by jboullion | Jan 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Ellyn Ferguson in the Appleton Post-Crescent:
WASHINGTON — Wisconsin could quickly and effectively spend any rail money Congress provides in an economic recovery package, Gov. Jim Doyle said Thursday.
Doyle and others were called by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to rebut a federal report that said states could not use economic recovery money for roads, bridges and transit quickly enough to generate jobs and counter the recession.
States would have to commit money to projects within a 90-day deadline.
Opponents of the infrastructure portion of the $825 billion economic recovery package have used the report by the Congressional Budget Office, the fiscal watchdog for Congress, to fight the bill.
“The purpose of this hearing today is to nail down the ability of the states to meet these deadlines,” committee chairman Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., said.
Oberstar said transportation and infrastructure projects could produce 1 million jobs by early June if Congress approves the economic recovery package by mid-February.
“We share your view that this recovery act should be designed to get people to work,” said Doyle, who testified on behalf of States for Passenger Rail Coalition.
by jboullion | Jan 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a media release issued by CREWE:
(MADISON, Wis.) – Leading Wisconsin companies are joining forces to advocate for the meaningful global warming policy changes proposed by the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force (GWTF).
The business coalition named Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE) looks forward to working with other members of the GWTF, the Doyle Administration and other companies and organizations to push for the adoption of policies that effectively and responsibly address global warming and capture the economic development and environmental opportunities in Wisconsin, said CREWE Board Chairman Dan Ebert.
“Wisconsin is poised for a transition to a sound economy powered by good, new, green jobs,” Ebert said. “CREWE was formed around the belief that a sustained and shared partnership of government, business and citizens is needed to build a clean energy and reliable future that will benefit all Wisconsin residents and businesses.”
Coalition members include Wisconsin Energy Corp., Madison Gas & Electric, Orion Energy Systems, American Transmission Co., Johnson Controls, MillerCoors, WPPI Energy, Potawatomi Tribe and C5-6 Technologies.
CREWE is dedicated to joining forces with other supporters to promote responsible policies that address climate change, create jobs, promote energy efficiency, reliability and independence, and mitigate the economic impacts of rising energy costs, Ebert added.
by jboullion | Jan 21, 2009 | Uncategorized
An article by By Scott Williams of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Elected leaders here have thrown their support behind a proposed network of high-speed commuter trains linking Milwaukee and Madison.
The Oconomowoc Common Council voted Tuesday to support the Midwest Regional Rail System, which would pass through Oconomowoc.
Gov. Jim Doyle and other proponents of the system envision it as part of a 3,000-mile network linking Milwaukee and Chicago to many other Midwestern cities.
The mayor of Winona, Minn., has been soliciting support from communities along the route between the Twin Cities and Chicago.
In addition to Oconomowoc, those communities include Milwaukee, Watertown and Wisconsin Dells.
by jboullion | Jan 20, 2009 | Uncategorized
A news brief from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Oconomowoc – Oconomowoc has become the latest community in southeastern Wisconsin to adopt Gov. Jim Doyle’s commitment for increased energy independence by 2025.
Aldermen passed a resolution Jan. 6 embracing Doyle’s “25 by 25” plan, which means that 25% of the city’s electricity and motor fuel supplies will come from renewable resources by the year 2025.
Oconomowoc city officials and civic leaders have created a special task force to promote greater use of wind energy, solar energy and other alternative resources.
The governor’s office said 73 cities and counties have embraced the 25 by 25 commitment. Other than Oconomowoc, the only one in southeastern Wisconsin is Kenosha County.
by jboullion | Jan 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article on the Web site of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council:
How do you build a local renewable energy workforce and new homes at the same time?
Recognizing a need for more NABCEP certified installers in its service territory, We Energies and other partners teamed up with the Habitat for Humanity (H4H) chapter in Milwaukee to develop a solar training program that would benefit the local industry as well as the H4H chapter and its members.
“It was a natural confluence of events,” said Carl Siegrist, Solar Programs Manager. “Last year, I had a number of calls from the local H4H chapter saying they wanted to solarize some of their houses. Around the same time, I’d been talking with our local IBEW and NECA about training opportunities for solar here in Wisconsin. Somewhere between those two conversations, we talked internally about the lack of NABCEP certified solar installers here in the Milwaukee area and in our We Energies service territory. We’ve got lots of solar work going on here in Milwaukee, but the installers come from Madison or central Wisconsin (where MREA is located). It seemed to us that if there were local installers, maybe the prices would be a bit less because the installers wouldn’t be coming from other places in Wisconsin, and we’d be building our own local workforce.”
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), long-known for its renewable energy training opportunities, used newly-constructed homes which H4H provided as training roofs for individuals who had prior training, but needed to be the lead on a solar installation in order to qualify for state incentives and to sit for the NABCEP exam.
“We had one of those ‘aha’ moments,” said Siegrist, “when we saw We Energies, NABCEP and IBEW playing together to meet multiple goals: education, training, certification, building our workforce. It was an especially good outcome for NABCEP.”
