by jboullion | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by WPS Community Foundation:
Green Bay, WI – Twenty-seven high school teams are set to take part in the 13th Annual Solar Olympics on Wednesday, May 13, on the campus of UW-Stevens Point. The event is free and open to the public.
The event, sponsored by WPS Community Foundation and UWSP, begins at 9 a.m. and continues until 2:30 p.m. in and around the Dreyfus University Center and Learning Resource Center. For the seventh consecutive year, a record number of schools will participate. Twelve different activities, which range from building solar devices to creating art with a solar theme, test students’ knowledge of solar energy in events ranging from solar cookers and model cars to sculptures and building design. Schools attending this year include:
Participating Schools:
Antigo High School
Ashwaubenon High School
Bay Port High School
Beecher Dunbar Pembine High School
Chilton High School
Crivitz High School
D.C. Everest High School
De Pere High School
Denmark High School
Gibraltar High School
Green Bay Southwest
Green Bay West High School
Lourdes High School, Oshkosh
Marathon High School Marinette High School
Merrill High School
Oconto High School
Oshkosh West High School
Pacelli High School
Pulaski High School
Tomahawk High School
Valders High School
Wausau High School
Wausaukee High School
West De Pere High School
Wrightstown High School
Lena High School (Observing)
“The schools’ energy and creativity really shine at Solar Olympics,” said Chip Bircher, Renewable Energy Product Manager for WPS. “These high school students are really enthused about making a difference with renewable energy. Many of our customers are investigating “green” options to benefit the environment, and Solar Olympics is a great event for everyone to learn more.”
by jboullion | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
The spring edition of RENEW’s newsletter includes the following articles:
Legislature to Tackle Wind Permitting
The Importance of Doing the Math
Stimulus Package 101
Policy Drives Solar Hot Water Market
PSC Investigates Renewable Tariffs
Open Letter from RENEW President
Calendar
by jboullion | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Legislative committees will hold a hearing on the bill (Senate Bill 185 and an identical companion Assembly Bill 265) on May 12 in the State Capitol.
From an article by Brad Bryan in The Country Today:
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state Senate last week seeks to make it easier for developers to build wind turbines in Wisconsin.
Authored by State Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, Rep. Jim Solestki, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, the bill would keep local municipalities from putting in place restrictive, anti-wind ordinances.
Tremplealeau County and the towns of Magnolia and Union in Rock County recently adopted ordinances that make it difficult, if not impossible, to construct wind turbines.
In 2007, Trempealeau County adopted an ordinance with a 1-mile setback limit from any occupied dwelling, which some have called the strictest anti wind power regulations in the country.
“There literally isn’t one square inch in Trempealeau County where you can lawfully place a turbine,” said Ryan Schryver, an advocate with Clean Wisconsin. “It’s no accident that every municipality uses different setbacks. There are no standards.”
Senate Bill 185 would establish statewide setback and other standards and would require a Public Service Commion-led stakeholder committee to oversee the process.
“I think everyone will get a seat at the table,” Schryver said. Among those at the table would be non-compensated landowners, PSC representatives, developers and other state agencies.
The bill would not, however, automatically roll back the strict standards already in place in some towns and counties.
“It’s not going to trump any existing ordinances without taking them into consideration,” Schryver said.
Ron Winn of Ettrick hopes the bill would roll back existing ordinances.
Winn is suing Trempealeau County for the right to build a turbine on his property.
Winn, who is suing on his own behalf, is a partner in the development company AgWind Energy Partners, which had erected test towers near Ettrick before a wave of backlash killed the project.
Because of the pushback it received in Trempealeau County – and the resulting expense – the company has set its sights on other wind projects, including one near Alma in Buffalo County.
by jboullion | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Legislative committees will hold a hearing on the bill (Senate Bill 185 and an identical companion Assembly Bill 265) on May 12 in the State Capitol.
From an article by Brad Bryan in The Country Today:
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state Senate last week seeks to make it easier for developers to build wind turbines in Wisconsin.
Authored by State Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, Rep. Jim Solestki, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, the bill would keep local municipalities from putting in place restrictive, anti-wind ordinances.
Tremplealeau County and the towns of Magnolia and Union in Rock County recently adopted ordinances that make it difficult, if not impossible, to construct wind turbines.
In 2007, Trempealeau County adopted an ordinance with a 1-mile setback limit from any occupied dwelling, which some have called the strictest anti wind power regulations in the country.
“There literally isn’t one square inch in Trempealeau County where you can lawfully place a turbine,” said Ryan Schryver, an advocate with Clean Wisconsin. “It’s no accident that every municipality uses different setbacks. There are no standards.”
Senate Bill 185 would establish statewide setback and other standards and would require a Public Service Commion-led stakeholder committee to oversee the process.
“I think everyone will get a seat at the table,” Schryver said. Among those at the table would be non-compensated landowners, PSC representatives, developers and other state agencies.
The bill would not, however, automatically roll back the strict standards already in place in some towns and counties.
“It’s not going to trump any existing ordinances without taking them into consideration,” Schryver said.
Ron Winn of Ettrick hopes the bill would roll back existing ordinances.
Winn is suing Trempealeau County for the right to build a turbine on his property.
Winn, who is suing on his own behalf, is a partner in the development company AgWind Energy Partners, which had erected test towers near Ettrick before a wave of backlash killed the project.
Because of the pushback it received in Trempealeau County – and the resulting expense – the company has set its sights on other wind projects, including one near Alma in Buffalo County.
by jboullion | May 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chicago – Anyone looking for signs that sectors of the economy have found some shelter from the recession needed only to walk the halls of the McCormick Place convention center Thursday.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the world’s largest trade show for the wind power industry saw record attendance in its bid to prove that energy from wind has escaped the label “alternative.”
“When you look at this show, you wouldn’t know there’s a slowdown in the economy,” Kim Zuhlke, an executive at Alliant Energy Corp., said while standing between massive booths at the conference Thursday.
Organizers of Windpower 2009, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, weren’t sure how their conference would do, but the show ended up attracting more than 20,000 people. That’s 60% more than attended last year in Houston, the association said.
The recession has hit the wind power industry just like every other sector of the economy, as projects stalled for lack of financing. In an industry forecast earlier this year, the association said the wind industry is likely to slow this year after setting records for new projects last year.
“Everyone’s been in a holding pattern. It’s not just wind energy – the entire country had taken a pause,” said Ellen Shafer of Broadwind Energy, based near Chicago.
But the mood at the convention this week has been one of optimism, said Shafer, whose company has two Wisconsin subsidiaries – TowerTech, a Manitowoc maker of wind towers, and Badger Transport of Clintonville, a trucking company specializing in hauling the oversized components that are the of a wind farm development.
by jboullion | May 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chicago – Anyone looking for signs that sectors of the economy have found some shelter from the recession needed only to walk the halls of the McCormick Place convention center Thursday.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the world’s largest trade show for the wind power industry saw record attendance in its bid to prove that energy from wind has escaped the label “alternative.”
“When you look at this show, you wouldn’t know there’s a slowdown in the economy,” Kim Zuhlke, an executive at Alliant Energy Corp., said while standing between massive booths at the conference Thursday.
Organizers of Windpower 2009, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, weren’t sure how their conference would do, but the show ended up attracting more than 20,000 people. That’s 60% more than attended last year in Houston, the association said.
The recession has hit the wind power industry just like every other sector of the economy, as projects stalled for lack of financing. In an industry forecast earlier this year, the association said the wind industry is likely to slow this year after setting records for new projects last year.
“Everyone’s been in a holding pattern. It’s not just wind energy – the entire country had taken a pause,” said Ellen Shafer of Broadwind Energy, based near Chicago.
But the mood at the convention this week has been one of optimism, said Shafer, whose company has two Wisconsin subsidiaries – TowerTech, a Manitowoc maker of wind towers, and Badger Transport of Clintonville, a trucking company specializing in hauling the oversized components that are the ingredients of a wind farm development.
