by jboullion | Jan 15, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Julie Lawrence at OnMilwaukee.com:
Back in spring 2008, Pragmatic Construction, a Milwaukee-based green construction company aimed at advancing the principles of sustainable development within the urban environment, was knee-deep in a series of development projects but was still planning its path for a greener future in Milwaukee.
Co-founder Steve Servais and his crew were just laying out the plans for two single-family homes in Riverwest that were slated to be among the state’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified platinum homes. . . .
LEED-certified buildings are designed to lower operating costs and increase asset value, reduce waste sent to landfills, conserve energy and water, be healthier and safer for occupants and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Two years later, the side-by-side sustainable homes at 702 and 708 E. Hadley St. are complete and now on the market. Servais says his company has really pushed sustainable building to the limit.
The house sizes are modest; 1,200 and 1,300 square feet, respectively. But the environmental impact is huge. Some of the many green features include passive solar heating, passive cooling, 96 percent energy-efficient forced-air backup HVAC, bio-based sprayfoam roof insulation, triple-pane windows, tankless hot water, reclaimed hardwood flooring, reclaimed doors, steel, fiber-cement and cedar siding, stained concrete flooring, no-VOC paints and finishes, dual-flush toilets and low-flow fixtures, in-floor radiant heat and energy recovery ventilators.
And it doesn’t stop indoors. Outside they’ve implemented rain barrels, a shared rain-garden, pervious paving surfaces, steel roofing, recycled plastic roofing, a 2.1KW PV Array (solar electric), and two flat-panel solar hot water arrays.
by jboullion | Jan 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a post by Steve Jagler on Milwaukee Biz Blog:
The controversy over Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act illustrates a deep philosophical divide that is emerging within Wisconsin’s business community.
In some ways, the emerging chasm pits the politics of tomorrow against the politics of yesterday.
On one side of the divide – in favor of the green jobs plan – stand the coalition for Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE) and the Wisconsin Business Council.
The CREWE includes venerable companies such as CleanPower, Alliant Energy, EcoEnergy, Johnson Controls Inc., Xcel Energy, C5•6 Technologies, Axley Brynelson, Madison Gas and Electric, Orion Energy Systems, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin Energy Corp., Poblocki Sign Company, Emerging Energies of Wisconsin, MillerCoors, American Transmission Co., WPPI Energy, DTE Energy Services and Kranz, Inc. . . .
The plan also has the support of the Wisconsin Business Council, which includes leaders from several of the state’s key businesses, including American Transmission Co., Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, AT&T Wisconsin, Commerce State Bank, Dean Health System, Midwest Natural Gas, MillerCoors, Mortenson Construction, Orion Energy Systems and Park Bank (in Madison). . . .
On the other side of the divide stands the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), which is joined by 22 other business organizations, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC), in opposition to Doyle’s proposal.
The WMC cited a study by the conservative Wisconsin Policy Research Institute that contends the proposed green legislation would kill 43,093 private-sector jobs in Wisconsin. . . .
Adding even more intrigue to this philosophical divide among Wisconsin’s business community is the fact that many members of the CREWE and the Wisconsin Business Council in favor of the green jobs plan also are dues-paying members of the WMC, the MMAC and the other organizations that are against the plan.
“It’s really created massive fault lines within the business community between the deniers (of global warming) and those that think something must be done,” said Thad Nation of the CREWE. “It’s probably going to get messier before it gets better.”
by jboullion | Jan 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:
(January 13, 2009)—Focus on Energy, in partnership with Wisconsin
Public Service, is offering free energy assessments to eligible small industrial businesses in the WPS service territory. Assessments will be conducted Jan. 25 – Jan. 29, 2010, with an orientation meeting held Monday, January 25, 2010 at the Marriot Courtyard hotel in Wausau. Attendees will learn how to save energy and money through energy efficiency, and explore the many services and incentives available through Focus and WPS.
During the free energy assessments, an energy professional will visit participants’ facilities and evaluate energy-saving opportunities at the site. Following the assessment, Focus on Energy will provide a report of the findings, along with practical recommendations for saving energy and money, as well as information on financial incentives to help implement projects.
Participation and eligibility is limited. Interested parties are encouraged to RSVP today by calling Focus on Energy at (800) 762-7077, visiting focusonenergy.com/wps, or emailing industrialaudit@focusonenergy.com.
by jboullion | Jan 13, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a commentary in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Roy Thilly, president and CEO of WPPI Energy and co-chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming:
This year, Wisconsin will consider important legislation that tracks the nearly unanimous recommendations of Gov. Jim Doyle’s Global Warming Task Force to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The scientific consensus is very strong that climate change is occurring as a result of carbon emissions and the long-term costs of inaction will be very significant. It would be imprudent not to take action.
Our country’s leading corporations are aggressively reducing emissions. They recognize that getting ahead of the curve is essential to be competitive. The same is true for Wisconsin. The legislation will help Wisconsin become much more efficient and energy independent. It embraces economic growth through the green manufacturing opportunities and skilled jobs required to address climate change. We can either pursue these opportunities or cede them to other states.
The legislation will be hotly debated. Interest groups will commission studies designed to support their agendas. Opponents will exaggerate cost and ignore the price of inaction. The Global Warming Task Force worked very hard to mitigate costs for consumers in its recommendations.
Forty years ago, our country confronted a similar crossroads when it debated legislation for clean water and air. Studies were presented to show this legislation would destroy our economy. It did not. Rivers in our industrial centers no longer catch on fire. While the environmental regulations adopted are not perfect, we are all much better off.
Key elements of the bill include:
• Dramatically increased energy conservation and efficiency programs. We waste a tremendous amount of energy at great cost. We cannot continue to do so and be competitive. The task force unanimously recommended that conservation be our highest priority. Major Wisconsin corporations recently announced they will reduce their energy consumption by 25%. We can all do the same, keeping our dollars in Wisconsin. Conservation lowers utility bills in the face of rising costs, enables utilities to avoid building expensive new power plants, reduces emissions now and will significantly cut the cost for Wisconsin of any future federal cap and trade program. It is a no-brainer.
• Significantly increased use of renewable energy resources by 2025. This means developing new solar, wind and biomass generation in Wisconsin. Greater reliance on local renewables will create manufacturing opportunities and skilled jobs, improve reliability, increase energy independence and reduce the need for expensive new transmission lines.
• Modification of the state’s nuclear plant moratorium to allow new nuclear plants to compete against other resources to meet Wisconsin’s long-term electricity needs. To be built, these plants will have to be shown to be safe and the best available alternative. Wisconsin’s three nuclear units have been the low-cost workhorses of the system since the 1970s. Many believe that nuclear power will be a key component to a low carbon future, but as the task force recognized, conservation, efficiency and more renewable resources should come first.
by jboullion | Jan 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Governor Jim Doyle:
MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today was joined by business leaders, labor, legislators and environmental organizations as he launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state’s green economy and create jobs. New industry-recognized research shows the package will directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.
“Addressing climate change is not just an environmental issue, it’s about creating green jobs,” Governor Doyle said.
“The Clean Energy Jobs Act offers new standards to help accelerate Wisconsin’s green economy. I am calling on the Legislature to update renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of our fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and set a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015.”
The Clean Energy Jobs Act, State Senate Bill 450 and State Assembly Bill 649, implements the recommendations of Governor Doyle’s Global Warming Task Force to address climate change and grow the state’s green economy through several key measures:
• Enhanced renewable portfolio standards – A new 20 percent standard would be set for 2020 and a 25 percent standard would be set for 2025. The current 10 percent standard would be accelerated from 2015 to 2013. By advancing our current renewable portfolio standards, and setting new standards, we will ensure more of our energy dollars stay in the state, creating thousands of jobs for Wisconsin families in fields like construction, manufacturing, and agriculture.
• Enhanced energy efficiency and conservation efforts – Graduated statewide electricity savings goals would be set, leading up to a 2 percent reduction by 2015 and annual reductions thereafter. The cheapest way to lower carbon emissions is through energy conservation. By setting achievable conservation goals, this bill will help reduce energy costs in businesses and homes across the state.
A comprehensive economic assessment of the Clean Energy Jobs Act found that the package would directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025. More than 1,800 jobs would be created in the first year alone. The assessment also found that between 800 and 1,800 construction jobs would be created each year from 2011-2025, and more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs would be created once the laws are fully implemented.
Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin’s executive director said:
Wisconsin’s existing 10% Renewable Energy Standard has driven significant investment in rural, forestry and agriculture markets by encouraging the construction of large wind, biogas, biomass and solar projects. Increasing the Renewable Energy Standard to 25% in 2025 would continue to generate more of the lucrative payments to landowners and biofuel / biomass providers as well as create more jobs constructing and maintaining the additional projects are built to meet the new standards.
The bills also include three of the proposals backed by the Homegrown Renewable Energy Campaign:
• Renewable Energy Buyback Rates, also called an Advanced Renewable Tariffs, would set utility payments for small renewable energy producers who want to “feed energy” into the electric grid, enabling farmers and rural businesses to help Wisconsin become more energy independent with biopower, wind and solar.
• The Biomass Crop Reserve Program would award contracts to farmers to plant native perennial plants, which the farmer can then sell for bioenergy production, helping to solve the chicken-and-egg problem of jumpstarting the homegrown fuels market.
• A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard would be a market-based approach to promoting the cleanest, low-carbon fuels for Wisconsin, and would put Wisconsin in a position to capture the rapidly-developing clean energy market by using Wisconsin’s abundant natural resources like switchgrass.
Statements of support for the legislation came from Customers First!, WPPI Energy, CREWE, Clean Wisconsin, ACRE, MEUW, Sierra Club, and others.
