by jboullion | Mar 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Peter J. Devlin in the Door County Advocate:
The owner of a town of Egg Harbor business hopes to generate the majority of its electricity needs from the wind.
Saundra Phlubna owns and operates the Feathered Star Bed and Breakfast on Wisconsin 42, north of Carlsville, where a 110-foot-tall tower and wind turbine were erected last week.
“I’m hoping to get as close as possible to meeting all my electrical needs with the wind generator,” she said.
The turbine is not yet connected to her business. It needs to have adjustments made while the turbine is turning in moderate wind, Phlubna said. There hasn’t been enough wind this week for the contractor to complete the project. Last week was too windy for the final adjusting, she said.
The turbine has been in the works for two years. A permit for the device was issued in December 2008 by Egg Harbor Town Chairman Paul Peterson. Other permits, including a Door County Wind Energy sighting permit, were approved before construction of the tower began last month.
A portion of the cost of the new structure and the generator came from grants, Phlubna said. The first two grants she sought were turned down. In reapplying, Wisconsin’s Focus On Energy program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development grant program provided some of the funds needed.
Seventh Generation Energy Services, Madison, installed the 35 kilowatt V-15 turbine.
by jboullion | Mar 5, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kim Shankland in The Pointer (UW-Stevens Point):
Now that we’ve taken a look at the renewable energy sphere, let’s take a look at one of the leaders in the industry. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association is a non-profit organization located just nine miles east of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Custer, Wis.
The MREA’s mission is to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable living through education and demonstration. They are considered a national leader in the renewable energy field. In fact, the organization recently received a $3.3 million grant from the Department of Energy to organize a regional solar training network.
This organization is a great resource for UWSP students who would like to get into the field or learn more about energy efficiency and renewable energy practices.
The MREA strives to train and educate through the classes, internships and volunteer opportunities they provide. They hold workshops to educate people on the best way to use renewable energy in their houses or businesses and counsel people on how to be more energy-efficient.
MREA property includes a newly built classroom building to conduct more workshops at once. They also have training roofs for students, in order to practice installing solar panels in their installation workshops.
“A great way to get a basic introduction to renewable energy is to take our workshops. All of our basic 101 workshops are one day. It’s a nine to five class that can teach you about solar electric/solar hot water wind energy – one class for each technology. It’s a great way to see if you’re interested in it before you pursue it,” said Gina Sinisi, communications coordinator for the MREA.
The energy fair is an influential event for the MREA, community members and people involved in the renewable energy field all over the nation. Held each June, this event takes place at the ReNew the Earth institute on the MREA property in Custer.
The fair is host to thousands of people from all over the U.S. who connect with and learn from each other as they eat, drink, listen to music and camp.
by jboullion | Mar 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
A Canadian energy producer’s latest effort to build a wind farm on the Great Lakes is one of several projects industry officials say is spurring interest in the concept.
The Great Lakes basin serves as a prime location for offshore power facilities because of high wind volumes and space, industry leaders said, which has some south Wood County business leaders poised to take advantage of what they call an invaluable resource.
“It costs a lot more to construct a tower in the water than it does on land, but when you put wind turbines on land, they’re set away from cities, so you need transmission lines,” said Jenny Heinzen, a wind-energy technology instructor at Lakeland Technical College. “What you’re spending in construction is far less than what you’d spend in transmission costs.”
Toronto-based Trillium Power Wind Corp. is gearing up for its planned 710-megawatt offshore wind facility in the middle of Lake Ontario that would power at least 300,000 homes a year in the Canadian province, according to a news release the company issued Thursday.
Its project, which also has connections to Denmark-based wind-energy component producer Vestas Wind Systems, is just one of many recent events the top executive of a Wisconsin Rapids-based manufacturer says further support the company’s plans to build what officials now say is a 535,000-square-foot $70 million wind turbine blade plant in the Rapids East Commerce Center.
“The market has validated our conversation,” said Sam Fairchild, chief executive officer of Energy Composites, which launched a Great Lakes Consortium in August to help promote the Great Lakes region within the wind-energy industry.
by jboullion | Mar 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
Madison, Wis – Despite big oil and coal spending hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to confuse and turn the public against the Clean Energy Jobs Act, Wisconsin residents and businesses demonstrated overwhelming support for the bill in recent legislative hearings, with supporters outnumbering opponents by more than a 2 to 1 ratio, according to data recently obtained from the Wisconsin State Legislature.
“Attendance at the hearings shows that Wisconsinites support the Clean Energy Jobs Act, despite the attempts of big oil and coal lobbyists to sour public perception with misinformation and deceptive advertising,” said Keith Reopelle, Senior Policy Director at Clean Wisconsin. “Energy independence may be bad for the big oil and coal companies, but it’s good for the hard-working people of Wisconsin.
Supporters of this bill realize that greater energy independence means higher profits for Wisconsin businesses, more jobs, and a cleaner, healthier environment.”
In an attempt to weaken the Clean Energy Jobs Act, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) and big oil and coal companies have flooded the capital with lobbyists and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertisements and studies that use biased, outdated and discredited information to attack the bill.
Despite this misinformation campaign, individuals supported the bill 2 to 1 at recent legislative hearings, with actual businesses supporting the bill by a 3 to 1 margin.
by jboullion | Mar 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a guest column by State Rep. Amy Sue Vruwink in the Stevens Point Journal:
As the Wisconsin state Legislature continues to move forward with its legislative session, and the happenings in the State Capitol are fast and furious this time of year, I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss an issue that will affect all of us in central Wisconsin.
The Legislature has made a commitment to Wisconsin’s small businesses and to agricultural producers with the Clean Energy Jobs Act. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, state Senate Bill 450 and state Assembly Bill 649, contain various recommendations of the governor’s Global Warming Task Force to address climate change and grow the state’s green economy through several key measures. These include: Renewable Energy Buyback Rates (aka Advanced Renewable Tariffs), increasing Wisconsin’s renewable portfolio standards, which is 25 percent by 2025, establishing and administering an Energy Crop Reserve Program and requiring the Department of Natural Resources to promulgate a rule requiring the reduction in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels sold in this state, also known as implementing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
Currently, Wisconsin sends $16 billion out of state each year for our energy needs. If we can start using some of the natural resources we already produce in agriculture and the forestry sectors, we can keep that money here in Wisconsin. We know that other states are doing it, and we know that other nations are doing it. We here in Wisconsin have the ability to be a leader in that economy. However, we all know that the devil is in the details, and this legislation is no different than any other legislative proposal that comes before the Legislature. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle have questions that need to be addressed regarding this legislation, and in the near future there will be meaningful debate. Regardless of the final outcome, we as a state, and we as an agricultural community need to be involved in the decision-making process.
