by jboullion | Feb 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content on JSOnline.com:
About 175 people gathered this morning in the auditorium at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center to talk about ways to green their company’s environmental footprint and save some money at the same time.
Companies are looking to reduce their energy and water bill costs by taking steps to make their processes more efficient.
It’s all about applying the quality-improvement techniques that companies are by now long familiar with – lean manufacturing, Six Sigma – and adapting them to their use of resources such as energy and water, said Joseph Jacobsen, associate dean at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
What’s causing the shift to thinking green? Business owners can sense that carbon regulations are coming and want to get ready, while others are realizing that saving energy and water helps save — or stem the rise – in utility bills.
“Green is not just environmental sustainability. Green is business sustainability too,” said Jon Dommissee, director of new product development and marketing at Bradley Corp.
Bradley, a local maker of plumbing fixtures, and the state Focus on Energy were sponsors of this morning’s Green Manufacturing Summit, and the Journal Sentinel was media sponsor.
by jboullion | Feb 13, 2009 | Uncategorized
From WE Energies and the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance:
Coming to Milwaukee!
Friday, March 13, 2009, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
ZERO ENERGY BUILDING – THE CONVERGENCE OF SOLAR POWER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Lessons For Architects, Builders, Designers, Engineers, Developers, and Owners
Presenters:
Steven J. Strong, President, Solar Design Associates
Lew W. Pratsch, U.S. Department of Energy
LOCATION:
We Energies
Public Service Building – Auditorium
231 W. Michigan St.
Milwaukee, WI 53203
Sponsored by We Energies and the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance
TO REGISTER AND FOR MORE INFO, GO TO: http://www.wgba.org/zeb.html
AGENDA:
Friday, March 13, 2009
8:00am – 8:30am Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30am – 8:45am Welcome and Introductions
8:45am – 9:15am PV Cell and Module Technology
9:15am – 10:15am Overview of PV Systems Options & Applications: Intro to basic systems and components with application examples
10:15am – 10:30am Morning Break
10:45am – 12:00pm Moving Toward Zero Energy Homes
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch Break
1:00pm – 2:00pm BIPV: Options, Materials and Methods
2:00pm – 2:45pm BIPV: A World View
2:45pm – 3:00pm Afternoon Break
3:00pm – 4:00pm BIPV – Detailed Case Studies
4:00pm – 4:30pm Codes, Economics and Incentives
4:30pm – 5:00pm Wrap Up with Questions and Discussion
by jboullion | Feb 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Stoutonian:
In a report released by Wisconsin’s Department of Administration, the University of Wisconsin-Stout has once again been found to be the most energy-efficient campus in the UW System.
The report “Energy Use in State-Owned Facilities” based its findings on the energy consumption of all UW campuses. Energy consumption is monitored through the campuses’ utility bills and fuel consumption. UW-Stout has led the UW System in energy efficiency for over 10 years. Last year, the report found UW-Stout to be 30 percent more efficient than the UW System’s average.
According to UW-Stout’s media release and Physical Plant Director Ted Henzel, energy efficiency comes from the precise maintenance and cleaning of the school’s physical plant by UW-Stout’s maintenance workers.
by jboullion | Feb 3, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Chad Dally in The Daily Press (Ashland):
Municipalities around the Chequamegon Bay region have been awarded state funding for energy independence assessments as part of a pilot program for Gov. Jim Doyle’s 25×25 plan.
Doyle has set a non-binding goal for communities around the state to generate 25 percent of their energy and 25 percent of their transportation fuel from renewable sources by 2025.
So far, more than 70 municipalities have signed on to the 25×25 resolution, including several around the bay area. But current energy and fuel usage, and how to reach that 25 percent goal, remains cloudy. The Alliance for Sustainability will help eight municipalities and Bay Area Rural Transit with both. The municipalities include: the cities of Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn; the towns of Bayfield and LaPointe; Ashland and Bayfield counties; and the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
The Alliance will itself have help from “resource teams” from the state’s Office of Energy Independence and agents from UW-Extension in both Ashland and Bayfield counties, said Kelly Randleman, office assistant for the Alliance.
The first task for the $60,000 award will be to establish a baseline assessment for each municipality to determine how much work needs to be done toward the 25×25 goal. That means meeting with representatives from each municipality to get an inventory on their “fleets and facilities,” Randleman said. Energy consumption in municipal buildings, street lights and other areas under public control would be studied, along with fuel consumption for municipalities’ vehicle fleets and what type of fuel is used in each vehicle.
While one end of the assessment studies consumption, another will examine renewable resource potential in the region, Randleman said.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an announcement from Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI):
Grants are now available for both new construction and remodeling of existing homes that are targeting net zero energy use when completed.
Complete details can be found at www.GreenMaxHome.com. Click here to view the GreenMax Home RFP.
WPPI’s Web site explains the concept of a net zero energy home:
A net zero energy home is connected to the energy grid that supplies your local utility with power, but it is designed and constructed to produce at least as much energy as it consumes. The house supplies energy back to the grid in — at a minimum —an amount equal to the amount of power the homeowner purchases from the grid, resulting in a “net zero” impact on the nation’s energy supply. Any excess energy generated by the house is fed back into the grid.
This new concept combines state-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction and appliances with commercially available renewable energy systems such as solar water heating and solar electricity. In many cases, the entire energy consumption — heating, cooling and appliances — of a net zero energy home can be provided by renewable energy sources.
Proposed homes must be built in a WPPI Energy member utility service area. WPPI’s member utilities are:
Alger Delta, MI
Algoma
Baraga, MI
Black River Falls
Boscobel
Brodhead
Cedarburg
Columbus
Cuba City
Eagle River
Evansville
Florence
Gladstone, MI
Hartford
Hustisford
Independence, IA
Jefferson
Juneau
Kaukauna
L’Anse, MI
Lake Mills
Lodi
Maquoketa, IA
Menasha
Mount Horeb
Muscoda
Negaunee, MI
New Glarus
New Holstein
New London
New Richmond
Norway, MI
Oconomowoc
Oconto Falls
Plymouth
Prairie du Sac
Reedsburg
Richland Center
River Falls
Slinger
Stoughton
Sturgeon Bay
Sun Prairie
Two Rivers
Waterloo
Waunakee
Waupun
Westby
Whitehall
