The Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly, RENEW Wisconsin’s newsletter, features these articles:
+ Rest in Peace: Cassville Generation Plant
+ Mississippi River Bird and Bat Study
+ Osceola School Heats Pools with Solar
+ Bob Ramlow: Solar Pioneer
+ Focus on Energy Issues Biogas Profiles
+ Focus on Energy Earns National Honor
+ State Plugs into Renewable Energy
From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:
A new sales tax in southeastern Wisconsin will pay for the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Link if the idea can overcome opposition in the state Legislature and Racine County.
State Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, said he supports the proposed rail project that would connect the three cities, but voters in his district won’t support a sales tax. Lehman last year convinced the state Senate to include a car-rental fee in the Budget Repair Bill to pay for transit in southeastern Wisconsin. The state Assembly later rejected the fee.
Milwaukee County opposed the car-rental fee because passengers from General Mitchell International Airport would pay the bulk of the money, Lehman said. Now Racine County, which has never levied its own sales tax, stands as the likely roadblock to the KRM under this plan, he said.
“So the sales tax recommendation, in my opinion, doesn’t make sense for Racine County,” Lehman said, “and it is unnecessary to finance a bus system in Racine County.
“I recognize that the Milwaukee County bus system is very challenged, and I think the sales tax makes more sense for Milwaukee County than Racine County.”
Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, said residents in his district support a sales tax to pay for the KRM and the bus system. But he would not predict the reception it will receive in Madison once biennial budget discussions begin next month.
From an article by in The Daily Reporter:
Wisconsin does not have enough money to pay for the estimated $500 million Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail line, but the state might kick off the project anyway.
“I keep going back to the fact that this is a multiyear project,” said Randall Wade, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s passenger rail manager. “There are things we can do immediately, and I think we should start as soon as possible.”
But before focusing on the Milwaukee-Madison line, WisDOT must consider capacity upgrades to its Milwaukee-Chicago service, which Wade said sets ridership records every month.
Gov. Jim Doyle put $80 million in the state budget to spark Wisconsin involvement in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a multistate effort to coordinate and expand high-speed rail use. WisDOT, Wade said, will use that money for upgrades to the Chicago-Milwaukee line and the Milwaukee-Watertown portion of the line to Madison.
The state agency also asked for $137 million in federal stimulus money for high-speed rail projects. Although Wade said that money could pay for track and signal improvements along the Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison route, the combined $217 million would only be enough to establish a passenger-ready line as far as Watertown.
“(Finishing it) is still going to be dependent upon federal funding,” he said.
If finishing the high-speed rail line between Watertown and Madison takes several years, it could test the patience of people in the capital region.
From a news release issued by Span-on and posted on Yahoo!Finance:
KENOSHA, Wis., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ — It’s no mystery that much of the focus for the American economy in the coming years will be on renewable energy sources, with wind power at the forefront. Wind industry experts know that utilizing wind as a major new source of energy will require a huge effort. The entire infrastructure needs to be addressed, including the power grid network and manufacturing capabilities, as well as training the huge numbers of workers needed to build and sustain the wind-generation system. This effort will require an unprecedented collaboration among industry participants from all levels of government, manufacturing, service and education. Snap-on’s goal is to lend its global organizational expertise, broad network of relationships, and reputation for quality and innovation to a platform that will bring the entire industry together to meet the work force needs of wind power.
To this end, Snap-on Industrial, a division of Snap-on Tools Company, recently convened an industry consortium at its Kenosha, Wis., manufacturing facility to talk specifically with key members of industry, trade associations, labor groups, government officials and technical colleges about the future needs of both the American and global wind power markets. Some industry experts estimate that manpower requirements to service this market over the next several years could reach 200,000 workers.
“It was our goal to bring together in one room people who not only see the need to train the next generation of technicians in the wind power industry, but people who can make that happen,” said Frederick Brookhouse, senior segment sales support manager-education, Snap-on Industrial. “At Snap-on, it’s our role to provide the forum and help with the industry perspective. We’ve done that and now this group promises to be a powerhouse in leading the charge toward maintaining those important sustainable energy resources that are on the drawing board today. . . .”
Topics discussed during the conference included partnership development, implementation of wind technician training and tooling requirements. In addition, participants learned about the Snap-on/Gateway Technical College partnership in Wisconsin, a nationally recognized public-private training and education program, and attended a reception at Gateway’s Horizon Center in Kenosha. . . .
WETC members will meet for the second time during the AWEA Windpower 2009 conference and trade show in Chicago. The exhibition runs May 4-7.
From a story by Brian Moon on WRN.com:
The Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Passenger train should be built, according to a Milwaukee County official. County Board Member Chris Larson is reacting to a recent study by Tom Rubin of the Reason Foundation which, citing high costs, favors an expanded commuter bus service instead of the regional passenger rail. Larson agrees with Rubin’s assertion that the rapid buses could operate along the I-94 corridor without having to add new lanes. However, he claims by Rubin’s own admission, lakeside transit would be most efficient with a rail system.
The County Supervisor supports developing the KRM rail while restoring the decaying Milwaukee County bus line. He says the funding could come from a 1% sales tax already been approved by voters in a referendum last November. Larson hopes the tax hike will clear state lawmakers and believes a portion of the tax hike could go toward regional transit.
But Milwaukee County can’t pay for it alone. Larson hopes Racine and Kenosha Counties will follow his county’s example of a sales tax hike referendum.