by jboullion | Oct 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
![DIgester#1 - lo res](http://renewenergyblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/digester1-lo-res1.jpg?w=410)
From a news release issued by Governor Jim Doyle:
Company to Install Anaerobic Digester and Create 13 Jobs
MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today announced a $550,000 loan for Betin Incorporated from the State Energy Program (SEP). Department of Commerce Secretary Aaron Olver and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Randy Romanski made the announcement today in Belmont on behalf of the Governor.
“In Wisconsin, we are taking the lead to not only address environmental challenges, but also to find opportunities for innovation and growth,” Governor Doyle said. “I’m pleased that we could help Betin, Inc. install technology to use renewable energy and cut costs.”
“We are grateful to operate in a state where our Governor and Department of Commerce recognize the need to encourage and support private projects like ours that build environmentally-sound solutions to manufacturing,” said company President Arnaud Solandt. “The loan will allow us to expand further and create new jobs within the community.”
The SEP loan is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Betin, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest goat-cheese manufacturers using the trade name Montchevre. It will install an anaerobic digester to process whey and waste water. The resulting methane will be used to help meet up to 80 percent of the company’s energy needs. The project will create 13 jobs and represent total investment of $3.5 million.
by jboullion | Sep 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association:
The Dairy Business Association (DBA) is proud to announce that Five Star Dairy, LLC of Elk Mound, Wisconsin was selected to receive the 2010 DBA Environmental Excellence Award. This award was developed to recognize a Wisconsin dairy producer in honor of its outstanding waste and pollution prevention projects that protect Wisconsin’s natural resources.
Five Star Dairy, LLC (along with Dairyland Power and Stargest Power, LLC) constructed a thermophylic complete mix digester. The digester uses methane and other byproducts to generate electricity and provide power for approximately 600 homes in the Elk Mound area. Lee Jensen, General Manager of Five Star Dairy, also installed a lagoon cover so that the manure lagoon can work as a digester in the future. In addition, the cover keeps 1.5 million gallons of rain water out of the lagoon. As a result, less fuel is needed to spread the manure and incorporate nutrients into the soil. This project is the first successful thermophylic complete mix digester with a separate substrate tank for agriculture use.
“Wisconsin dairy producers are committed to environmental excellence through their everyday efforts on today’s dairy farms,” said Laurie Fischer, DBA Executive Director. “We are proud to recognize Five Star Dairy for its innovation and leadership in generating electricity with agricultural byproducts and going above and beyond to protect our environment and natural resources.”
by jboullion | Sep 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
September 27, 2010
One of the abiding pleasures of my job at RENEW Wisconsin is going out into the field to visit renewable energy installations. Many of the systems sprouting across the state owe their existence to state and federal policies that make these systems economically viable to their owners.
In turn, some of those policies owe their existence to RENEW, an advocacy organization that has elevated the Wisconsin renewable energy marketplace from a dreamy aspiration to a thriving marketplace employing hundreds of people and generating millions of dollars a year in local revenues.
Whenever I’m asked to describe our mission, I often say that we act as a catalyst for advancing a sustainable energy future in Wisconsin. Our vision of that future places small, entrepreneurial companies at the center of the transition toward clean, locally available energy resources that do not deplete over time.
RENEW endeavors to steer Wisconsin along this path through policy mechanisms that help renewable energy businesses establish themselves in an economy that for many decades has operated almost exclusively on fossil energy. Because of that dependence on concentrated energy sources like coal, natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons, which are still priced very cheaply, the shift to renewable energy has been an uphill battle. The incumbent energy sources are well-entrenched and will not hesitate to expend significant political capital to block policy initiatives aimed at putting renewable energy on a more equal playing field. Continued . . .
by jboullion | Sep 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
September 27, 2010
One of the abiding pleasures of my job at RENEW Wisconsin is going out into the field to visit renewable energy installations. Many of the systems sprouting across the state owe their existence to state and federal policies that make these systems economically viable to their owners.
In turn, some of those policies owe their existence to RENEW, an advocacy organization that has elevated the Wisconsin renewable energy marketplace from a dreamy aspiration to a thriving marketplace employing hundreds of people and generating millions of dollars a year in local revenues.
Whenever I’m asked to describe our mission, I often say that we act as a catalyst for advancing a sustainable energy future in Wisconsin. Our vision of that future places small, entrepreneurial companies at the center of the transition toward clean, locally available energy resources that do not deplete over time.
RENEW endeavors to steer Wisconsin along this path through policy mechanisms that help renewable energy businesses establish themselves in an economy that for many decades has operated almost exclusively on fossil energy. Because of that dependence on concentrated energy sources like coal, natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons, which are still priced very cheaply, the shift to renewable energy has been an uphill battle. The incumbent energy sources are well-entrenched and will not hesitate to expend significant political capital to block policy initiatives aimed at putting renewable energy on a more equal playing field.
At RENEW’s urging, the State of Wisconsin has taken a few measured policy steps to carve out some room for renewable energy. The most important of these initiatives is a statewide incentives program (Focus on Energy) for small-scale renewable energy systems. Though most of Focus on Energy’s budget is set aside for energy conservation and efficiency, about $10 million a year is reserved for customer-sited renewable energy systems such as solar hot water, solar electric, biogas, biomass heating, and small wind.
This program, coupled with several voluntary utility initiatives, has elevated Wisconsin into a regional showcase for renewable energy systems serving dairy farms, cattle farms, orchards, greenhouses, breweries, cheese producers, corporate campuses, apartment buildings, municipal wastewater facilities, schools and technical colleges, and manufacturers.
The policy seeds planted 10 years ago are yielding an impressive crop of installations this year, broadly distributed throughout the state. As important as these policies are, however, these systems don’t get built unless someone decides to spend dollars today to receive a decades-long supply of energy tomorrow. We at RENEW would like to give a shout-out to the owners and installers of this year’s bumper crop of home-grown renewable energy, including:
The City of Evansville, for hosting a 100 kilowatt (kW) Northwind turbine to serve its wastewater treatment plant. Installer: H &H Solar, Madison.
Stonehouse Development, for building two Green Built apartment houses in the Madison area, each with 60 kilowatts of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar water heating systems. Installers: Full Spectrum Solar, Madison (PV); Cardinal Solar, Sun Prairie, solar hot water.
Random Lake School District, for hosting a 50 kW Endurance wind turbine on the high school grounds. Installer: Kettle View Renewable Energy, Random Lake.
Fountain Prairie Inn and Farms, in Columbia County, for hosting a 50 kW Endurance wind turbine to serve its sustainable family farm. Installer: Seventh Generation Energy Systems, Madison.
SCA Tissue, Menasha, for hosting four 20 kW Renewegy wind turbines at one of its facilities. Manufacturer and installer: Renewegy, Oshkosh.
Milwaukee Area Technical College, for building the state’s largest PV system, to be used as a training center. The system is rated at 540 kW. Contractor: Johnson Controls, Milwaukee; Installer: Pieper Power, Milwaukee.
Montchevré-Betin, Belmont, a producer of goat cheese, for upgrading its wastewater treatment capacity with an anaerobic digester and 335 kW generator. Contractor: Procorp, Milwaukee. System owner: Clear Horizons, Milwaukee.
I urge the citizens of Wisconsin to go out and see for themselves how fertile the territory is here for home-grown renewable energy. As you observe these installations out in the landscape, delivering clean energy year after year to the local area, you begin to appreciate the totality of benefits that these systems yield. If you talk to system owners or installers, you will feel their passion and soak in the positive energy that comes from being part of this growing community. They are, along with the installations themselves, the most persuasive advocates for extending and strengthening Wisconsin’s clean energy policies. They not only represent today’s jobs and business opportunities, but also tomorrow’s hope.
by jboullion | Sep 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an announcement issued by the Energy Center of Wisconsin:
Free live webinar
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
1:00pm – 2:00pm CDT
Presented by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, Clean Wisconsin
The Midwest contains the world’s largest concentration of productive agriculture and food processing, and produces enormous amounts of animal and food waste. The Midwest is also rich in woody biomass and other forestry resources that can be sustainably harvested.
However, only a tiny portion of these wastes is converted to biogas, a renewable substitute for natural gas that reduces fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas pollution. For agricultural waste alone, the Midwest’s 55 anaerobic digesters pale in comparison to Germany’s, which exceed 4,000 despite its significantly smaller agricultural output.
This webinar explores the potential for this renewable energy resource to grow by examining biogas sources, conversion technologies, and outputs together with energy policies needed to support them. With appropriate policy and deployment, biogas can become a substantial source of energy in the Midwest.