by Ed Blume | Sep 27, 2012 | Uncategorized
(Madison) – In testimony submitted to the Public Service
Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) on Wednesday, RENEW Wisconsin objected to We
Energies’ proposal to weaken its net-metering service to new customers seeking
to generate electricity on-site using solar panels and other renewable energy
systems.
In its current rate proceeding, We Energies proposes not
to pay a new customer-generator for any electricity produced in excess of the
amount consumed on site.
“We Energies’ proposal is a radical
departure from its current practice paying the full retail rate for energy
that’s fed back to the utility’s system,” said Michael Vickerman, director of
programs and policy for RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy
organization.
“This proposal is the most
extreme example yet of We Energies’ ongoing retreat from customer-sited
renewables, and we urge the PSCW to reject it.
Net metering allows customers to sell
the unused output from their solar electric or other renewable energy systems
back to the utility at the full retail rate each month, so long as the total
amount of electricity produced is less than or equal to the customers’
usage.
“Utilities routinely pay for all the energy supplied by non-utility generators to its
system.
“By refusing to purchase the
small amounts of electricity they may export to the utility, We Energies is abusing
its monopoly power in a way that discriminates against its own customers.”
Vickerman said.
In
its proposal, We Energies would limit its net metering service to systems no
larger than 20 kilowatts. In contrast, Madison Gas & Electric, Xcel Energy,
and Wisconsin Public Service provide net metering to systems as large as 100
kilowatts.
“When you take into account what other in-state
utilities are offering, it seems obvious that We Energies is asking for special
treatment from the PSC.
Yet, it has
provided nothing in its rate case to demonstrate that a higher net metering ceiling
would cause it any more harm than to the other utilities,” said Vickerman.
Vickerman
pointed to Michigan as a better model for setting net-metering service
standards.
“Thanks
to legislation passed in 2008, We Energies’ Michigan customers enjoy a much
higher standard of service than what the utility proposes for its Wisconsin
customers,” Vickerman said.
“Along with
all other investor-owned utilities in Michigan, We Energies must provide full
retail credit for all electricity produced by renewable energy systems up to 20
kW and must provide a reasonable net metering rate for systems up to 150 kW.”
In
the most recent Freeing the Grid: Best Practices in State Metering Policies report
prepared for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Michigan rated an “A”
for its net-metering policies. By comparison, Wisconsin earned a “C.” The report can be viewed here.
Earlier this month, RENEW issued
a report card grading individual utility performance
on renewable energy, in which We Energies received a “C” for its 2011 performance.
-END-
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization that leads and represents businesses, organizations, and
individuals who seek more clean renewable energy in Wisconsin.More information on RENEW’s Web site at
www.renewwisconsin.org.
by jboullion | Sep 27, 2012 | Uncategorized
For Immediate Release – September 26, 2012
Contact: Kristin Ruesch or Matthew Pagel (608) 266-9600
PSC Upcoming Public Hearings
MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) will hold two public hearings in Southeastern Wisconsinon regarding the Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas (WEPCO) request to adjust its electric and natural gas rates.
Citizens are encouraged to attend the hearings, which will be held at the following locations and times:
Monday, October 1, 2012
1:00 p.m.
Ambassador Inn
Marquette Room
2301 West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Monday, October 1, 2012
6:00 p.m.
Best Western Plus Midway Hotel and Suites
Underwood I Room
1005 South Moorland Road
Brookfield, Wisconsin
Customers attending either hearing may provide written or oral comments. If customers cannot attend a public hearing, but would like to provide comments, an online participation option is available on the PSC’s website at
http://psc.wi.gov through October 1st. Participants should click on the “Public Comments” button on the PSC’s homepage and click on the case title.
The hearing locations are accessible to people in wheelchairs. Anyone requiring accommodations to participate should contact Docket Coordinator Candice Spanjar at 608-267-9537
Documents associated with WEPCO’s application can be viewed on the PSC’s Electronic Regulatory Filing System at
http://psc.wi.gov/. Type case numbers 5-UR-106 in the boxes provided on the PSC homepage, or click on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System button.
-end-
by Ed Blume | Sep 26, 2012 | Uncategorized
An article by Brian Duggan in rgj.com. This article raises the question: Who is responsible – the producer, the consumer, or a third party – to ensure that small scale renewable projects are efficient and effective?:
Three years ago, Albert and Dena Sousa spent about $30,000 to install two vertical axis wind turbines at their Spanish Springs home after they were told the technology would cut their power bill in half.
The retired couple from California thought the turbines, produced by former Reno-based company Mariah Power, would generate enough electricity to pay for themselves in five years after a $7,000 rebate from NV Energy.
Today, the Sousas say the turbines have required several repairs, including a mechanical malfunction that’s stopped one turbine from spinning. Meanwhile, the windmills have generated only about 365 kilowatt hours of power over three years — a fraction of the energy they were hoping to generate — meaning there will be no payoff in their lifetimes.
“So, I’m out $23,000, and all they are is a yard decoration,” Albert Sousa said on Wednesday while standing beneath the 30-foot spires next to a backyard chicken coop. “They’re no good at all.”
Advocates of small-scale wind energy production say stories like the Sousas’ experience at their high-desert home highlight the challenge early adopters face when investing in a nascent industry.
That includes sorting through unsubstantiated claims made by some manufacturers of wind turbines meant for backyards or city parks as well as maintaining a realistic set of expectations for the technology.
Read more…
by Ed Blume | Sep 21, 2012 | Uncategorized
From an article
in the New York Times by Diane Cardwell:
Last month, Gamesa, a major maker of wind turbines, completed the
first significant order of its latest innovation: a camper-size box
that can capture the energy of slow winds, potentially opening new
parts of the country to wind power.
But by the time the last of the devices, worth more than $1.25
million, was hitched to a rail car, Gamesa had furloughed 92 of the
115 workers who made them.
“We are all really sad,” said Miguel Orobiyi, 34, who worked as a
mechanical assembler at the Gamesa plant for nearly five years. “I
hope they call us back because they are really, really good jobs.”
Similar cuts are happening throughout the American wind sector,
which includes hundreds of manufacturers, from multinationals that
make giant windmills to smaller local manufacturers that supply
specialty steel or bolts. In recent months, companies have announced
almost 1,700 layoffs.
At its peak in 2008 and 2009, the industry employed about 85,000 people, according to the American Wind Energy Association, the industry’s principal trade group.
About 10,000 of those jobs have disappeared since, according to the association, as wind companies have been buffeted by weak demand for electricity, stiff competition from cheap natural gas and cheaper options from Asian competitors. Chinese manufacturers, who can often underprice goods because of generous state subsidies, have moved into the American market and have become an issue in the larger trade tensions between the countries. In July, the United States Commerce Department imposed tariffs on steel turbine towers from China after finding that manufacturers had been selling them for less than the cost of production.
And now, on top of the business challenges, the industry is facing a big political problem in Washington: the Dec. 31 expiration of a federal tax credit that makes wind power more competitive with other sources of electricity.
The tax break, which costs about $1 billion a year, has been periodically renewed by Congress with support from both parties. This year, however, it has become a wedge issue in the presidential contest. President Obama has traveled to wind-heavy swing states like Iowa to tout his support for the subsidy. Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, has said he opposes the wind credit, and that has galvanized Republicans in Congress against it, perhaps dooming any extension or at least delaying it until after the election despite a last-ditch lobbying effort from proponents this week.
Read
more
by Ed Blume | Sep 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
Learn more about two proposed wind farms in northeast Wisconsin. Ask questions of the development teams. Refreshments!
Beautiful Hill Wind Farm Open House
Tuesday, September 25
4:30-7:30 PM
Fox Hills Resort
250 Church Street
Mishicot, WI 54228
Windy Acres Wind Farm
Thursday, September 27
4:30-7:30 PM
Silver Creek Fire Department
W6566 Wisconsin 144
Random Lake, WI 53075
by jboullion | Sep 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
From a Dairyland Power Cooperative news release:
LA CROSSE, WI— Dairyland Power Cooperative is purchasing the excess energy output from a new 368 kW solar photovoltaic installation at the City of Galena (Ill.) Wastewater Treatment Plant. The facility is interconnected with Jo-Carroll Energy (Elizabeth, Ill.), a Dairyland member cooperative.
The solar units’ production at the wastewater treatment plant is expected to produce sufficient power to satisfy the facility’s energy needs. Dairyland has a power purchase agreement in place with the City of Galena for all energy produced beyond that required to power the wastewater treatment plant.
Eagle Point Solar, based in Dubuque, Iowa, installed the photovoltaic system. The project installation was partially funded by an Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation grant. “Jo-Carroll Energy is pleased to be collaborating on a local renewable energy project that serves a critical facility in our area, and provides benefits to the environment,” said Michael Hastings, Jo-Carroll Energy CEO.
With headquarters in La Crosse, Wis., Dairyland provides wholesale electricity to Jo-Carroll Energy and 24 other member distribution cooperatives and 15 municipal utilities in four states (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois). Dairyland’s generation resources include coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, landfill gas, biomass, solar and animal waste. For more information about Dairyland, visit www.dairynet.com.
