by jboullion | Apr 16, 2013 | Uncategorized
From testimony given to Senate Committee on Energy Consumer Protection and Government Reform on April 10, 2013
RENEW Wisconsin has been leading and representing businesses, organizations, and individuals that seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin since 1991.
I have been involved in bioenergy for over thirty years in designing and administering policies and programs at the Wisconsin Energy Office, as director of the Focus on Energy Renewable Energy program, and for the past year with RENEW. I have personally been involved in many of Wisconsin’s more than 100 biogas facilities over my career. These facilities include municipal wastewater treatment plants, landfill gas operations, dairy operations, and food waste.
Wisconsin has the natural resources, the supply chain infrastructure, the mix of industrial and agricultural producers, and a past history of success to once again lead the nation in biogas production and utilization. Currently, New York, Pennsylvania, and California are about to overtake our lead if they have not already done so. All it takes for Wisconsin to regain the lead is the right public policies that can overcome the remaining economic and institutional barriers.
RENEW believes that Wisconsin has the very doable potential to quadruple the number of biogas facilities in the next ten years from roughly 100 to 400. This would allow Wisconsin to have a similar number of biogas facilities per capita as Germany, the world biogas leader. RENEW prepared a list of 12 specific policies that together can retake Wisconsin’s leadership role in biogas and allow us to quadruple the number of local, environmentally beneficial, and job creating biogas facilities.
The four policies that are most important and have an immediate potential include:
- Allowing third party contracting arrangements that would reduce the financial and technical barriers to biogas system hosts;
- Allowing reasonable and flexible interconnection requirements as defined in RENEW’s current petition at the PSCW in docket 05-GF-233. For example, current requirements allow utilities to designate the type of telemetry (a communication link between generator and substation).
- By designating the most expensive type of telemetry (fiber optics) instead of other much less expensive, but just as reliable options, utilities can increase the cost of a biogas system by hundreds of thousands of dollars and effectively kill projects.
- Higher buyback rates or production tax incentives that recognize the social benefits of:
- locally produced energy
- environmental benefits to air, water, and land
- the economic benefits of building and operating biogas here in Wisconsin.
- Property tax reductions, similar to those given to wind and solar
We urge the Senate Committee on Energy, Consumer Protection, and Government Reform to seriously consider recommending these policies to your legislative colleagues and to agencies that have jurisdiction over these responsibilities.
It’s time to move forward and create the climate that once again makes Wisconsin the national leader in biogas.
Thank you.
Don Wichert, Interim Executive Director, RENEW Wisconsin
Attachments:
by jboullion | Mar 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
For all of you folks interested in biomass, check out this conference coming up:
by jboullion | Mar 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
Below is a post from Nicole Sandler on the BioForward blog. If you’re interested in bio in Wisconsin, checkout their website for more information. See this article in it’s original posting here.
My first post for Biotech in Wisconsin was scheduled for the week of March 11, which as many scientists know includes Pi Day. As we were exchanging ideas about a potential topic, I got an email from Laura Strong, who runs a cancer drug development company in Madison and created this blog, that said:
“I was thinking of something “fun” for Pi Day (March 14) like a pie contest, which got me thinking about cow pies. Cow pies led to a recollection that manure is being converted to energy – a sort of biotech mix of ag and energy…”
In case you aren’t familiar with
Cow Pies, they are a candy made of pecans covered in caramel and chocolate. So there you have it – from
the transcendental π to delicious desserts to actual cow poop to renewable energy!
Some initial searching on the topic of biogas revealed two data-rich documents, both relevant and informative. They serve as the sources for this basic background on where the state of Wisconsin stands on the concept of harvesting animal and plant waste to produce renewable fuel.
But first a quick explanation for those in the dark (like myself) on what exactly is meant by biogas. Biogas is produced from biomass, which can be thought of as animal and plant waste. As a renewable energy source biomass can be used directly or converted to a biofuel in any of three ways – thermal conversion, chemical conversion or biochemical conversion. Think of humans burning wood to make fire to produce heat. That is one of the most basic examples of how we use a biomass source to make energy.
Biogas is a gas that is produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen – the biologists in the crowd recognize this as anaerobic digestion or fermentation. Typical sources of such biodegradable materials include manure, sewage, municipal waste, plant materials and crops; in other words, biomass. Biomass that is suitable for biogas production is referred to as “feedstock,” a term that figures prominently in the comprehensive reports and data available on this topic.
One such strategic report,
Wisconsin Strategic Bioenergy Feedstock Assessment, was published last year by the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative (WBI). The report highlights that Wisconsin has a wide range of biomass, from crops to food and dairy processing facilities to dairy farms. Dairy manure was described as the “lowest hanging fruit” for biomass in Wisconsin. Based on detailed economic modeling, the report suggests that despite a strong forest product industry in WI, use of wood as biomass would impact prices.
The lead author of the report and Director of the WBI is Gary Radloff. Radloff is also Director of Midwest Energy Policy Analysis with the Wisconsin Energy Institute and considered an Expert in energy policy. When asked to comment on the role that biogas can play in our state, he had this to say:
“Wisconsin has the opportunity to a be a national leader in biogas energy with its robust dairy sector, large food processing sector, along with local government facilities such as wastewater treatment plants and landfill sites. Yet it may take some additional supportive public policy to push the opportunity to success due to current challenges in the energy economic marketplace today.”
Another influential organization working for more renewable energy is
RENEW Wisconsin. RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit sustainable energy advocacy organization that leads and represents statewide businesses, and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy. Don Wichert, the organization’s interim executive director, provided some updated numbers to illustrate just where the state of Wisconsin stands on biogas:
“As of a few years ago we could boast of at least 100 biogas facilities – including over 35 wastewater treatment pants, 10 landfills, 40 animal digesters that use dairy manure and another 10 or so that use food waste.” Interestingly, one of these, at UW-Oshkosh, is the
first commercial-scale dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester in the nation, and it provides the campus with five percent of its current energy and heating needs.
In other words, biogas is not new to the state of Wisconsin.
As Wichert explains, these biogas facilities basically function by taking the waste, converting them to a 50:50 mix of methane and carbon dioxide which is then put that into an engine that turns a generator to produce electricity.
“We have a pretty solid basis for being the national leader in biogas production,” says Wichert. “Already we are very close to having the most in any state, and we could expand the number by a factor of four within the next ten years.” What this will require however, are a “few different policy tweaks.”
The Wisconsin State Energy Office also is involved in furthering the potential of biogas as a renewable energy source and recently
published a forward-looking plan in partnership with Baker Tilly. The end result is a report backed up by a set of tools to do an initial evaluation of the viability of biogas projects, specifically in the areas of cheese production and dairy farms. While the economic modeling tool is a bit advanced,
the map overlaps feedstocks and existing power/energy infrastructure.
Wisconsin seems to be striving to make its mark as a leader in harnessing biomass for renewable energy. With strong interest and resources, perhaps we could tap into the local biotech sector to address some of the quality of biomass concerns and help improve the conversion processes.
Wisconsin does have a few of these companies, most notably
Virent, which was developed around its BioForming® platform. The novel process is able to accommodate renewable feedstocks required by Virent’s customers and in doing so converts plant-based materials into a wide range of petroleum-free products.
See the original posting of this article here.
by Ed Blume | Jan 16, 2013 | Uncategorized
RENEW Wisconsin received a lot of positive press feedback after the 2013 renewable energy policy summit, “Powering Positive Action”. Here is a great press release from SC Johnson, reflecting on their award – find the original here.
Company Presented with “Renewable Energy Customer-Generator of the Year” Award for Advanced Wind Turbine Technology and Other Environmental Efforts
RACINE, Wis., Jan. 11, 2013 – Reflecting SC Johnson’s dedication to the environment, RENEW Wisconsin today awarded it the “Renewable Energy Customer-Generator of the Year” honor, specifically citing the company’s achievements in using renewable energy in its global manufacturing operations. The independent nonprofit organization leads and represents businesses, organizations and individuals seeking cleaner, renewable energy in Wisconsin.
“To be recognized with other Wisconsin companies that also champion clean energy is truly an honor and speaks to the priorities of the business community in our state,” said Kelly M. Semrau, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability at SC Johnson. “We are grateful for the support of RENEW Wisconsin and their dedicated efforts to advance clean energy policies that put Wisconsin at the forefront of environmental leadership.”
SC Johnson’s commitment to clean energy was recently reaffirmed in December 2012 with the installation of two 415-foot wind turbines at Waxdale, the company’s largest global manufacturing facility in Mt. Pleasant, Wis. These turbines – the first of their kind in the state – will produce about eight million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually – enough to power 700 homes in a year. Combined with two cogeneration turbines that have been in place since the mid-2000s, the facility is now able to produce an average of 100 percent of its electrical energy onsite.
“SC Johnson is doing outstanding work as a renewable self-generator to make wind energy a smart and viable alternative to power their operations,” said Michael Vickerman, Program and Policy Director at RENEW Wisconsin. “We were thrilled to recognize the company for powering positive action in Wisconsin using wind energy, and we are proud that the policies RENEW has advanced have helped SC Johnson achieve this success.”
SC Johnson is emerging as a regional and national leader for its clean-energy initiatives, particularly those related to wind energy. With the commissioning of the wind project at Waxdale, the company is now the only manufacturer in the country that has installed Vensys turbines – the latest in wind turbine technology, meaning less maintenance and higher energy yields than traditional systems.
SC Johnson’s Worldwide Leadership in Renewables
In addition to the wind turbine project at Waxdale, SC Johnson added three SWIFT mini wind turbines to the roof of its Lowell, Ark., sales office, capable of generating as much as 3,600 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. These reduce carbon dioxide emissions equal to about 280 gallons of gasoline. In the Netherlands, a 262-foot-tall wind turbine helps power the SC Johnson European manufacturing facility.
The company has also been making strides in Indonesia since SC Johnson launched a biofuel initiative that converts waste palm shells as a fuel source to heat water for mosquito coil production. This cuts greenhouse gas emissions at the factory by more than 15 percent and reduces local diesel fuel use by 80 percent. Each of these projects brings SC Johnson closer to the company’s goal of increasing worldwide renewable energy use to 44 percent of total electricity by 2016.
Find the original article here.
by jboullion | Sep 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
From an article in BizTimes by Molly Newman:
“Milwaukee area food waste will be used to generate power in an anaerobic digester that will be built at Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee.
The facility will be able to break down organic materials into methane gas, powering engines that will produce up to 2 megawatts of power. That adds up to about 16 million kilowatt hours per year, enough to power 1,500 homes, which will be sold back to Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp.
“We will be producing the energy and selling it back to We Energies under a tariff agreement, which will then count toward their renewable energy portfolio standard requirements in Wisconsin,” said Jeff Crawford, tribal attorney general for the Forest County Potawatomi Community. The energy production will offset most of the Potawatomi Community’s energy costs throughout the state, and also renew its commitment to the environment, he said. The tribe has about 17,000 acres of land throughout Wisconsin”
Read the full article here.
