by jboullion | Feb 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Don Behm in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Building a 17-mile pipeline to carry landfill gas from Muskego to the Jones Island sewage treatment plant on Lake Michigan will save the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, its customers and property-tax payers at least $148 million in the next two decades, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and sewerage district officials said Monday.
The bulk of the savings will come from buying landfill gas at just 48% of the price of natural gas, under terms of an agreement negotiated with Veolia ES, owner of the Emerald Park landfill in Muskego.
There could be additional savings to property-tax payers in the district if federal stimulus money is used to pay even part of the estimated $22 million in pipeline construction costs, sewerage district Executive Director Kevin Shafer said.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was in Washington on Friday to learn more about stimulus programs, and he said Monday that this project should be a good fit: It could be started quickly and it is environmentally friendly.
“We’re going to be pitching this thing as hard as we can” to federal and state agencies, Barrett said in an interview. . . .
The landfill gas at Muskego is between 50% and 55% methane and will replace natural gas as the fuel for 12 sewage sludge dryers inside the Milorganite fertilizer production facility at Jones Island, under the proposal. Cost of converting the dryers to burn landfill gas is included in the $22 million construction estimate, Shafer said.
Pipeline work is scheduled to begin in July of this year, with a goal of completing the work by Jan. 1, 2011. Three possible pipeline routes being studied would use existing state Department of Transportation easements adjacent to highways and freeways.
Burning landfill gas in the dryers will save at least $113 million in the first 20 years, Shafer said. And there is an estimated 40-year supply at the landfill.
In 2009, the district has budgeted spending $13.2 million for natural gas.
“This project will bring big savings to MMSD customers,” Barrett said. The Miller-Coors brewery alone should pay $5.9 million less in user charges – an 11.5% drop – during that period.
“This will help retain and grow businesses,” Barrett said.
by jboullion | Feb 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
An editorial from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The economic stimulus package approved last week gives Wisconsin and other states an opportunity to ease the financial crisis by doing more than just making ends meet. Money in the package aimed at energy projects provides an opportunity to move from an economy too reliant on fossil fuels and toward an economy based on sustainable green energy.
As the Journal Sentinel’s Thomas Content detailed in an article last week:
Wisconsin businesses and governments should receive at least $276 million, and possibly more, in energy-related funds from the economic stimulus bill, according to the state agency in charge of the recovery. Energy provisions in the stimulus package include funding for efforts to make buildings more efficient and to boost the use of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Also included are tax credits for manufacturers of energy technologies and for consumers who improve the energy efficiency of their homes or buy plug-in hybrid cars. For instance, homeowners will get credits of up to $1,500 for energy upgrades, such as purchases of qualified furnaces and insulation.
Wisconsin is likely to receive $146 million to weatherize some of the most inefficient buildings in the state. An additional $130 million or so is expected under two kinds of grants for energy-efficiency and other projects.
And Johnson Controls, the state’s largest company, is in a great position to take advantage of the stimulus money for its own work in energy efficiency.
There are opportunities here, too, for governments and their taxpayers. Making school buildings more energy efficient, for example, would reduce energy bills, allowing districts to spend money on textbooks or teachers or to reduce taxes, and put people to work retrofitting buildings. That kind of spending is a real win-win.
Times are hard. But using the stimulus money to help foster a greener economy could position Wisconsin for a healthier and more prosperous future.
by jboullion | Feb 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Johnson Controls has begun generating electricity from the largest solar power system in the state – nearly 1,500 panels erected on the northeast corner of the company’s headquarters campus in Glendale.
The solar power system is part of the $73 million renovation and rehabilitation of the headquarters campus and power solutions businesses for the state’s largest company – and will be a showpiece for Johnson Controls as it tries to persuade customers to incorporate renewable energy into their buildings.
Power began generating this month after We Energies commissioned the solar system, said Don Albinger, vice president of renewable energy solutions at Johnson Controls.
The expansion of solar power is timely, coming as the stimulus package was signed into law. Energy experts are marveling at the array of tax benefits aimed at bringing more renewable energy online quickly, such as provisions that provide federal loan guarantees and accelerated depreciation for renewable projects.
“In these dismal times, we’ve got to look for some bright spots, and to me a great bright spot is the stuff that’s involved with renewable energy in that stimulus bill,” said Art Harrington, an energy lawyer with Godfrey & Kahn in Milwaukee.
Godfrey hosted three meetings across the state this week that drew about 500 businesspeople looking to learn more about economic opportunities created by the stimulus law, Harrington said.
“My advice to clients is to get knowledgeable on this stimulus bill,” he said. “Get knowledgeable quickly and then follow the money.”
by jboullion | Feb 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
An article from The Business Journal:
The Wisconsin State Fair Park has received state approval to install a solar panel system on the roof of the Wisconsin Products Pavilion.
State Fair Park will use the $306,000 demonstration project to promote renewable energy. The 30-kilowatt solar panel system is expected to be in place for the 2009 Wisconsin State Fair Aug. 6-16. The project received the approval of the State of Wisconsin Building Commission.
The electricity created by the solar panel system will be integrated into the Fair Park’s power grid to help reduce energy consumption. The new system will reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by more than 31 tons per year, according to the State Fair Park board.
The state Building Commission approved $128,400 of state funding from Conserve Wisconsin for the project at its meeting Wednesday. State Fair Park is applying for up to $100,000 in funds from the We Energies Nonprofit Renewable Energy Grant Program, in addition to applying for a $50,000 grant from Focus on Energy.
by jboullion | Feb 18, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin businesses and governments should receive at least $276 million, and possibly much more, in energy-related funds from the economic stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday, according to the state agency in charge of the recovery.
Energy provisions in the stimulus package include funding for efforts to make buildings more efficient and to boost the use of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Also included are tax credits for manufacturers of energy technologies and for consumers who improve the energy efficiency of their homes or buy plug-in hybrid cars. For instance, homeowners will get credits of up to $1,500 for energy upgrades, such as purchases of qualified furnaces and insulation.
Wisconsin is likely to receive $146 million to weatherize some of the most inefficient buildings in the state. An additional $130 million or so is expected under two kinds of grants for energy-efficiency and other projects, said David Jenkins, who is handling energy projects for the state Office of Recovery and Reinvestment.
“In addition to that money, there are 11 different energy- and energy-science-related competitive grant programs, some of which hold promise for Wisconsin,” he said. “Our companies and universities and technical colleges are going to do a good job of competing for that money.”
