by jboullion | Apr 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Amy Ryan in the Wausau Daily Herald:
WESTON — After presentations for and against a proposed biomass energy plant to be built across from Rothschild Elementary School, the D.C. Everest Area School Board decided Tuesday to not yet take a position on the project.
Residents fighting the biomass plant were hopeful the board would join the effort to stop its construction.
“I think we have too much material. I would not make a recommendation at this time,” said board member Rita Kasten.
We Energies plans to build a $250 million power plant that burns low-quality and unusable wood and paper waste, powering the Domtar paper mill in Rothschild and providing electricity to homes in portions of Wisconsin. We Energies hopes it will be operating by fall 2013.
Residents at the meeting said they were concerned about the effect the plant might have on the health of the children at the nearby elementary school. Those concerns were shared by board members and district administrators.
“USA TODAY … studied 127,000 schools, and only 23,000 have worse air than Rothschild,” said board member Larry Schaefer. “We’re starting with some pretty poor air already. That’s a concern I have with this plant.”
Rob Hughes, the parent of a 7-month-old, lives near the proposed site of the energy plant and said he is concerned about children playing on the playground near an energy plant.
“In the long term, these particulates cause development of lung disease in children,” he said. “It’s hard to learn if you’re puffing on an inhaler, if you’re light-headed and struggling to breathe.”
Representatives from We Energies and Domtar said the new plant would emit less pollution than the current biomass generators used at Domtar.
“There are very rigorous standards placed by regulatory agencies to protect our welfare,” said Terry Charles, environmental health and safety manager for Domtar. “That includes asthmatics and elderly.”
The plant would cut dependence on fossil fuels, reduce acid rain and be nearly carbon-neutral, the environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin and the U.S. Forest Service have said.
by jboullion | Apr 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a Community Conversation column by Bob Cleaves, president of the Biomass Power Association, in the Sheboygan Press:
Wisconsin is in the midst of a serious debate about the environmental impact of biomass power, and whether increasing their use of clean, renewable biomass for electricity could potentially lead to unintended negative consequences, specifically with respect to forest health and greenhouse gas emissions. The truth, however, is that increasing our use of biomass power will improve forest health in Wisconsin and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
Biomass power is carbon neutral electricity generated from renewable organic waste that would otherwise be dumped in landfills, openly burned or left as fodder for forest fires.
On average, America’s biomass power industry removes 68.8 million tons of forest waste annually, improving forest health and dramatically reducing the threat of forest fires. This forest waste includes dead debris and brush left to rot on the forest floor. Clearing this debris is a part of regular forest maintenance and is frequently done by state forest services in the form of open burns.
By using this waste to generate electricity, the biomass power industry is preventing the need for open burns and significantly reducing the risk and spread of forest fires. Waste byproducts from other industries and organic waste from the forest floor continue to be the only economically viable fuel sources for biomass power.
Fuel providers to the biomass power industry do not harvest wood solely for the purpose of generating electricity — forests are simply far too valuable.
by jboullion | Apr 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin:
MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) is seeking public comments for a biomass-fired power plant project proposed by Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) in Rothschild.
In March 2010, WEPCO filed an application with the PSC for permission to build a 50-megawatt, woody biomass-fired, cogeneration power plant on the Domtar Corporation paper mill property. This newly proposed unit would require about 500,000 tons of biomass fuel per year. It is expected that the fuel would largely be sourced from within a 75-mile or possibly a 100-mile radius of the plant.
Comments on the proposed project will be accepted until June 1, 2010. The comments are considered when staff is analyzing the proposal. Hearings to take testimony from the public regarding the project are expected to be held later this year. . . .
To comment on the proposed project, visit the PSC’s website at http://psc.wi.gov, click on the Public Comments button and choose We Energies (WEPCO) Rothschild Biomass Cogen Project. For documents associated with the case, visit the PSC’s website at http://psc.wi.gov.
by jboullion | Apr 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Robert Imrie in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune:
ROTHSCHILD — The Wisconsin Paper Council announced Monday that it will support a planned $255 million wood-burning power plant at a Rothschild paper mill.
“We are happy to join in and give it a thumbs up,” WPC Vice President Earl Gustafson said in a telephone interview from Appleton. “From what we have seen so far, it looks like a good plan.”
The Paper Council, which represents 20 paper mills including Domtar and dozens of other suppliers of goods and services to the industry, has asked to participate in state regulatory proceedings on the project.
We Energies has applied to the state Public Service Commission to build Wisconsin’s first biomass power plant on the grounds of the Domtar paper mill along Business Highway 51. A decision is expected by the end of the year, and neighbors of the mill are seeking to stop the project because of concerns about noise, traffic, aesthetics and pollution.
In seeking “intervener status” in the case, the Paper Council told the PSC that “supply and demand for wood fiber” used to make paper products could be affected if We Energies gets approval to build the plant.
Gustafson said Monday the plant’s plan to burn only waste wood, including forest residue and wood shavings, should eliminate most of the Paper Council’s concerns.
by jboullion | Apr 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Keith Uhlig in the Wausau Daily Herald:
Students, educators, environmentalists and public officials gathered on Earth Day to dedicate the area’s first Outdoor Renewable Energy Learning Center.
The Wausau School District’s center at East High School includes a 100-kilowatt wind turbine, with another, smaller one in the works, and two solar power systems.
Students at East already have been using the systems for hands-on learning about alternative energy, and the plan is to have students and teachers from throughout the region use the facility to augment classroom lessons.
“This is the perfect place to be on Earth Day,” said Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, keynote speaker at the ceremony.
Lawton said the center will help students position themselves as leaders in a green energy surge in America, a crucial step toward energy independence and a strong economy.
