by jboullion | Nov 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wausau Daily Herald:
Officials hope efforts to market central Wisconsin as the state’s premier renewable and sustainable energy region will boost the number of middle-level jobs.
City leaders in Wisconsin Rapids released details for the first time Thursday of an agreement with Energy Composites Corp., which plans to build a $43 million manufacturing plant, creating about 600 local jobs. The plant will produce 40- to 55-meter-long industrial wind mill blades.
“What it allows us to do is to diversify further the industries we already have here,” Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Mary Jo Carson said. “ECC gives us the opportunity to bring in ‘green’ jobs and gives us another leg for our economic stool.”
In addition, officials in Port Edwards continue to work with Ballard Power Systems, a Vancouver-based fuel cell producer that, together in a proposed project with ERCO Worldwide, could turn the chemical producer’s excess hydrogen waste into power, making the site the first location in the state and one of only a few in the country to be home to such technology.
by jboullion | Oct 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2009
MORE INFORMATION
Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Madison, WI (October 30, 2009) RENEW Wisconsin today hailed the decision by the Public Service Commission to approve a utility’s plan to repower an aging northern Wisconsin coal-fired plant with locally available wood fuel.
The approval allows Northern States Power Company-Wisconsin (NSPW), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, to install the state’s first biomass gasifier. The system will produce synthetic gas from a variety of wood sources to produce electricity at the company’s Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland, Wisconsin.
“This project will yield multiple dividends to the utility’s ratepayers and the local economy in and around Ashland,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide advocacy group for renewable energy.
“Capital projects are few and far between in northern Wisconsin. Rather than closing down an inefficient plant that relies on imported fossil fuel, NSPW is extending its life and improving its environmental performance with this switch to a sustainable energy source,” Vickerman said.
“This proposal is an excellent resource fit for this part of the state. The money spent to acquire wood fuel will remain in the local area, instead of being exported to western coal states,” Vickerman said.
END
RENEW Wisconsin (www.renewwisconsin.org) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives.
by jboullion | Oct 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Magnetek:
Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Magnetek, Inc. (NYSE: MAG) today announced that it has received a follow-on production order for wind power inverters valued at $11 million. Magnetek’s modular utility-scale wind power inverters regulate and transform DC power generated by wind turbines into utility-grade AC power, which is distributed to the power transmission grid. Magnetek’s E-Force Wind Inverters are to be delivered to its customer beginning in December 2009 through November 2010.
Wind power has been one of the fastest growing sources of power generation globally. In the United States, which has surpassed Germany as the largest wind power market, the five-year average (2004-2008) annual growth rate for wind power installations was 32%, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). With an installed base of 25,369 MW in operation at the end of 2008, the U. S. was also the 2008 world leader in new wind installations. While AWEA estimates a slower growth rate in 2009, wind power installations are still projected to grow by 5,000 MW (20%) or more this year. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 extended the production tax credit for the wind industry to 2012, with an alternate option to secure a grant from the Treasury Department in the amount of a 30% investment tax credit.
by jboullion | Sep 29, 2009 | Uncategorized
Two surveys released on September 28, 2009, produced widely different results on Wisconsinites’ opinions on climate change and renewable energy.
From a news release about the survey conducted by the Forest County Potawatomi:
[Crandon, Wisc.] In anticipation of state legislation to reduce greenhouse gasses which cause climate change, a recent statewide poll shows a majority of Wisconsin voters favor action by the State of Wisconsin to reduce carbon emissions.
When asked, “Do you favor or oppose the State of Wisconsin taking action to reduce (its) emissions of gases like carbon dioxide in Wisconsin that cause global warming?” nearly three-fourths of voters (70%) favor the State of Wisconsin taking action to reduce carbon emissions. Only 24% of voters oppose taking action.
Support for action to reduce emissions also crosses party lines, with majorities of Republicans (53%), independents (67%) and Democrats (87%) favoring action by the State of Wisconsin.
“Carbon pollution threatens to dramatically change our world for the worse,” said Forest County Potawatomi Attorney General Jeff Crawford. “We have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the environment.”
The poll also found that two-thirds of Wisconsin voters favor requiring utilities to generate 25% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
From the press release on the survey conducted by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce:
MADISON – With jobs dominating the public’s mind, a statewide poll of voters found over 60 percent say Wisconsin should not enact its own global warming policies, favoring national and international approaches, WMC reported Monday.
Also, voters oppose global warming proposals that hit them in the pocketbook with increased energy prices or potential job losses, the poll found. In 2007, Governor Jim Doyle convened a Global Warming Task Force that called for numerous new regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The Legislature is likely to consider some of those proposals later this session.
by jboullion | Sep 28, 2009 | Uncategorized
“Green Jobs: Growing Wisconsin Employment” is part of a series of forums at Discovery World and aims to assess Wisconsin’s future in the green jobs market.
The forum, sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, UW-Milwaukee, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, We Energies, Wisconsin Environmental Initiative and Johnson Controls, begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 9 a.m. Breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will provide remarks about his city’s efforts to cultivate green jobs.
Confirmed panelists include:
* UW-Milwaukee Engineering School Dean Michael R. Lovell
* Tom Boldt, CEO of Boldt Construction
* UW-Madison School of Agriculture Dean Molly Jahn
* Clay Nesler, Vice President, Global Energy and Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc.
The event is organized by WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com with the help of MMAC, Discovery World, and UW-Milwaukee. More sponsorship opportunities are available; contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 or greer@wispolitics.com.
The event is open to the public, and the price is $30 per person. But WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com subscribers, members of the Wisconsin Academy, the UW-Milwaukee community, and members of MMAC and Discovery World are able to attend for $20 per person.
The price includes the breakfast buffet but not parking.
Call Debra Jordan (414) 287-4127 or djordan@mmac.org to register.
