by jboullion | Feb 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the solicitation announcement from We Energies:
We Energies offers grants under its Renewable Energy Research and Development (R&D) Grant Program to its business and not-for-profit electric customers as well as to organizations teamed with We Energies business and not-for-profit electric customers. This program offers financial assistance in the form of a grant to conduct research on renewable energy technologies, or to help demonstrate a renewable energy product or technology. Areas of research that will receive the highest funding priority include work in the following areas:
1. Improving existing renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar, and biomass.
2. Expanding renewable distributed-generation technologies and related technologies, such as energy storage and smart grid technologies that directly benefit the integration and distribution of renewable energy onto the grid.
3. Developing renewable energy technologies, products and services that provide more affordable electricity and improved reliability.
4. Conducting longer-term research on advanced renewable technologies that will help meet tomorrow’s electricity needs and contribute positively to the renewable energy industry.
A proposed research project must be located within We Energies electric service territory, or if not located within the service territory it must clearly provide local benefits to the electric service territory. Grants are not intended to offset the cost of purchasing small renewable systems such as a residential photovoltaic installations and/or a small wind turbine on a farm, but rather are intended for research and development endeavors that will clearly advance a technology or product, and will clearly contribute positively to the renewable energy industry. . . .
We Energies offers grant funds up to a maximum grant of $200,000 per project. Although matching funds are not required for this grant program, any additional funding that can be added to the proposal is considered a favorable element of the project and increases the chances for a successful grant. In addition, as noted above, We Energies grant funds may potentially be used as matching funds toward a larger state or federal grant program, provided project activities meet this program’s requirements and intent. Only one R&D grant will be awarded per applicant per program year. Exceptions will be made for Universities and similar type organizations where separate project applications may be received from different departments within the organization in one calendar year. In those cases, only one successful grant will be awarded to a specific department in a calendar year. . . .
How do I apply for a grant?
Complete and submit the application. The application requires a scope of work that describes the goals of your study, the tasks or deliverables that will be accomplished, a timeline and budget for each task/deliverable, and your qualifications (and those of your team, if applicable). If a consultant or outside entity will perform all or a portion of the work, a scope of work and associated materials must be received on their letterhead and signed by the person(s) committing to complete the study. If you’re an organization teaming with a We Energies electric customer, a letter of commitment from all parties, describing the
relationship and roles of each party, also must be included in your application. . . .
More information:
Amy Flom
amy.flom@we-energies.com
262-893-6162
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 an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
More companies are looking to reduce their energy and water utility bills by taking steps to make their processes more efficient.
It’s all about adapting the quality-improvement techniques that many companies are already using, said Joseph Jacobsen, associate dean at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
What’s making people turn to green? Businesses know that carbon regulations are coming and want to get ready, and they 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.
Jacobsen and Dommissee spoke during a Green Manufacturing Summit held Thursday at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Bayside. Bradley, a local maker of plumbing fixtures, and the state Focus on Energy sponsored the event, along with the Journal Sentinel.
Despite the slowing economy, companies continue to seek grants from Focus on Energy to help them pay for energy-saving projects, said Nate Altfeather of Focus.
Focus provides grants that help shorten the payback time on projects that boost energy efficiency. With companies holding the line on spending, the types of incentives sought from Focus may shift.
“We’re going to see a lot more interest in low and no-cost maintenance incentives,” Altfeather said. “People aren’t going to be able to cut checks for $100,000 for new equipment.”
Focus is developing new incentives designed to help companies with energy-saving upgrades that have a payback of one year or less. The Focus program, funded through charges on utility bills, will pay nearly 100% of an energy audit for those firms, Altfeather said.
by jboullion | Feb 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by David Steinkraus in The Journal Times (Racine):
YORKVILLE — The County Board decided Tuesday to delay its vote on a regional transit authority until its next meeting on Feb. 24, but many citizens showed up in the board chambers to voice their opinions.
Although Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail has been the focus of most comments, the proposal sent to Gov. Jim Doyle is broader than that.
It suggests that the state create a permanent regional transit authority which could be joined by municipalities in southeastern Wisconsin. This permanent RTA would oversee not only a commuter rail project but also integration of the various bus systems, and it would have the authority to replace local property tax support of mass transit with a sales tax of up to 0.5 percent.
The board resolution does not express specific support for the tax but it does ask that any board with taxing authority be elected rather than appointed and that each municipality be allowed to approve or disapprove a transit tax.
by jboullion | Feb 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Anticipating a decline in electricity sales in 2009, Wisconsin Energy Corp. has frozen the salaries of top executives and implemented a limited hiring freeze.
“We have frozen hiring, except for critical operating positions,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gale Klappa said.
The cost-containment moves were made at the end of the year and announced Tuesday, after the Milwaukee energy holding company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations of Wall Street analysts.
Colder-than-projected weather that drove higher use of natural gas and electricity; declining fuel prices; and income from the new Port Washington natural gas-fired power plant helped the company report better-than-expected earnings in the quarter, Chief Financial Officer Allen Leverett said.
We Energies, the main utility subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy, has projected that electricity sales to factories and other large customers will fall 6% in 2009.
In the fourth quarter, sales to those large customers fell 9% from the fourth quarter of 2007. Hardest hit, Klappa said, are paper mills, auto parts suppliers and basic metal companies such as foundries and specialty steel companies.
“Just having talked to a few of our largest customers over the last couple of weeks, my sense is we’re not at the bottom yet in terms of the impact of the recession,” he said.
