by RENEW Wisconsin | May 27, 2013 | Uncategorized
Great news out of Minnesota. To read more about the Solar Energy Jobs Act, see the full legislation or read Dan Haugen’s article at Midwest Energy News.
by Dan Haugen
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday signed into law an energy bill that’s projected to give the state a more than thirtyfold increase in solar generation by the end of the decade.
The Solar Energy Jobs Act was rolled into a larger, omnibus economic development bill and approved by the state’s legislature last week.
The section that’s drawn the most attention is a 1.5 percent by 2020 solar electricity standard for large utilities that is on top of the state’s existing 25 percent by 2025 renewable mandate.
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by RENEW Wisconsin | May 24, 2013 | Uncategorized
by Don Wichert
As part of a US DOE Sunshot grant, MREA subcontracted with RENEW to investigate whether Wisconsin’s interconnection rules were up-to-date or needed amending.
RENEW led a team that conducted an installer interconnection survey, assessed Wisconsin’s current interconnection rules, compared Wisconsin’s rules to national best practices, and had 6 meetings with an interconnection workgroup to consider all relevant information and make recommendations, if warranted.
The PSC is now conducting an investigation to get stakeholder input on the need to open an interconnection rules amendment docket. Comments are due by Monday, June 17, at noon.
It is very important that members of the renewable energy supply chain businesses and other stakeholders urge the PSC to open a docket on this topic. These comments have to be filed as described in the linked PDF or here:
ALL filed documents related to docket can be found in WI Public Service Commission’s Electronic Regulatory Filing (ERF) system by following these simple steps.
- Go to Search ERF @ http://psc.wi.gov/apps35/ERF_search/default.aspx
- Type in docket number 5-gf-233 in docket search box and then click on {GO} button.
These rules only get evaluated about every ten years or so. If you ever had an issue with interconnection or would like to see the process get easier, faster, and cheaper without reducing safety, now is the time to make your comments heard.
Please let us know if RENEW can be of additional assistance in submitting comments.
by RENEW Wisconsin | May 24, 2013 | Uncategorized
A new project in Turtle Lake, WI aims to use a cheese plant’s wastewater to produce electricity, heat and fertilizer. Read the article at Agri-view.
By Jane Fyksen Crops Editor
TURTLE LAKE — A $28 million renewable energy project underway in Turtle Lake will convert cheesemaking byproducts into electricity, heat and a new fertilizer. The aim is to provide an alternative to land-spreading of cheese plant wastewater (high in organic content and phosphorus), while at the same time generate electrical power for nearby homes and businesses, while at the same time, cheaper heat for dairy plants.
Instead of being a liability for the cheese industry, dairy wastewater will be transformed into valuable commodities, thanks to pioneers at GreenWhey Energy in Turtle Lake.
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by RENEW Wisconsin | May 23, 2013 | Uncategorized
A biogas pipeline in Central Wisconsin is one step closer to realization after the Marquette County Board of Supervisors approved its installation. See the Portage Daily Register’s article for more information.
MONTELLO — The Marquette County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution approving the installation of a biogas pipeline within certain county road right-of-ways from the New Chester Dairy to Brakebush Brothers Inc.
Gas would be extracted from manure at the New Chester Dairy in Grand Marsh and sent via the pipeline to the Brakebush Brothers plant near Westfield to be used for electricity.
At its previous meeting, the board voted to delay its vote on the resolution until the company could answer some community members’ concerns.
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by RENEW Wisconsin | May 22, 2013 | Uncategorized
Mark Redstein’s new opinion piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel makes a strong case for clean energy in the state.
Over the past few years, Wisconsin’s wind industry has faced an unreasonable number of obstacles, more than any other form of energy production, nearly grinding the job- and energy-creating potential of this critical sector to a halt. If Wisconsin is going to move its economy forward, it needs to stop pushing back and open the door to clean, renewable wind energy.
Fortunately, the door has started to creak open.
On April 29, the Brown County Circuit Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Realtors Association that claimed the state’s wind siting rule, PSC 128, was improperly enacted. The judge disagreed and ruled that the Public Service Commission lawfully enacted a balanced and comprehensive wind siting rule. …
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by RENEW Wisconsin | May 13, 2013 | Uncategorized
More good news out of Iowa. MidAmerican’s energy project will be the single biggest economic investment in the state’s history, according to the governor.
Article from Des Moines Register is below:
MidAmerican Energy Co.’s $1.9 billion investment in wind energy in Iowa will help hold down customers’ electric bills, make the state more attractive to companies looking for greener energy, and create good jobs, state and utility leaders said Wednesday.
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