by jboullion | Dec 18, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story on WQOW-TV:
Menomonie (WQOW) – The Cash for Appliances program is set to begin in Wisconsin. It will work similar to cash for clunkers, but only with large household appliances: freezers, washers, dishwashers will bank a discount.
By going green, you could end up saving some green in more ways than one.
“I think that what they want to do is tune up the energy efficiency of the appliances that are out there and if we’re saving energy and not burning electricity that makes everything green,” says Deb Rogge, owner of Denny’s Appliance in Menomonie.
Cash for appliances works like this: if you purchase a new energy star appliance after January 1st, you could get rebates of up to $200. But the program does have some restrictions.
“Not all appliance dealers are registered Focus on Energy or Energy Star dealers. It has to be for replacement appliances only because new construction will not qualify,” says Rogge.
And not all appliances qualify either.
“So if you are looking at replacing your washing machine, your refrigerator, your freezer or your dishwasher, those are the household appliances that it applies to,” she says.
So how much can you save?
Energy star refrigerators will qualify for a $75 rebate.
Select dishwashers: $25.
Energy star freezers: $50.
Certain energy star washers: $100.
Water heaters with certain energy efficiency levels will qualify for $150.
But just like the cash for clunkers program, the money may not last that long.
by jboullion | Dec 18, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a Tom Content blog post on JSonline:
The state-authorized surcharge on electric bills to pay for district attorney salaries is now hitting utility bills of We Energies customers.
The Milwaukee utility is the last of the investor-owned utilities in the state to begin collecting the surcharge. The increase took effect with bills processed on Thursday, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said.
For residential customers, the fee amounts to 47 cents a month. The fee will drop to 26 cents a month for the fiscal year that starts in July.
Small businesses will be assessed $1.07 a month beginning now and 57 cents a week beginning in July. Factories can expect to pay $29.53 a month starting this week, and $15.83 a month beginning in July, the utility said.
Wisconsin legislators included the surcharge among a host of fee increases aimed at helping balance the state budget. Other fee increases adopted as part of the state budget include surcharges imposed on cell-phone bills.
We Energies will end up collecting about $8 million for the state from its customers across the state over the next 19 months, Manthey said.
Prosecutors are being paid from a fund originally designed to help poor people pay their utility bills and weatherize their homes. The extra fee is the latest in a series of budget maneuvers that have sent a total of $166 million from electricity ratepayers to non-energy-related state government purposes since 2002.
by jboullion | Dec 18, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Bivins in the Wausau Daily Herald:
WASHINGTON — Despite concerns over whether China and other nations will allow emissions inspections, Congress should pass legislation to reduce the release of greenhouse gases in the United States, Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday.
In a conference call from Copenhagen, Denmark, where he is attending an international climate change summit, Doyle said legislation to reduce emissions was too critical to the nation’s economic growth to let die in the Senate.
“We better seize the moment,” Doyle said.
Since arriving in Copenhagen on Monday, Doyle said he has met with dozens of government officials from around the world.
On Wednesday, Doyle announced that he and Manitoba, Canada, Premier Greg Selinger have agreed to host bilateral workshops on building a green economy, following up on a memorandum of understanding signed in October.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference began Dec. 8 and is scheduled to end today. World leaders hope to agree on a plan for reducing emissions.
by jboullion | Dec 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
An Associated Press article published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle says he is focusing on developing jobs in clean energy fields at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen.
Doyle told reporters in a conference call Wednesday he has been meeting with other leaders and company executives to discuss “building a good strong new economy in green energy and energy conservation.”
Doyle said Wisconsin has a tremendous opportunity to create a significant part of its economy around jobs in water, wind energy, and sustainable forestry.
He said the state must not resist transitioning away from the dirty fuel sources like coal that have historically powered the state. Doing so, he said, would put the state at an economic disadvantage.
by jboullion | Dec 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Fond du Lac Reporter:
MADISON, WI – December 16, 2009 – If you are considering replacing the older appliances in your home, 2010 may be the year to do it. Alliant Energy is encouraging its Wisconsin customers to take advantage of the new State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) next year to receive Cash-Back Rewards to purchase new ENERGY STAR® qualified or high efficiency appliances and equipment when they replace their used ones.
Starting January 1, 2010, as part of funding awarded to the state under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – widely known as the federal stimulus package – all Wisconsin residents will have the opportunity to become more energy efficient while saving money through the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. The initiative is being administered by Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide resource for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“If homeowners have been considering purchasing new appliances at some point, it’s an ideal time to do so in 2010 under this program,” said Linda Mattes, Alliant Energy Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewables. “Appliances, water heaters, and heating and cooling equipment are among the largest energy users in a home and replacing them with newer, more efficient models will save families money in the long run.”
by jboullion | Dec 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the coalition for Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE):
(MADISON, Wis.)—The coalition for Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE) on Tuesday released a fact sheet detailing the errors with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s (WPRI) November 12th report on the adverse economic effects of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming recommendations.
“The WPRI report is so wildly flawed that it has no place in any legislative debate on the task force recommendations,” said Thad Nation, executive director of CREWE. “Not only does the report analyze many policies that aren’t even included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act, but it takes a piecemeal approach, failing to analyze the cumulative effect the policies will have on our state.”
Among the errors included in the report, titled “The Economics of Climate Change Proposals in Wisconsin”:
• 8 of the 13 policies analyzed aren’t included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act
• Models policies that would impact the state’s general fund, despite the fact that the Clean Energy Jobs Act includes no tax increases
• Ignores the fact that low carbon fuels will be produced in Wisconsin and other
Midwestern states, while conventional gasoline is largely imported from overseas
• Fails to take into account decreased electricity demand due to energy efficiency and conservation investments outlined in the recommendations.
In addition, the authors of the report used a “black box” economic model to come to their conclusions – meaning the reader is only given the inputs and outputs, without any knowledge of how the statistical analysis was done. In order to allow others to properly analyze the report’s conclusions, the model that was used should be made publicly available for review.
