by jboullion | Jan 3, 2012 | Uncategorized
RENEW received the email below from Tyrel Zich, an intern in the SOS office on campus and an intern in the Economic Development and Community Service area of Xcel Energy:
After receiving an email about the RENEW Energy Policy Summit, I explored the RENEW webpage further and discovered your great news, blogs, and quarterly journal pages.
I wanted to inform you about a great program that Xcel Energy is doing in collaboration with students at UW-Eau Claire called $CORE – Student and Community outreach on Rental Efficiency. In a nutshell this program has students educating students in their rental properties about sustainability, energy conservation, and renewable energy while providing them with a free home audit and free conservation materials (CFLs, weather-stripping, window film, low-flow sink and shower heads).
Because students live in these rentals short-term they have no real interest in renewable energy; however, the educators will introduce and help students sign up for Xcel Energy’s Wind Source program which has all or part of their electricity being provided by renewable sources for a slightly higher cost. These programs are excellent and I want to make sure the entire State is informed about the great initiatives going on here in Eau Claire so we can implement them around the state.
More information:
http://www.uwec.edu/newsreleases/11/sept/0929SCORE.htm
http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/Off-campus_UWEC_students_to_CORE_on_their_energy_bills_131893838.html?ref=838
http://www.wqow.com/story/15789771/uw-eau-claire-finds-student-renters-a-way-to-cut-costs?
http://www.xcelenergy.com/Save_Money_&_Energy/For_Your_Home/Renewable_Energy_Programs/Windsource_for_Residences_-_WI
by jboullion | Dec 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
For immediate release
December 7, 2011
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Leslie Glustrom, research director of Colorado-based Clean Energy Action, and an unwavering critic of utility reliance on coal for electricity generation, will be the featured speaker at RENEW Wisconsin’s Energy Policy Summit.
The Summit will be held on Friday, January 13, 2012, at the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Pyle Center located on the UW-Madison campus. Summit attendees will spend the day discussing and selecting renewable energy strategies that make sense in the current political environment in Wisconsin. More information on the Summit can be found on the RENEW Wisconsin website at http://www.renewwisconsin.org.
As research director, Glustrom authored in 2009 an extensively referenced report on U.S. coal supplies titled, “Coal—Cheap and Abundant—Or Is It? Why Americans Should Stop Assuming that the US has a 200-Year Supply of Coal,” available for free at http://www.cleanenergyaction.org.
Since 2009, Glustrom has traveled to numerous states helping them to understand the likely constraints on their coal supplies.
Glustrom’s on-going research illuminates a future in which coal prices will likely continue to escalate, driven by a combination of less accessible coal supplies, increasing demand from Asian countries, and rising diesel fuel costs for hauling coal to distant markets like Wisconsin.
Clean Energy Action is spearheading a campaign to shut down Colorado’s coal-fired power plants and replace them with locally generated renewable electricity.
“Leslie’s experiences with Clean Energy Action can help Wisconsin renewable energy advocates formulate effective strategies for 2012 and beyond,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison.
“Even though Colorado is a coal-producing state, it has adopted some of the most aggressive policies in the country for advancing renewable energy,” said Vickerman. “Colorado’s commitment to clean energy is driving its economy at a time when its coal output is diminishing. For example, Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines with four plants employing 1,700 people in Colorado, supplied 90 turbines this year to Wisconsin’s largest wind project, the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County.”
“Leslie will inspire us to reverse the retreat from renewables and retake the initiative going forward,” Vickerman said.
In Boulder, Glustrom was part of the team that led the successful 2010 and 2011 ballot initiatives allowing Boulder to move ahead with plans to municipalize and break away from the long term commitment to coal plants made by their incumbent utility, Xcel Energy.
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by jboullion | Nov 10, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dan Haugen in Midwest Energy News:
A mobile app that helps people perform their own home lighting audits is the winner of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Apps for the Environment” challenge.
Light Bulb Finder was created by a Milwaukee, Wisc., app developer called Eco Hatchery. Co-founders Adam Borut and Andrea Nylund learned they won the challenge last week, and on Tuesday they’ll be in Washington, D.C., to accept the recognition. . . .
The app was released for iPhone and Android in late 2010. It lets people walk around their home and use icons to identify the type of bulb currently used in each light fixture. After entering a zip code and the estimated daily hours of use for each bulb, the app suggests more efficient replacement bulbs, as well as a detailed projection of savings, in dollars and carbon emissions.
“We want to provide people with meaningful, individualized feedback so that they can make the smartest decision based on their priorities,” Borut said.
by jboullion | Oct 21, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin’s move to roll back funding increases for programs that help homeowners and businesses save on energy bills was criticized in a report Thursday by a national energy efficiency advocacy group.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released a scorecard rating states’ efforts in the area of energy efficiency.
Wisconsin was in the top 10 several years ago but ranks 16th in this year’s scorecard. Massachusetts was the top state overall, and Michigan and Illinois were cited as among the most improved states.
“Clearly, 2011 has not been kind to our economy, but energy efficiency remains a growth sector that attracts investment and creates jobs,” said Michael Sciortino, ACEEE senior policy analyst and the report’s lead author.
“With even higher energy savings possible, we expect leading states to continue pushing the envelope next year and inspire those at the bottom of the rankings to embrace energy efficiency as a core strategy to gain a competitive advantage by generating cost-savings, promoting technological innovation, and stimulating growth,” he said.
Wisconsin has lost some ground while other states have made significant pushes to set up initiatives that provide incentives to consumers and businesses to conduct energy-saving retrofits. Improvements by Michigan and Illinois pushed those states to rankings just behind Wisconsin.
The report saluted efforts in Arkansas, Rhode Island and Arizona, which “worked with utilities and adopted significant energy efficiency regulations,” the report says.
“Despite significant progress, some states have slowed or stepped backward in the race to save energy. New Jersey and Wisconsin have both diminished investments in utility-sector energy efficiency and Arizona is considering a law that will reduce transportation efficiency in the state.”
by jboullion | Jul 5, 2011 | Uncategorized
Immediate release
July 5, 2011
More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Funding Hiatus Darkens Outlook for In-State Renewables
For the first time in its 11-year history, Focus on Energy is no longer accepting applications from Wisconsin businesses and nonprofit entities seeking to install renewable energy systems. This new policy took effect July 1.
According to Focus on Energy officials, this suspension of financial incentives is necessary to balance demand for renewable energy systems with available funds. In 2009, Focus on Energy allocated approximately $10 million to support customer-sited renewable energy systems. More than half of that allocation went to businesses, farmers, local governments, schools, and nonprofit organizations throughout the state.
“We recognize that Focus on Energy officials have a responsibility to ensure that outflows don’t exceed revenues. However, this suspension could not have occurred at a worse time for Wisconsin’s renewable energy contractors,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin.
“Unfortunately, this move coincides with Milwaukee-based We Energies’ decision to walk away from an agreement with RENEW Wisconsin to commit $60 million over a 10-year period to develop renewable energy within its territory,” Vickerman said. ‘We Energies disclosed its unilateral action in May, barely more than halfway into honoring its commitment.”
“Given the adverse environment for renewable energy right now in Wisconsin, we hope that the interruption amounts to nothing more than a brief timeout,” said Vickerman.
“Unless funding is restored quickly, 2012 will turn out to be a very lean year for contractors and installers,” Vickerman warned.
As of this moment, the renewable energy marketplace is bristling with new installations. Installations to be completed this summer with incentives from Focus on Energy include:
• Two small wind turbines serving a Monroe County cranberry grower;
• A solar hot water system serving a new apartment building next to the Hilldale shopping complex in Madison;
• Side-by-side solar hot water and electric installations atop a new classroom building at the UW-Oshkosh;
• An engine generator fed with biogas derived from the City of Appleton’s wastewater treatment plant.
However, without a fresh supply of Focus-funded projects, Wisconsin’s renewable energy development pipeline will slow to a trickle, forcing contractors and installers to either seek work in other states or lay off employees.
Wisconsin has more than 2,500 customer-sited renewable energy installations, the vast majority of which received either financial incentives or facilitation services from Focus on Energy. In total, these installations have a generating capacity of about 20 megawatts.
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