by jboullion | Aug 31, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a story by Heather Sawaski on WAOW-TV, Wausau:
PARK FALLS (WAOW) — Flambeau River Papers in Park Falls is going to get a little greener.
Company leaders say when the new biomass plant is complete, the mill will use all of its waste energy, making it the first mill in North America not to use any fossil fuels. That’s a far cry from where the future of the paper mill stood just over 4 years ago. That’s when CEO Butch Johnson bought it out of bankruptcy. That’s when the idea of a biomass refinery in the Northwoods started to take shape.
“We’re no smarter than the guys before us that went bankrupt,” Johnson explained. “What can we do differently with our operation so we can ensure our employees, our partners in our project that we’re going to keep going? So we looked at a green initiative from the get go.”
The $300 will convert biomass from bark and sawdust into diesel for domestic markets.
Johnson says between logging, construction, and operation, the plant will bring in hundreds of jobs.
“We buy currently about 140,000 cords of wood for this paper mill,” he said. “With the bio-refinery, we would be buying an additional 365,000 cords of wood.”
by jboullion | Aug 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Wausau Daily Herald:
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission released its first assessment today of a proposed biomass plant in Rothschild, declining to perform an environmental impact statement demanded by opponents of the project and environmental groups.
In the preliminary finding released through the PSC site this afternoon, the commission members found the project would not have a “significant impact” on the surrounding community. Under state statutes, no environmental impact statement is necessary with that finding.
The commission members did take issue with the high level of particulate matter and other emissions from the plant predicted by air quality models. But the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has authority over air quality issues.
by jboullion | Aug 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Marshfield News-Herald:
Wood County Energy Assistance Office will begin taking energy assistance applications at locations throughout Wood County starting Sept.
The Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program is available to qualifying households to help in maintaining utility and heating services.
To qualify a household income must be below 60% of the state median income.
Wood County will be accepting energy assistance applications at outreach sites only. Applicants will be seen on a first come first serve basis.
Registration is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and no appointments will be scheduled for the regular season applications during this time. The Outreach Sites for the months of September and October are as follows:
September 7 WR Courthouse Auditorium
September 9 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
September 14 WR Courthouse Auditorium
September 16 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
September 22 WR Courthouse Auditorium
September 23 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
October 6 WR Courthouse Auditorium
October 7 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
October 13 WR Courthouse Auditorium
October 14 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
October 19 WR Courthouse Auditorium
October 21 Marshfield City Hall 4th Floor
by jboullion | Aug 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jen McCoy in the Portage Daily Register:
Because the Westfield School District continues to demonstrate a high level ecological stewardship, it became the first school to enroll into a state program dedicated to superior environmental performance among businesses.
“For a school district to say, ‘We’re going to start managing our full environmental footstep,’ that’s a big step,” said Mark McDermid, cooperative environmental assistance bureau director for the Department of Natural Resources.
Westfield applied for and was accepted into Wisconsin’s Green Tier program, run under the DNR, which encourages businesses to move beyond regulatory compliance and promote superior environmental performance. About 30 businesses are in the program.
“We got recognized for what we already achieved, and we’re going to prove what we can accomplish in the future,” said Scott Peterson, district transportation director.
In 2008, the district began producing biodiesel for district transportation needs from oil donated by local restaurants and businesses. The biodiesel reduced emissions by about 70 percent compared with petro-diesel and saved the district at least $100,000. To further reduce waste, the district turns glycerin, a byproduct of the biodiesel production process, into earth-friendly hand and laundry soaps sold in area stores, such as Pierce’s in Portage.
by jboullion | Aug 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Department of Workforce Development:
PARK FALLS – Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today announced a $463,488 Wisconsin Industry Partnership grant to train workers for biofuel production in Northern Wisconsin, further advancing Governor Doyle’s agenda to grow the state’s clean energy economy.
“This training grant is another example of Governor Doyle’s strategic investments to help Wisconsin create jobs and seize the opportunity to be a leader in the clean energy economy,” Secretary Gassman said. “These funds will help ensure that workers will be job ready as the biofuels industry expands in northern Wisconsin.”
Secretary Gassman awarded the grant to the Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board, DWD’s regional partner that proposed the Bio-Energy Sector Training project. The board worked with 15 employers in the biofuel, logging and paper production sector, including Flambeau River Papers, which will be powered by the new Flambeau River BioFuels bio-refinery plant once it is operational in 2013.
Through the grant, current employees and unemployed or underemployed workers will receive training in technology covering areas such as biomass harvesting and management. Chemical plant and system operators, chemists and first-line supervisors are among the jobs that will be supported through the 12-month grant project. With over $490,000 in local matching resources, total funding for the training project will surpass $900,000.
