From a news release issued by Kohl’s Department Stores:
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE:KSS) today announced that the company will expand its solar program by nearly 25 percent in 2012, installing solar at approximately 30 additional Kohl’s locations. While some of the new solar sites will be in states such as California, Connecticut and Maryland where Kohl’s already has a solar presence, additional sites will be located in new solar states for Kohl’s, including Massachusetts, New York and Ohio.
On average, the solar panels will supply 20 to 50 percent of each store’s energy. Construction of the solar panel arrays on the first phase of stores began this spring. Once the installations are complete by the end of 2012, Kohl’s expects to have more than 150 solar locations across 13 states.
Racine, Wis., (June 21, 2012) – SC Johnson continues to build its legacy as an environmental champion with the announcement that it will build two wind turbines at its largest global manufacturing plant, Waxdale, located in Mt. Pleasant, Wis. The company received clearance to begin construction on the turbines, which will put wind power behind trusted brands such as Windex®, Glade®, Pledge®, Raid® and Scrubbing Bubbles®. The turbines are expected to be operational by the end of 2012. . . .
Waxdale, the size of 36 football fields, is SC Johnson’s largest global manufacturing facility. The wind turbines will generate approximately eight million KWH of electricity per year, the equivalent of powering more than 700 homes annually, and reduce carbon emissions associated with powering Waxdale by six thousand metric tons annually. The turbines are expected to be approximately 415 feet high.
The wind turbines are the latest in a series of renewable energy production investments at Waxdale. In addition to the practical energy and sustainability benefits, the investment in the company’s Waxdale facility continues SC Johnson’s commitment to manufacturing in the Racine community.
Wind Turbines – The Facts, Benefits
A few facts about the wind turbines at Waxdale include:
• The company expects the wind turbines will produce approximately 15 percent of the electrical energy used at Waxdale.
• The remaining approximately 85 percent of Waxdale’s electrical energy requirements can be produced by two co-generation units installed during the last decade that produce electrical energy and steam. Approximately 27 million KWH per year or 45 percent will be renewable energy from landfill gases used by co-generation unit one; on average, the remaining 23 million KWH or 40 percent will be from methane/clean energy used by co-generation unit two.
• The electricity generated will be the energy equivalent of more than 600,000 gallons of gasoline every year, equal to an average amount of gas used by more than 1,100 cars annually.
• This effort will reduce annual carbon emissions associated with powering the Waxdale plant by six thousand metric tons.
Reducing Resource Use
Sustainability has been a focus for SC Johnson for decades. In late 2011, the company was recognized with a Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their commitment and contribution to the advancement of the nation’s voluntary green power market.
From a story by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A report from the state Public Service Commission tallies the cost of complying with the state’s renewable power standard, concluding that it sent power rates up about 1% through 2010.
The report found that Wisconsin’s renewable projects accounted for more than 7% of sales in 2010, or nearly twice the level of 2006, when the state’s renewable standard was adopted by the state Legislature.
Since 2007, the commission has endorsed proposals to build $1.7 billion for utility-owned renewable projects, primarily wind farms built in Wisconsin and nearby states.
The report doesn’t account for about $500 million worth of projects, which were not completed as of 2010.
Large projects like new power plants are paid off over time, so the cost of adding those to the state’s fleet of generation was about $200 million, or an increase of 1% of utility sales, the report estimated. The estimate is based on a comparison of the cost of the projects with the average market price of power sold on the wholesale Midwest energy market during the period.
Wisconsin’s standard requires increases in the amount of renewable energy that utilities buy or build, so that 10% of utility sales in 2015 will come from renewables such as wind, solar and biomass projects.
The standard was enacted in 2006 with bipartisan and near-unanimous support. The state Assembly co-author of the bill, Republican Phil Montgomery, chairs the state Public Service Commission. . . .
Commissioner Eric Callisto, who was chair of the commission under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, said the PSC staff’s analysis “confirms that balancing the state’s generation portfolio with clean, renewable energy facilities comes at a reasonable cost to consumers.”
While providing balance for a fleet that relies on fossil fuels for a majority of Wisconsin’s power generation. Callisto said the renewable projects also “act as important risk mitigation tools in a future of increasing air regulation, and provide opportunities for economic development within the four corners of the state.”
From a story by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The state Public Service Commission announced Tuesday it will hold a public hearing in Milwaukee this fall on We Energies’ rate increase proposal.
Dates, times and locations will be announced later, but it’s expected to take place in late September.
The commission announced its decision via Twitter after putting out a schedule last week that called for a hearing in Madison only.
The Cleaner Valley Coalition, a group concerned about pollution from We Energies’ Milwaukee coal-fired power plant, had said Friday it was requesting a local hearing.
The agency typically has held hearings in the Milwaukee area, but planned the hearing in Madison while encouraging utility customers to comment on the We Energies proposal electronically on the PSC website, agency spokeswoman Kristin Ruesch said in an email.
“Typically, there is very low attendance at rate case hearings, so it was a cost-saving and staff-resource saving measure to hold the hearing here at the Public Service Commission,” she said.
Because of the announcement, the Cleaner Valley Coalition canceled plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday to express its concerns on the need for a local hearing. The coalition organized to urge We Energies to stop burning coal at its Valley power plant in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley.
