by jboullion | Jan 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:
There are not enough power lines to support wind farms in Lake Michigan.
That lack of transmission lines to carry power from offshore wind farms was one issue within the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s Wind on the Water report released Thursday. According to the report, if Wisconsin wants to generate more than 600 megawatts from a lake wind farm, the state will need a new power line parallel to Lake Michigan’s shore.
The ability to connect to transmission lines is the No. 1 factor determining where wind farms are built, and Wisconsin could make Lake Michigan more attractive to developers if there is a new power line with capacity for offshore farms, said Mike Donahue, executive vice president of Midwest Wind Energy in Chicago. For land-based wind farms, developers must choose a location and ask transmission companies if the existing power lines can handle the extra electricity generated by the turbines.
“Your transportation infrastructure has become the critical location factor for projects,” he said, “whether they’re land or offshore.”
by jboullion | Jan 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sean Ryan in The Daily Reporter:
The state funnels $65 million in public money every year into making homes more energy efficient, but contractors warn they are running low on workers to do the job.
Compared to more traditional construction trades, replacing windows, hauling refrigerators and crawling through attics and basements to install insulation isn’t sexy, said Sheree Dallas Branch, administrator of the Division of Energy Services in the Wisconsin Department of Administration. But for years, the state found workers to weatherize thousands of houses, and the push for greater energy efficiency will only expand the need, she said.
The state hires 21 companies to oversee the weatherization program in different areas of Wisconsin, and for the past year those companies have said they are running short on workers, she said.
“One of the themes that was consistent was an aging work force,” Dallas Branch said. “Weatherization is a very technical field, but a lot of people don’t know about it.”
The point of the program is to conserve energy by fixing up old houses. Using money collected from the U.S. Department of Energy and public electric utilities in Wisconsin, the state weatherized 9,900 homes in 2008, Dallas Branch said. Wisconsin budgeted $65 million for the job in 2009 and plans to fix up 7,900 houses. There are fewer this year because the state is focusing on the worst houses that need the most work, she said.
To meet the need for more workers, the state is looking for a company to recruit up to 25 Milwaukee residents a year, help them get basic job skills and get them on-the-job training on state weatherization projects. Proposals are due Jan. 21.
Dallas Branch said the two-year contract in Milwaukee will serve as a pilot program the Division of Energy Services wants to replicate throughout the state.
Read the procurement announcement here.
by jboullion | Jan 14, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a media release issued by Focus on Energy:
MADISON, Wis. (January 14, 2009) – With the help of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, Ball Corporation has completed a number of energy saving improvements and upgrades at its Wisconsin plants in Milwaukee, DeForest and Watertown.
The changes made in Ball’s three plants are expected to provide $560,636 in savings annually due to reduced energy consumption. Ball received $431,181 in cash incentives through Focus on Energy in 2008 to boost its efforts toward becoming more energy efficient.
“Ball Corporation has made a huge investment in its Wisconsin facilities,” said Ken Williams, Focus on Energy’s business programs director. “By making energy management a priority in its business plan, Ball Corporation will reduce its energy use, experience cost savings and benefit the environment for years to come.”
“These projects were part of our ongoing sustainability program,” explained Doug Barndt, principle energy-demand engineer for Ball. “Focus on Energy was very straightforward and easy to work with, and the incentives they provided were an important catalyst in making lasting, meaningful changes in our Wisconsin operations.”
The Milwaukee facility, which manufactures two-piece beverage and food cans, received the majority of incentive funds for projects that will reduce energy consumption by 2,523,540 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 470,875 therms of natural gas annually – enough energy to power 738 homes for a year.
The biggest energy saver was an innovative heat recovery system that captures waste heat from its regenerative thermal oxidizer and uses it to supply preheated water to the boiler of its heating system. The plant also installed new energy management controls for its HVAC system and replaced nearly 600 light fixtures with high efficiency models.
by jboullion | Jan 12, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Rick Barrett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The old Shell Oil terminal at the Port of Milwaukee has been sold to a New York-based biodiesel company that plans to use the terminal for distributing biodiesel and other renewable fuels in the Midwest.
The terminal, built in the 1950s, includes a 20,000 square foot warehouse, offices and a garage. It also has access to railroad service and an idled connection to a petroleum pipeline.
by jboullion | Jan 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Pete Millard in The Business Journal:
Wisconsin Electric Power Co. [d/b/a We Energies], the state’s largest public energy utility, is seeking Public Service Commission approval to spend $3 million to study the feasibility of harnessing the Great Lakes’ wind power.
With more than a half-dozen wind farms sprouting up in corn and soybean fields from Montfort in southwest Wisconsin to Portage, Eden and Kewaunee on the banks of Lake Michigan in northeast Wisconsin, the real potential for wind power exists on the Great Lakes. That’s according to a November 2008 PSC report.
While no one doubts the potential for wind power on the Great Lakes, there are environmental, construction, transmission and maintenance issues that need examination before wind turbines and towers begin rising in the depths of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
“What we’re proposing is taking the next step forward from the PSC report,” said Roman Draba, WEPCO’s vice president of regulatory affairs and policy.
The PSC’s own Great Lakes wind power study summarizes the various state, federal and tribal statutes, rules and regulations that may have to be changed before any proposal to build an off-shore wind project can move ahead, but these are not insurmountable obstacles, said Carl Siegrist, WEPCO’s senior renewable energy strategist.
Less known is whether the technology exists to economically transmit the wind power from off-shore turbines to on-shore transmission lines. Also unknown is the cost to build and maintain the turbines and towers, especially in winter, Siegrist said.
“A big part of the study will also monitor exactly what the wind patterns are and how productive they may be,” said Draba.
The WEPCO Lake Michigan study also will look at the potential environmental impact the towers and turbines would have on bats and migratory birds.
