by jboullion | Jul 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Rochester, MN, Post-Bulletin:
LA FARGE, WIS. — Meet and celebrate your passion for organic food and local flavor at Organic Valley Family of Farm’s Kickapoo Country Fair, the Midwest’s largest organic food and sustainability festival of it’s kind, July 25-26 in La Farge, Wis.
The two-day event features food, music, farm and bike tours, cooking demonstrations, theater, activities for kids, dancing, author readings and more.
Cost is $10 for adults, $8 for kids under 12, free for kids under 5.
This year’s fair also has several artists scheduled to perform, including folk/rock singer/songwriter Brett Dennen. Dennen will perform songs from his newly released album, “Hope for the Hopeless,” on July 26 at 8 p.m.
This year’s keynote panel will feature a discussion among five industry pioneers including Tim LaSalle of Rodale Institute, Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group, Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association, and biologist and author Dr. Sandra Steingraber. The panel will be moderated by Theresa Marquez, Organic Valley’s chief marketing executive and founder of Earth Dinner.
by jboullion | Jul 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Liz Welter in the Marshfield News-Herald:
The Sustainable Marshfield Committee is well on its way to bringing the city to the fore of communities in Wisconsin developing environment-friendly initiatives and programs, said Brian Driscoll, community development director at the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence.
The amount accomplished and current plans of the committee is impressive for a city of Marshfield’s size, Driscoll said at a recent meeting of the Sustainable Marshfield Committee.
Through the committee’s efforts, Marshfield was awarded a state 25×25 grant in January. The city is one of 23 communities to begin developing plans demonstrating the potential to reduce fuel consumption and use alternative fuels to reach the governor’s goal of generating 25 percent of the state’s electricity and transportation fuels from renewable resources by the year 2025.
As a result of the grant and other work completed by the Sustainable Committee, a contingent from Waupaca toured the city in the spring as they formulate plans for their own sustainablity committee.
“It’s impressive that Waupaca would come here to learn from Marshfield,” Driscoll said.
by jboullion | Jul 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
As an energy producer, wind is fickle: Maybe it’ll blow when you need it. Maybe not.
So the race is on to find more efficient ways to store the electricity wind produces when it’s blowing, so the lights can stay on when it isn’t. A Milwaukee company is smack in the middle of that race – a player in a high-tech sector that local economic strategists hope will become a growth engine for the region.
“Wind has incredible potential to be a significant portion of the nation’s energy supply,” said Kevin Dennis, vice president of sales and marketing for ZBB Energy Corp. “But to be a reliable resource, it ideally needs to be coupled with energy storage and to be flexible in how the power is managed and controlled out to the grid.”
A joint venture between ZBB Energy and Eaton Corp. earlier this month shipped its first rechargeable energy storage system for the renewable power sector to Ireland, where it is being installed alongside a wind turbine that is already providing half the power needed by the Dundalk Institute of Technology.
While Milwaukee’s highest-profile economic development strategy has centered on freshwater technology during the past year, a secondary effort seeks to make the seven-county Milwaukee area a center for advanced battery research, development and manufacturing – exactly the type of work already going on at ZBB and several other area companies.
In addition to the Ireland deal, the ZBB-Eaton partnership recently received an order from Oregon State University for a similar system that will be used as part of research by the engineering school into ways to compensate for the variability of wind power.
“Alternative energy has got everybody’s attention. But part and parcel with that is batteries, because you have to have someplace to store energy, and the battery component is just critical,” said Jim Paetsch of the Milwaukee 7, the regional economic development group.
The biggest local player in the field is Johnson Controls Inc. in Glendale, where research and development work is proceeding on lithium-ion batteries for hybrid-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, including those being developed by Mercedes, BMW and Ford.
In Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, another company, C&D Technologies, is investing $26 million in upgrades to a battery factory once owned by Johnson.
by jboullion | Jul 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the written decision of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District 2 in ruling against Calumet County’s restrictive ordinances that blocked the Ecker Brothers from adding turbines to the one already on their farm:
To encourage the use of renewable sources of energy, the legislature resolved to remove legal impediments to such systems in four ways: (1) codifying the right of individuals to negotiate and establish renewable energy resource easements; (2) clarifying the authority of, and encouraging, political subdivisions to employ existing land use powers for protecting access rights to the wind and sun; (3) creating a procedure for issuing permits to owners and builders of active solar and wind energy systems; and (4) encouraging political subdivisions to grant special exceptions and variances for renewable energy resource systems. Numrich, 242 Wis. 2d 677, ¶18 (citing Laws of 1981, ch. 354, § 1(2)(b)). No. 2007AP210913
These strategies indicate that the legislature determined it appropriate to give political subdivisions the power to assist in the creation of renewable energy systems and thus become an integral and effective factor in the State’s renewable energy goal. But, this history does not indicate that the State intended to delegate the power of policymaking. Instead, the evidence is that the State delegated the authority to execute and administer its established policy of favoring wind energy systems, and the statutory scheme was intended to create avenues for political subdivisions to assist the State. If the County and other similarly situated localities believe that localities should be able to decide for themselves whether and to what extent wind systems are welcome in their geographical area, their argument is best made to the legislature.
Because the legislature did not delegate legislative powers to localities, the County cannot make findings of legislative fact. The County thus exceeded its authority under WIS. STAT. § 66.0401 when it created its wind energy ordinance. We therefore hold the ordinance to be [beyond the authority of the county].
We reverse and remand with directions that the circuit court reconsider the Ecker Brothers’ declaratory judgment action given that the ordinance is [beyond the authority of the county].
by jboullion | Jul 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
Date: July 15, 2009
Contact: Noah Seligman, 608-310-3338
Circuit Court decision affirms problems with wind energy regulatory framework
A Court of Appeals decision today (Ecker Brothers V. Calumet County) ruled that local units of government do not have the power to adopt siting standards of general applicability for wind energy systems. This decision eliminates several restrictive ordinances that purported to regulate wind energy, but merely served to block wind energy development.
“The ruling casts substantial uncertainty about wind energy regulation in Wisconsin. In order for the state to move forward with a balanced approach to renewable energy growth, the legislature must pass uniform siting standards,” said Curt Pawlisch, an attorney for RENEW Wisconsin, one of the sponsoring organizations for the Wind for Wisconsin coalition. “We urge the legislature to act quickly and pass uniform sitting standards when it returns in September.”
SB 185/AB 256 directs the Public Service Commission (PSC) to initiate an administrative rule-making process to establish statewide siting standards for wind energy projects. The PSC is an independent regulatory agency dedicated to serving the public interest. The bill draft requires the PSC to establish an advisory committee of diverse interests to advise the Commission on the rules. AB 256 was vote out of the Assembly Committee on Energy & Utilities on a 10-2 vote last month, and has strong bipartisan support like its Senate companion.
“The Court did more than simply declare Calumet County’s wind ordinance to be unlawful,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin.
“The Court’s decision also stripped away the legal foundation supporting all Wisconsin ordinances that contain blanket restrictions on wind projects. The decision erases unreasonable local ordinances that effectively prohibited any new wind development in this state for projects under 100 MW.
“A commitment to wind energy development will serve as an economic catalyst for Wisconsin, creating jobs in manufacturing, construction, transportation, and operation & maintenance of wind turbines,” Vickerman said. “SB 185/AB 256 makes our state more attractive to manufacturing and other supply chain businesses that create state jobs. By establishing statewide standards for siting small and medium sized wind farms, legislators can provide enduring economic opportunity for Wisconsin,” he said.
by jboullion | Jul 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an Associated Press story on WXOW News, La Crosse:
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin appeals court is limiting the restrictions that local municipalities can place on the installation of wind turbines.
The District 2 Court of Appeals says state law promotes alternative energy sources such as wind energy and discourages local policies that arbitrarily limit them.
The court says localities can restrict wind energy systems only when necessary to protect public health or where the regulations do not impact a system’s cost or efficiency.
From the written decision of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District 2 in ruling against Calumet County’s ordinances:
To encourage the use of renewable sources of energy, the legislature resolved to remove legal impediments to such systems in four ways: (1) codifying the right of individuals to negotiate and establish renewable energy resource easements; (2) clarifying the authority of, and encouraging, political subdivisions to employ existing land use powers for protecting access rights to the wind and sun; (3) creating a procedure for issuing permits to owners and builders of active solar and wind energy systems; and (4) encouraging political subdivisions to grant special exceptions and variances for renewable energy resource systems. Numrich, 242 Wis. 2d 677, ¶18 (citing Laws of 1981, ch. 354, § 1(2)(b)). No. 2007AP210913
These strategies indicate that the legislature determined it appropriate to give political subdivisions the power to assist in the creation of renewable energy systems and thus become an integral and effective factor in the State’s renewable energy goal. But, this history does not indicate that the State intended to delegate the power of policymaking. Instead, the evidence is that the State delegated the authority to execute and administer its established policy of favoring wind energy systems, and the statutory scheme was intended to create avenues for political subdivisions to assist the State. If the County and other similarly situated localities believe that localities should be able to decide for themselves whether and to what extent wind systems are welcome in their geographical area, their argument is best made to the legislature.
Because the legislature did not delegate legislative powers to localities, the County cannot make findings of legislative fact. The County thus exceeded its authority under WIS. STAT. § 66.0401 when it created its wind energy ordinance. We therefore hold the ordinance to be [beyond the authority of the county].
We reverse and remand with directions that the circuit court reconsider the Ecker Brothers’ declaratory judgment action given that the ordinance is [beyond the authority of the county].
