle.
“The planet and the people on it will be better off if we can start using less fossil fuels to get the energy we need,” Lord said, citing the company’s mission.
by jboullion | Jun 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kathleen Foody in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — An environmental advocacy giant has entered the fray surrounding a proposed biomass power plant in Rothschild.
The Sierra Club’s Wisconsin Clean Energy Campaign and the Clean Wisconsin advocacy group this week asked the state’s Public Service Commission to complete an assessment of all the ways the plant could affect the local environment, from noise to potential air or water pollutants.
The biomass plant was proposed by Milwaukee-based We Energies and the Domtar paper mill, where the plant would be built. The $250 million project isn’t subject to an automatic environmental impact statement under state statute, but the Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin argued in their request that the commission should perform a study anyway.
Jennifer Feyerherm, director of the campaign, said the organization isn’t taking a position for or against the plant, but said a study will provide useful information about the project.
“If we’re going to make decisions about how we create the energy we use, we need as much information as possible,” Feyerherm said.
The Public Service Commission still is in the process of conducting its own environmental evaluation to determine whether a formal study is necessary.
Requests for a study before the commission’s own review is completed are premature, Brian Manthey, spokesman for We Energies, said.
“We continue to provide whatever the commission needs for their environmental assessment,” Manthey said.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
They came from near and far, packing Legislative Chambers at the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac Monday to voice their opinions about proposed wind farm siting rules to be crafted by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The proposed rules would ultimately result in uniform wind farm siting standards for local units of government, replacing a patchwork of different rules and moratoriums that have been imposed by counties and towns around the state in relation to small wind power projects.
The public hearings, scheduled around the state this week, were launched by the state Legislature after it passed a uniform siting law in October.
Using citizen input, the PSC will draft legislation touching on controversial issues such as maximum sound levels and setback requirements. Once passed, municipalities considering ordinances for wind farms would not be allowed to make their local ordinance more restrictive than the state model. . . .
“Right now the proposed rules are just a draft; that’s why the public comments are very important. There are a lot of interested parties and we want to make sure this is a balanced process,” said Deborah Erwin, renewable energy policy analyst for the PSC.
Energy slacker
Barnaby Dinges, owner of a public relations firm and member of the American Wind Energy Association, warned that more restrictive rules for siting wind farms would further harm the state’s quest to build its alternative energy portfolio.
“Wisconsin is already an energy slacker. We’re the only Midwest state that doesn’t currently have a major wind energy project under construction,” Dinges said. “New restrictions will make the state even less desirable for development of wind projects.”
He pointed out that the Wisconsin PSC already has a rigorous wind farm approval process in place for wind farms over 100 mega watts.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
The PSC will hold a hearing in Tomah on June 29.
From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
They came from near and far, packing Legislative Chambers at the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac Monday to voice their opinions about proposed wind farm siting rules to be crafted by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The proposed rules would ultimately result in uniform wind farm siting standards for local units of government, replacing a patchwork of different rules and moratoriums that have been imposed by counties and towns around the state in relation to small wind power projects.
The public hearings, scheduled around the state this week, were launched by the state Legislature after it passed a uniform siting law in October.
Using citizen input, the PSC will draft legislation touching on controversial issues such as maximum sound levels and setback requirements. Once passed, municipalities considering ordinances for wind farms would not be allowed to make their local ordinance more restrictive than the state model. . . .
“Right now the proposed rules are just a draft; that’s why the public comments are very important. There are a lot of interested parties and we want to make sure this is a balanced process,” said Deborah Erwin, renewable energy policy analyst for the PSC.
Energy slacker
Barnaby Dinges, owner of a public relations firm and member of the American Wind Energy Association, warned that more restrictive rules for siting wind farms would further harm the state’s quest to build its alternative energy portfolio.
“Wisconsin is already an energy slacker. We’re the only Midwest state that doesn’t currently have a major wind energy project under construction,” Dinges said. “New restrictions will make the state even less desirable for development of wind projects.”
He pointed out that the Wisconsin PSC already has a rigorous wind farm approval process in place for wind farms over 100 mega watts.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
The PSC will hold a hearing in Tomah on June 29.
From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
They came from near and far, packing Legislative Chambers at the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac Monday to voice their opinions about proposed wind farm siting rules to be crafted by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
The proposed rules would ultimately result in uniform wind farm siting standards for local units of government, replacing a patchwork of different rules and moratoriums that have been imposed by counties and towns around the state in relation to small wind power projects.
The public hearings, scheduled around the state this week, were launched by the state Legislature after it passed a uniform siting law in October.
Using citizen input, the PSC will draft legislation touching on controversial issues such as maximum sound levels and setback requirements. Once passed, municipalities considering ordinances for wind farms would not be allowed to make their local ordinance more restrictive than the state model. . . .
“Right now the proposed rules are just a draft; that’s why the public comments are very important. There are a lot of interested parties and we want to make sure this is a balanced process,” said Deborah Erwin, renewable energy policy analyst for the PSC.
Energy slacker
Barnaby Dinges, owner of a public relations firm and member of the American Wind Energy Association, warned that more restrictive rules for siting wind farms would further harm the state’s quest to build its alternative energy portfolio.
“Wisconsin is already an energy slacker. We’re the only Midwest state that doesn’t currently have a major wind energy project under construction,” Dinges said. “New restrictions will make the state even less desirable for development of wind projects.”
He pointed out that the Wisconsin PSC already has a rigorous wind farm approval process in place for wind farms over 100 mega watts.
by jboullion | Jun 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Tower Tech Systems of Manitowoc will build 90 steel towers for Wisconsin’s largest wind farm, as We Energies adds a “buy-local” flavor to its renewable energy project near Madison.
The Manitowoc maker of wind turbine towers will build the 262-foot tall towers for turbine maker Vestas. The turbines will be erected next year in Columbia County at the $367 million Glacier Hills Wind Park.
The move comes as European companies like Vestas and Ingeteam look to expand their domestic production of wind power components.
Ingeteam last week broke ground on a $15 million wind power generator factory in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley.
For its part, Vestas is ramping up production of turbines, blades and towers at factories in Colorado.
But for this project, Vestas opted to work with Tower Tech Systems, a Manitowoc company that’s part of the wind component firm Broadwind Energy Inc. Including factories in Texas and South Dakota, Tower Tech is the third largest producer of wind towers in North America.
The value of the contract hasn’t been disclosed, but Chief Operating Officer Paul Smith said it will mean job security for employees at the sprawling Tower Tech complex near Lake Michigan.
As wind project development slowed because of the recession, Tower Tech laid off workers. But this contract and other orders placed by Vestas will enable Tower Tech, now employing 160, to bring back about 60 to 80 workers from layoff in the coming months, Smith said.
