WE Energies Admits their Elm Road Power Plant Operates only 20 Percent of the Time

by | Jul 1, 2013 | Uncategorized

In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio, company spokesman Brian Manthey attributes low natural gas prices and orders from a Midwest power supply operator to the plant’s low operation but Michael Vickerman notes that this is only part of the story. Read or listen to Chuck Quirmbach’s story to learn how rate payers are absorbing the costs of the plant’s low operation.


 By Chuck Quirmbach

As part of its ‘Power The Future‘ project a few years ago, WE Energies was allowed to build 1,200 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity near an existing power plant in Oak Creek. The new plant is called the Elm Road Generating Station. WE Energies concedes the plant only operated about 20 percent of the time last year. Company spokesman Brian Manthey says that’s due to orders from a Midwest power supply operator and low natural gas prices that made it cheaper to boost operation of a gas-fired plant. But Manthey says the Elm Road plant really cranked up when the weather got very hot last summer. 

“The two new units actually at times were operating beyond their rated capacity, at a time when there was power needed from every possible source in the Midwest.”

Manthey says with natural gas prices going up this year, he expects the Elm Road plant to run more. He says it’s available to generate power more than 90 percent of the time. But Michael Vickerman, of Renew Wisconsin, says WE Energies rate payers still have to keep paying for Elm Road, and aren’t getting much for their investment.

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The Midwest Watches as Alliant Energy Corp. Attempts to Prevent Third Party Solar Installations in Dubuque, RENEW’s Michael Vickerman Comments

by | Jun 28, 2013 | Uncategorized

Worried over their ability to compete with solar energy installers like Dubuque-based Eagle Point Solar, Alliant Energy continues to throw legal roadblocks in the path of third party-owned solar. Wall Street Journal  reporter Ryan Tracy identifies the far reaching implications of the dispute with input from RENEW’s Michael Vickerman. 



By Ryan Tracy

Disputes over the use of small-scale solar power are flaring across the nation, with utilities squaring off against solar-energy marketers over rules for the growing technology.Until now, the fights have been mainly before state regulators. In California, Louisiana and Virginia, utilitieshave sought to cut what they claim are unfairly high payments they are required to make to owners of homes or larger buildings with solar systems. 

At issue in an Iowa lawsuit is whether solar-system marketers can sell electricity in territories where localutilities have exclusive rights to customers. Such an arrangement isn’t allowed or is under dispute in many states, limiting solar firms to sales of panels to homeowners and businesses. 

But if they win in Iowa, it could pave the way for fledgling solar industries to expand in other states. The case is being watched closely elsewhere in the Midwest, where policies granting utilities a monopoly on electricity service are one reason a solar-construction boom hasn’t occurred, unlike in states such as California and NewJersey. 

Utilities “are proponents of renewable energy,” said Barry Shear, president of Iowa’s Eagle Point Solar LLC, but only “if they own the energy assets and the electrons flow through their grid and they can bill you.” 

In March, an Iowa District Court judge said Mr. Shear’s 18-employee company could sign power-purchase contracts in the Dubuque territory of Alliant Energy Corp., one of the state’s largest utilities. Under the disputed deal, Eagle Point would own solar panels on the roof of a Dubuque municipal building and sell powerto the city at a rate similar to Alliant’s. 

The disputed Dubuque deal employed a “third party” ownership arrangement, in which a rooftop solar system is owned by someone other than the property owner. Solar deals using that structure are growing inpopularity — for both residential and commercial properties — because they allow building landlords or homeowners to tap into solar power without a significant upfront investment. 

Judge Carla T. Schemmel, overturning an Iowa Utilities Board decision, said Eagle Point could sell solarelectricity to the city without encroaching on a utility‘s lawful turf. She noted that the city would still need to buy electricity from Alliant when the sun isn’t shining. “Eagle Point is neither attempting to replace [the utilitynor] sever the link between [the utility] and the city,” she wrote. “It is simply allowing the city to decrease its demand for electricity from the grid.” 

Alliant says the ruling contradicts Iowa’s policy of not allowing competition for electricity service. “They were going to be selling energy to one of our customers,” said Kim King, manager of the renewable-energy program at Alliant, in an interview.The ruling was a defeat for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s MidAmerican Energy Co. unit as well. MidAmerican, another Iowa utility that had sided with Alliant in the case, told the judge in January that if the utilities lost, it could lead to “a proliferation of solar installation in the state.”Alliant and MidAmerican are appealing to the state Supreme Court. They say their problem isn’t with solarplants — each utility already connects to about 100 small-scale renewable-energy systems. Instead, they say they have a problem with the way the deal between Eagle Point and Dubuque was arranged. “This is not a dispute about solar energy. This is about a disagreement in the requirements under Iowa law,” said Tina Potthoff, a MidAmerican spokeswoman, in an email. 

MidAmerican said in May that it may be capable of generating about 39% of its electricity from wind farms by 2016, making it one of several utilities with large renewable-energy portfolios. 

But many of those same utilities have objected to policies they say are too friendly to small-scale renewable-energy generation. NextEra Energy Inc. says it generates more electricity from the wind and sun than any other U.S. company. But its Florida Power & Light unit opposes allowing solar-system marketers to sell electricity to the unit’s Florida customers. A spokesman for FP&L said the utility doesn’t oppose solar, but Florida law doesn’t allow “third party” sales. 

In Wisconsin, the question of whether solar-panel marketers can sell power in another utility‘s service territory is likely to be tested this year, said Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for Renew Wisconsin, a group that advocates use of solar power in that state. “If the utility objects, we may go down the same route that we saw in Iowa,” he said.


Proposed Madison Biodigester Could Make the City a Pioneer in Renewable Energy Production

by | Jun 25, 2013 | Uncategorized

Madison recycling coordinator George Dreckmann’s $20 million dollar proposal for a city-run biodigester and corresponding household organic refuse collection program could offer educational opportunities and ultimately reduce city landfill expenditures. Read Pat Schneider’s Capital Times article below to learn more. 

By Pat Schneider

Melon rinds, chicken bones, even pizza delivery boxes: Three years from now Madison residents could be putting them all curbside in a third household bin for collection and transfer to a city-run biodigester where they would be converted into biogas and compost.

That’s if the City Council approves $20 million — and the “yuck” factor doesn’t kill city recycling coordinator George Dreckmann’s proposal.

Dreckmann included expenditures for a citywide organic waste composting program — including construction of a biodigester — in a 2014 capital budget proposal sent Friday to Mayor Paul Soglin.

 If the funding is approved and the digester is built on the proposed schedule, Madison would be among the first U.S. cities to run its own digester for residential organic waste, Dreckmann said.

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The New York Times Highlights MREA Fair Innovations and History

by | Jun 20, 2013 | Uncategorized

Michael Torttorello offers an informative and exciting overview of the MREA Fair’s history and the passionate participants who make it possible.
By Michael Tortorello
At 9 o’clock Friday morning, some 20,000 people will start arriving at a
vast field in Custer, Wis., to talk about wind power. No joke. Get
this: Thousands of souls have been coming here every summer for 23 years
to talk — really talk — about wind power. 
Here is the Energy Fair,
a three-day convergence of homesteaders, hippies, ecotopians and more
than a few end-times enthusiasts, staged by the Midwest Renewable Energy
Association. Beyond the lecture titled “MacGyver Windmills” (that is,
devices fabricated from junk), a $15 day pass gets you admission to 200
other workshops. Would you like to learn about home algae cultivation
and humane rabbit husbandry (for meat and wool)? How about advanced
photovoltaic systems and D.I.Y. biodiesel? 

The overarching theme is what marketers call “sustainable living,” and
these days it hardly qualifies as a kooky pursuit. Many of the fair’s
longtime commercial exhibitors, manufacturers of solar-energy technology
or rainwater harvesting kits, could now find a home at the Home Depot.

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Will Wisconsin Ever Let the Sunshine In?

by | Jun 19, 2013 | Uncategorized

A commentary
by Michael Vickerman, Director, Policy and Programs, RENEW Wisconsin

Once
dismissed by electric utilities as a boutique energy resource, solar power has
become the go-to renewable resource for a wide variety of electricity
customers. From data centers to department stores, from airports to auto
dealerships, more and more customers around the country are tapping into this
clean and quiet energy source that shines on their rooftops every day.
Nationally,
solar energy’s growth has been nothing short of phenomenal. In the first
quarter of 2013, solar energy accounted for nearly half (49%) of the new
generating capacity built, elbowing out wind and natural gas as the fastest-growing
energy source in the United States. Declining installation costs coupled with
easier access to third-party owned systems account for solar’s rapid
advancement, especially in the residential sector. Even utilities in select
states have begun diversifying their resource mix with large solar arrays.
For-profit
businesses and homeowners in all 50 states can take advantage of the 30%
federal investment tax credit in place through 2016. However, not all 50 states
have flourishing solar markets. This is true even in states where electric
rates are high enough to tempt homeowners and businesses to supply themselves
with energy from the sun. Unfortunately, Wisconsin happens to be one of those
states with a languishing solar market, though it wasn’t always that way.  
Five years
ago, Wisconsin was a regional leader in encouraging customer investments in
rooftop solar. Early adopters then could avail themselves of special solar
buyback rates which most electric providers offered on a limited basis. For customers
of utilities that did not offer these higher rates, a fair and transparent net
metering service was available. The state’s Focus on Energy program contributed
significantly to solar’s early success with grants and incentives that
supported start-up installation contractors. In fact, that program instilled
them with confidence that Wisconsin was a solid place to do business.  
Fast forward
to today, and you see a very different market environment for solar energy
here.  Attractive buyback rates in
Wisconsin have become a distant memory. Some utilities have restructured their
net metering service to make self-generation substantially less appealing to
customers. And while state incentives for solar installations are still
available, the flow of dollars has been reduced to a modest trickle. Solar
contractors, like the rest of Wisconsin’s renewable energy business community,
cope with the hard times by pursuing work opportunities in neighboring states
like Iowa and Minnesota.
The
installed costs of solar today are about half of what they were in 2008, while
the price of utility-supplied electricity continues to move higher. Given the
fact that solar’s return on investment to customers has never been higher, the
attitudinal about-face we’re seeing is as inexplicable as it is
counterproductive.
While
Wisconsin raises the proverbial drawbridge to protect utilities from solar’s
advances, the state of Minnesota, in stark contrast, has rolled out the welcome
mat to this emerging industry. Just one month ago, Minnesota became the first
state in the Upper Midwest to establish a solar electric standard. By 2020, the
state’s largest utilities will need to source 1.5% of the electricity they sell
at retail from solar generation systems. 
Through the
same law, Minnesota strengthened its net metering policy, and required Xcel
Energy, the state’s largest utility, to provide a community solar service to
its customers. This innovative provision will enable Xcel customers who can’t
host a solar system on their premises to invest in a nearby installation and
receive a modest return through their monthly bills.  
What does
Minnesota hope to achieve by adopting such an aggressive solar energy policy?
The list of
objectives is long:
Ø  Promote manufacturing and contracting
opportunities for solar energy and “green” construction firms;
Ø  Expand employment opportunities
for the state’s work force;
Ø  Enhance the ability of business
and residential customers to manage their electricity costs;
Ø  Modernize the state’s electrical
infrastructure and diversify its resource mix;
Ø  Attract private investment
capital into its energy sector from both in-state and out-of-state sources;
Ø  Minimize exposure to fuel price
volatility, especially during on-peak hours;
Ø  Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
associated with electricity generation;
Ø  Reduce imports of fossil fuel;
and
Ø  Promote the state as a
destination location for clean–tech companies. 
Ironically,
the ingredients are now in place for an instructive side-by-side study on the
value of state policy in advancing solar energy, with Minnesota serving as the
test case and Wisconsin serving as the control. In terms of both solar resource
and utility regulatory structure, the two states are very similar to each
other.  And, with each state having about
14 megawatts of installed solar capacity, both share the same baseline from
which to measure progress.
Indeed, the
only significant difference going forward is state energy policy. In Minnesota,
solar is subject to a state mandate that is projected to increase current
capacity, in seven short years, by a factor of 30. In adjoining Wisconsin,
solar operates within a policy vacuum. 
This raises
the question, what do we gain from participating in an experiment in which
Minnesota reaps all the economic and environmental benefits from its solar
investments while we get to send more dollars out of state for fuel
to feed 40-year-old power plants?
The fact is
that Wisconsin cannot afford to stand idly by while Minnesota plugs itself squarely
into a dynamic industry segment and exerts a gravitational pull on private
investment and start-up companies in the region. It’s no secret that Wisconsin
has struggled to find its economic bearings in the wake of the Great Recession.
In contrast, clean energy has provided a great lift in other states that had
the foresight to sow the marketplace with some well-thought and welcoming
policy seeds.
In a popular
two-part Simpsons episode, the diabolical Montgomery Burns builds a
giant disc to block the sun’s rays from reaching Springfield, forcing city
residents to become even more reliant on the power plant he owns. Though
clearly cartoon satire, those of us who are 
watching the ongoing retreat from solar energy know that if Wisconsin
has any chance of capturing at least its proportional share of an industry that
yielded $11.5 billion in new projects in 2012, it has to ditch the Mr. Burns
act and begin designing a policy to let the sunshine in.

The 24th Annual Midwest Renewable Energy Fair is this Weekend!

by | Jun 18, 2013 | Uncategorized

The 24th Annual Energy Fair is next week!
We have some highlights we wanted to share with you – and let you know
that we have a few remaining exhibitor booths left, so if you wanted
to exhibit, there’s still time to sign up! Just contact Ellie Jackson as
soon as you can at 715-592-6595 ext. 115 or elliej@midwestrenew.org
This year’s highlights include:
  1. Keynote speakers Danny Kennedy of Sungevity and Josh Fox, director of the Academy Award nominated documentary GASLAND  – https://www.midwestrenew.org/fairkeynotes 
  2. The second annual Seeing RED presentation on Sunday where a 2kW PV system will be given away to one of four nonprofit finalists – http://www.seeingred.org/ 
  3. A Solar Powering Your Community track on Friday
    featuring sessions on financing, solar market trends, an overview of
    the changes happening in Minnesota, presenters from Wisconsin’s Energy
    Independent Communities, and more!
  4. Solar Professionals Workshops with Schletter, Caleffi, North Wind Renewable Energy, Quick Mount PV,  tenKsolar and more! 
  5. Extended workshops such as EV and Solar Charging and Successful Solar Business 
  6. A second stage (built by MREA’s very own Mike White and Nick Hylla) so there will be even more entertainment – https://www.midwestrenew.org/fairentertainment 
The program guide is now online so you can check it out before next week https://www.midwestrenew.org/programguide 
And finally, here is a link to our promotional video for this year’s Fair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1WwAy-xlYY 
We hope to see you there!