by jboullion | Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
Bob Ramlow stands in front of the solar hot water panels at the Artha Sustainable Living Center near Amherst.
From the newsletter of RENEW Wisconsin:
With his graying hair in a pony tail and his hand-rolled cigarettes, Bob Ramlow projects the classic appearance of an aging hippie who parted company with the rat race decades ago. And not only does he look every inch the solar energy pioneer, he is one, mentoring installation contractors and counseling prospective system owners in his capacity as Focus on Energy’s solar water heating technical consultant. Indeed, a typical day presents Ramlow with many opportunities to apply his 30+ years of experience in this area, whether it involves reading over site assessments, reviewing drawings and equipment specifications, or advising contractors whenever an installation presents an unusual challenge. . . .
Do you mind being called an aging hippie?
Not at all. I was one of many who “tuned in, turned on, and dropped out.” I wanted a fixer-upper with good soil and woods, and I bought the farmland with a nearly ruined farm house built in 1911. We farmed it for 20 years. The old house became the bed and breakfast after we built our new house in 2006.
When did your solar addiction begin?
In 1971. Dr. George Becker, a fisheries professor, supervised my independent study in my senior year in Natural Resources at the UW-Stevens Point.
One day, he told me that “we’re going for a walk” to his house. In his backyard, he had something that looked like an A-frame outhouse. It had an air collector facing the sun, and it was full of rocks to store heat. An air pump blew into his house.
I saw that, and a light went on! You could get depressed fighting nukes and DDT, like we did then, but here was something positive!
Did the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) begin about this time?
The MREA came a lot later – 1990 – after I’d spent several years of selling high-quality wood stoves, working for a company selling wall mounted air collectors, then another company that sold windows and doors with home installation as a sideline, and I formed Artha Renewable Energy as a solar consulting business in 1976.
Mick Sagrillo, now the solar electric consultant for Focus on Energy, and a lot of us in the area were doing a lot of good things by the late 1980s, when George Perez, publisher of Home Power magazine, told us we should strut our stuff – hold fairs and festivals to show off renewable energy.
We liked the idea and founded the MREA in January or February of 1990. We held the first fair at the county fair grounds in Amherst in mid-August of the same year. The first day – Saturday — it rained hard. The four holy, moldy Korean-War-era tents, where we held workshops, let the rain pour in. People were squatting on chairs to stay out of the water while they listened to the presentations. Sunday was beautiful. We had 3,000 people and made enough money to hire a part-time director for the next year’s fair.
What exactly do you do for Focus on Energy?
I mentor solar hot water installers and dealers. Installers call me a lot. They run into a situation that’s unfamiliar, or maybe they aren’t sure exactly how to squeeze all of the equipment into a tiny space, for instance. I help with nuts and bolts issues. I review solar site assessments too – probably one a day on the average.
Focus on Energy’s call center also refers homeowners, business owners, and school district staff to me when I seem to be the most appropriate person, though most people call their utility or a dealer first.
Sometimes for Focus on Energy and sometimes for the MREA, I teach classes, often to employees of heating and plumbing contractors. We’re currently working out the details for me to train installers for one of the largest contractors in the state.
by jboullion | Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story on WXOW News 19:
La Crosse, WI (WXOW)- Gundersen Lutheran is one step closer to becoming energy independent thanks to the La Crosse City Brewery.
“People in the La Crosse community have seen these flares for many years and we approached City Brewery and said this would be a unique partnership and a wonderful partnership to capture this waste methane, waste energy, going right now and just being released,” says Corey Zarecki, efficiency improvement leader at Gundersen Lutheran.
The combined heat and power project is located on the City Brewery’s Property.
Waste methane gas discharged from the Brewery’s waste treatment process is being turned into electricity. The process is expected to generate three million Kilowatt hours per year.
“We’re gonna be generating electricity and putting that to the grid as clean renewable energy source,” says Corey Zarecki.
The project is expected to generate 8 to 10 percent of the energy used at Gundersen Lutheran’s La Crosse and Onlaska facilities. That is enough electricity need to power 280 homes.
by jboullion | Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Renewable Energy Summit opened online registration for the event at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, March 25 – 28, 2009.
Fifteen program themes highlight bio industry energy; business technologies and practices; curriculum programs and course design; energy efficiency, energy management and renewable, sustainable and green practices; energy policy, legal issues, drivers of the energy revolution, and opportunities for funding; green career pathways; green manufacturing; greening practices for colleges; green transportation; solar electric energy; solar thermal and geothermal energy; utility issues; water technologies; and wind energy.
March 25 and 26 focus on the renewable energy industry with presentations on all sectors of the industry. March 27 features Green Career Day with the focus on educational and job opportunities. March 28 offers workshops and short courses at the MATC Oak Creek Campus. For details see www.renewableenergysummit.org.
by jboullion | Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Debbie Griffin in the River Falls Journal:
For the first time ever, River Falls made the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of top 21 Green Power Communities in the country. The city made number 10 to be exact, with a 5% participation rate and deriving 15% of its energy from renewable sources.
Not only is it River Falls’ first time on the list, but also it’s the first city in Wisconsin or the Midwest to make it.
River Falls Municipal Utilities Communication Coordinator Chris Blasius said RFMU has been eyeing the list for years, waiting to apply for the status if and when River Falls ever met the EPA’s criteria. The city hit that magic mark this year.
Blasius said the main thing that landed the city on the list is how much it spends on renewable energy.
by jboullion | Feb 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
A crew prepares a tower for the wind turbine at Dave’s Brewfarm™.
From a news release issued by Dave’s Brewfarm™, Wilson, WI (St. Croix County):
. . .we’ll be putting up a Jacobs 31-20, a 20kW wind generator on a 120-foot tower to harvest the bountiful winds on the northern ridge of Wilson. The generator is projected to provide up to 50% of the needed electricity for the brewery/residence.
The wind generator is but one component of the sustainable aspect of the BrewFarm project, with geothermal heating/cooling and solar thermal rounding out the renewable energy mix. Greywater recycling will handle the brewery’s wastewater, which will be used in the hopyard and orchards of Little Wolf Farmstead, the agricultural component of the project.
The BrewFarm is an innovative demonstration project showcasing the latest in renewable and sustainable business practices, and rural development. Our hope is that through “leading by example” other businesses will adopt these (and other) sustainable strategies, realizing that every effort helps the planet – and the bottom line.
by jboullion | Feb 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Kertscher in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Oak Creek – An explosion Tuesday morning inside a We Energies coal dust silo rained flames down on a group of contract employees who were making preparations for repair work to begin.
Four employees were inside the 65-foot-tall structure and two outside when the explosion occurred, said a We Energies spokesman. A doctor said a 43-year-old man pulled his son, 22, and at least one other co-worker to safety.
The 22-year-old was the most severely injured, suffering burns to more than half his body, according to Tom Schneider, medical director of the Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn Center in Milwaukee.
The cause of the blast, reported at 10:53 a.m., has not been determined. Federal and local authorities will be investigating, officials said.
The six workers are employees of the Milwaukee branch of ThyssenKrupp Safway, a Waukesha-based company that provides scaffolding services, said Michelle Dalton, a company spokeswoman. She would not identify the workers.
ThyssenKrupp was hired as a subcontractor by United States Fire Protection, a New Berlin firm that provides fire protection services, according to We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey.
