by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
Josh Stolzenburg (center), owner of North Wind Renewable Energy, LLC, Stevens Point, joined Michael Vickerman (left) and Dave Miller, Wave Wind, LLC, Sun Prairie, in testifying in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill before the Special Assembly Committee on Climate Change. Vickerman leans forward to show the committee members a map of renewable energy installations.
From a summary of Michael Vickerman’s (RENEW Wisconsin)
testimony before the Assembly Special Committee on Clean Energy
February 2, 2010:
RENEW Wisconsin strongly supports the provisions in SB450/AB649 to expand the state’s Renewable Energy Standard to 25% by 2025, which includes a 10% in-state renewable energy set-aside. RENEW has evaluated the availability of specific resources to reach that standard and has concluded that meeting such a target is technically feasible. If adopted, the in-state set-aside will become the most powerful engine for job development and capital investment over the next 15 years.
We expect such a requirement to be achieved through a combination of utility-scale power plants and smaller-scale generating units dispersed throughout Wisconsin. With respect to distributed renewable generation, we note the following:
1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.
2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.
3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Last week, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.
4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.
5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.
by jboullion | Feb 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a letter by Rob Nelson to the editor of the Baraboo News Republic:
If anyone is guilty of espousing “ideology, not reality,” and taking a stand based on “politics rather than science or economics,” it is clearly Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald in his recent column attacking the legislature’s Clean Energy Jobs Act (AB-649).
The bill is based largely on the 2008 report by the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming. After 14 months of research, discussion, and compromise, this diverse group suggested more than 60 wide-ranging policy recommendations in order to enhance Wisconsin’s energy independence and reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Reflecting an extraordinary amount of consensus, 26 members of the Task Force ultimately endorsed the entire document, while three members objected to individual components of the plan.
Keep in mind that this was no mere collection of tree-huggers: The 29 members of the Task Force included representatives from six utilities (MGE, We Energies, Alliant, Xcel Energy, WPPI, and Integrys Energy Group); two of the state’s largest unions (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, United Steel Workers); several of Wisconsin’s most prominent manufacturers (Ariens, SC Johnson, General Motors, NewPage, General Electric, and Plum Creek Timber); plus the Dairy Business Association, the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, and a Democratic senator.
A member of Mr. Fitzgerald’s own party, Rep. Phil Montgomery, (R-Ashwaubenon) was included in this bi-partisan effort and agreed with the Task Force’s recommendations.
Not all of the steps outlined by the Task Force are found in the Clean Energy Jobs Act, but many are, including:
— enhancing statewide energy efficiency and weatherization programs;
— requiring that 25 percent of Wisconsin’s energy come from renewable source by 2025;
— offering incentives for producers of agricultural energy crops;
— promoting carbon sequestration in Wisconsin forests; and
— a guarantee that utilities purchase electricity from small-scale generators at fair, reliable prices.
The Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence estimates the Green Energy Jobs Act “will create a minimum of 15,000 new jobs for Wisconsin by 2025, and more than 1,800 of those jobs will be realized in the first year.”
by jboullion | Jan 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nick Halter in the Wausau Daily Herald:
Wausau’s struggling nonprofit community soon will receive a boost from federal stimulus money that will allow them to make energy efficiency upgrades.
The city has been given $60,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to allocate to nonprofits that want to improve energy efficiency and lower utility bills. The nonprofits will be required to match each dollar given to them by the city.
If one thing was made clear Thursday in a meeting of the organizations and the city’s Community Development staff, a lot of Wausau’s nonprofits are badly in need of upgrades.
Seven organizations are likely to try to get their piece of the pie, and it’s unlikely they all will get what they want.
At the top of most of the organizations’ lists is replacing old, inefficient furnaces in their buildings. The Salvation Army, Bridge Community Health Clinic, the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association, the Woodson Art Museum, The Neighbors’ Place and the YWCA all said they need new furnaces.
by jboullion | Jan 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
MADISON – Prominent business leaders, labor representatives, farmers, health advocates, faith leaders, energy providers, and environmentalists were among residents from across the state who gathered at a public hearing held in the State Capitol today to ask their elected leaders to support and strengthen the Clean Energy Jobs Act.
“The diversity of support for this legislation is overwhelming,” said Ryan Schryver, Clean Energy Advocate at Clean Wisconsin, the state’s largest environmental advocacy organization. “People from all walks of life gathered today to ask legislators to create jobs, clean our environment, protect our health, and support energy independence by passing this bill.”
The Clean Energy Jobs Act holds the potential to be an economic boon for Wisconsin, creating demand for energy efficiency projects, putting residents to work harvesting wind and solar power, and creating markets for farmers to grow and sell biofuels.
According to an analysis performed by the Office of Energy Independence, the current version of the bill will create over 15,000 jobs for Wisconsinites in the construction and manufacturing industries alone. Strengthening the bill could lead to even greater job creation.
“We cannot afford to continue draining our economy by exporting billions on expensive, dirty fossil fuels,” said Schryver. “Residents gathered today to say ‘enough is enough’ and demand that we create jobs and start investing in our own state by producing clean energy right here at home.”
The Coalition for Clean Energy which includes Clean Wisconsin also made several suggested improvements to the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill:
+ Restore and protect the integrity of the Renewable Energy Standard (RES) (Renewable Portfolio Standard – RPS – in the current draft). . . .
+ Strengthening the language to ensure that Wisconsin does meet the 2 percent energyefficiency goal by requiring the Public Service Commission to direct efficiency investments necessary to reach that 2 percent goal. . . .
+ Increase the percentage of renewable energy that must be sited in Wisconsin to at least half of renewable energy generation required under the bill (i.e. 12.5% in 2025). . . .
+ Strengthen the Advanced Renewable Tariff (ART) language by making it apply statewide
and by including a statewide minimum MW cap and a minimum project size cap. . . .
Read all of the recommendations.
The coalition also includes Wisconsin Council of Churches, Citizens Utility Board, Wisconsin Community Action Program (WisCAP), Environmental Law & Policy Center; Environment Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club – John Muir Chapter, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.
by jboullion | Jan 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Stevens Point Journal:
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will present a series of public presentations on renewable wood resources for energy beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The series will focus on woody biomass and the opportunities that exist to use this renewable resource to meet our energy needs today and in the future. The free lectures are open to the public and will be held on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in Room 170 of the Trainer Natural Resources Building.
Eight regional and national speakers will define what woody biomass is, how it is harvested and used as a feedstock for direct heat and power generation. They will give an overview of the opportunities and potential of biofuels from woody biomass, the state of technology to extract biofuels from biomass, and where this industry is heading in the next five, ten and twenty years.
The first lecture, “Introduction to Forest Biomass,” will be presented by Don Peterson, president of Renewable Resource Solutions, LLC, on February 3. He will discuss the basics of woody biomass to potential end-use markets, as well as compare and contrast the positives and negatives of all aspects of woody biomass from extraction to utilization.
