Two Rivers may erect wind turbine

From an article by Cindy Hodgson in the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter:

TWO RIVERS — Two Rivers Water & Light is considering erecting a wind turbine near the high school on Highway 42. It would be a joint project of the utility, the school and Wisconsin Public Power Inc., according to electric utility director Tom Bushman.

“We’re in very preliminary talks at this point,” Bushman said.

He said he has been in contact with the school regarding the idea for a couple of years, but “price has always been the issue.”

Now Wisconsin Public Power Inc., which is owned by 49 utilities including Two Rivers Water & Light, has indicated it is willing to provide funding, perhaps as much as 75 percent, according to Bushman.

WPPI would like to see at least one alternative energy demonstration project in each of its member cities, he said. Solar projects have been undertaken, and WPPI wants to see some wind projects implemented.

Two Rivers is a suitable location for a wind project, Bushman said, because it has open spaces and offshore winds from Lake Michigan in the afternoon.

If a wind turbine is set up near the high school, the power it generates will offset a small portion of the school’s electric bill, Bushman said.

Eggers Industries, on the other side of Highway 42, also has expressed interested in having a wind turbine, and the company has some vacant land to its south, he said.

MATC, MSOE have sunny outlooks

From an article by Thomas Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The largest solar power project in downtown Milwaukee is up and running at Milwaukee School of Engineering.

144 solar panels sit on the roof of the school’s student union building and are visible to office workers in nearby downtown buildings. That’s by design, said Chris Damm, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MSOE.

“It’s a statement to show that MSOE is leading the way in terms of sustainability and engineering, to attract students who are interested in emerging energy technologies and sustainable engineering,” he said.

But the project is more than just a showcase for the university. It’s part of a training ground for students to engage in research in the growing fields of renewable energy and more efficient energy use.

Already, students did research to help determine the best spot on the downtown campus to place the solar panels – to ensure they wouldn’t be blocked by shadows from nearby buildings and generate too little power.

The solar project is the largest in downtown Milwaukee and one of the biggest at the state, though larger projects may be in the works.

The state’s largest solar systems are at GE Healthcare in Waukesha and Kohl’s Corp. in Menomonee Falls.

The downtown Milwaukee project, with a price tag of $235,000, was paid for through a combination of internal funding, a $100,000 grant from We Energies and a $35,000 grant from the state energy efficiency and renewable program, Focus on Energy.

A side note to the story says:

The future of solar power will be discussed during a conference next month at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee. The Solar Decade conference is planned for Oct. 23-24. For more, go to www.solardecade.com or call (800) 762-7077.

Green Drinks in Milwaukee, September 10

Cities across the U.S. host Green Drinks events. Here’s how the Sierra Club describes Milwaukee’s:

Anyone interested in green and sustainable is welcome. No rsvp necessary and feel free to pass this notice on to others interested. What is Green Drinks? Green Drinks is a monthly event where you can meet people, network, do a business deal, learn something new or maybe even find a job! Check out www.greendrinks.org to get an idea of the scope of this movement! Join like-minded people in an informal and unstructured setting to talk about the latest sustainability happenings in Milwaukee and globally. Meet people in various green professions. Have a drink (alcoholic or not) . . .

Green Drinks is held at 5:00 pm on the second Wednesday of the month at Ardor (non-smoking Pub), 607 N. Broadway. The next gathering is Wedesday, September 10.

Coalition wants transit to Pabst Farms development

From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:

A Milwaukee group says the construction of an interchange to serve Oconomowoc’s Pabst Farms shouldn’t move forward unless public transit improvements are part of the plan.

American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. attorneys filed a complaint (PDF) Tuesday on behalf of the Good Jobs & Livable Neighborhoods coalition.

Coalition Director Pamela Fendt said the complaint doesn’t seek to stop the more than $23 million construction of the Interstate 94 interchange in Oconomowoc. It asks the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to allot resources to mass transit if the interchange is built.

“It seems like what we see moving forward is the freeway work,” Fendt said, “and we are really at a standstill when it comes to making decisions on mass transit.”

The state Department of Transportation decided to expand the interchange at I-94 and County Trunk Highway P before its scheduled 2010 date because of the proposed Town Centre shopping complex at Pabst Farms. Waukesha County is contributing $1.75 million to the project, the city $400,000, and the state will pay the balance.

Representatives from SEWRPC, Pabst Farms and WisDOT did not comment on the complaint before deadline, saying they had not yet seen it.

Good Jobs & Livable Neighborhoods complained SEWRPC appointees and committees did not fairly represent Milwaukee’s minority workers when they approved changes to the regional transportation plan to include the expanded interchange.

Larry Dupuis, legal director for the ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation, said he hopes the feds will require representatives of Milwaukee’s minority communities to sign off on future additions to southeast Wisconsin’s highway project plans.

He also said state and local resources should be allotted for transit projects, including busing and rail projects such as the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line.

“Everybody talks about ‘smart growth’ and trying to diminish our dependence on foreign oil and those kinds of things,” he said. “The rule has been more roads and fewer transit resources, and we’re trying to put a halt to that.”

The complaint asks the U.S. DOT to order more planning to incorporate concerns of minority and transit-dependent residents and end its “absolute and substantial deference to local governments.” Short of that, it asks the federal government to ban SEWRPC from receiving federal money.

If new transit or bus routes are not created linking Milwaukee to Pabst Farms, unemployed Milwaukee residents will not have the chance to get jobs in the Town Centre mall, Fendt said.

Solar power is working in Wisconsin

From a story last fall on Fox 6 News:

WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE — You’d expect solar powered water heaters to be a big deal in Arizona or Texas, but now is becoming a big deal in Wisconsin. FOX 6’s Gus Gnorski shows you why it might be a good decision for your house.

The 2008 Solar Decade Conference, where the story was taped, will be October 23-24, also at the Midwest Airline Center.

The sun powers Racine Eco-Justice Center

From a story by Michael Seidel on OnMilwaukee.com:

“Now, when he has enough, he’ll stop,” Sister Janet Weyker says. She’s holding a baby robin; the bird chirp excitedly as Weyker feeds him worms out of a tin of compost and wild black raspberries from a cup. Since the robin’s mother disappeared, Weyker has taken over, tending to the fledling’s hunger at mealtimes.

This type of stewardship is precisely what motivated Weyker and several other sisters of the Racine Dominican order to found the Eco-Justice Center, a 15-acre learning center, farm and homestead located at 5635 Erie St. in Racine.

As a whole, the Racine Dominicans, a Catholic community of vowed women and lay associates, are committed to the ideas of education and justice. But back in 2000, the nuns saw a gap in their order’s efforts to extend those concepts to the environment.

“(We thought) the environment is in crisis and we should really do something,” Sister Janet says, “I didn’t want to just talk about it anymore, I really want to make that dream a reality. . . .”

“Fifty-five solar panels produce all the energy that we use in the summertime,” Weyker explains. Additionally, the house uses geothermal heating for its heating and air conditioning. “Geothermal is a system where there are pipes buried in the ground 9.5 feet deep, and there’s a constant temperature of 55 degrees. . . .”