by jboullion | Dec 31, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a story by John Krerowicz in the Kenosha News:
The need for wind energy technician training is not a lot of hot air, said those involved in a conference to be held here on the topic.
The summit is expected to draw 50 participants from the industry and technical colleges on Jan. 6-7 at Snap-on’s Innovation Works. The renovated building, on the company’s headquarters site, 2801 80th St., was the production factory until it closed in 2004.
Representatives from Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis., Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater, Texas, and Iowa Lakes Community College are expected to attend.
One goal of the gathering is to designate representatives to be liaisons with lawmakers in Madison and Washington, D.C., where the new administration is expected to be more receptive to clean energy. The liaisons would promote appropriate policies and encourage funding for training and related issues.
The group also wants to develop a standard training program that technical schools can adopt and quickly implement to meet the anticipated need for technicians, said Fred Brookhouse, Snap-on’s business and education partnership manager and business development manager over education.
There appears to be no formal study of the number of jobs that the young industry would create. The Focus for Energy Web site currently lists 21 installers, including some in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illionois, with a Milwaukee firm the closest to Kenosha.
But Brookhouse said the need for technicians to install and service wind energy technology will be evident once the country accepts that our major energy supplies are finite.
by jboullion | Dec 30, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a guest column by Dan Kohler and Rep. Andy Jorgenson in the Janesville GazetteXtra:
“We have the opportunity now to create jobs all across this country in all 50 states to repower America, to redesign how we use energy and think about how we are increasing efficiency to make our economy stronger, make us more safe, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make us competitive for decades to come—even as we save the planet.” — U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, Dec. 8
We couldn’t agree more. Our slumping economy is taking its toll, leaving all of us with a sense of anxiety about the future. But we have a tremendous opportunity to rebuild our economy across the country and here in Wisconsin, and to do it on a solid foundation.
President-elect Obama and the new Congress should enact a green economic recovery plan that makes critical investments in clean energy and green infrastructure to help rebuild the American economy, protect our environment and make us more energy independent.
When it comes to clean energy, the Badger State has a unique combination of assets that can help us capitalize on such a plan and lead the way into the new energy future. We have vast renewable energy potential from wind and solar power, the research laboratories to develop new energy technologies, the manufacturing base to build them, and the farms to grow the next generation of fuels.
by jboullion | Dec 29, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a story by Ken Reibel in the Milwaukee Express:
Jack Daniels, co-owner of Milwaukee-based Hot Water Products, one of the largest distributors of thermal solar panels in the Midwest, isn’t one to go with the flow. “We’re not waiting for business to come to us,” says Daniels, whose partner, Howard Endres, began selling high-efficiency water heaters and boilers in 1998.
Daniels nudged his partner into the solar panel business three years ago, soon after Daniels became a partner in the company. Solar thermal panels circulate and heat water, an efficient supplement to natural gas or electric systems. Hot water can also be passed through a furnace or boiler to heat a house or business.
Today, the company designs and engineers systems for homes and businesses, and hires contractors for installations. Hot Water Products (HWP) has trained more than 100 contractors to install the panels, and fields three sales technicians who call Wisconsin businesses to talk about going solar.
Business is heating up. HWP sold about $400,000 worth of solar panels last year, and $1 million worth this year. “We only sold three installs in 2006, our first year. In 2007, panel installs were 10% of our total business, and so far in 2008 they are 20%,” Daniels says.
by jboullion | Dec 26, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dan Egan in the Superior Telegram:
SUPERIOR — There is indeed a growing awareness of just how precious the Great Lakes are — and will be — in a century in which many are predicting fresh water will become more coveted than oil.
The significance of this can’t be underestimated for a system of linked lakes that hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water and 90 percent of the nation’s.
Recognizing the lakes’ ecological and economic value, President George W. Bush this fall signed the Great Lakes Compact, which prohibits most water diversions outside the Great Lakes basin. Bush signed the measure after the compact received overwhelming bipartisan support from the eight Great Lakes state legislatures, as well as the U.S. House and Senate.
Its passage is the latest example of the region becoming increasingly protective of the lakes.
President-elect Barack Obama promised in his campaign to push for $5 billion to help restore the lakes — money he said would be generated by increased taxes on oil and gas companies.
And it was probably no coincidence he pitted the health of the Great Lakes against Big Oil.
by jboullion | Dec 23, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Transit supporters have taken a couple of hits recently, casting doubt on both the creation of a regional transit authority and system, and the development of a critical element of such a system, a commuter rail line linking Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha. Nevertheless, the transit authority and the KRM line are still proposals that deserve widespread support if the region wants to build effective regional mass transit that would provide a number of benefits, including fostering economic development.
A regional transit system could improve bus service in Milwaukee County and other areas, as well as help create better intercounty connections to help workers get to jobs. The KRM can help provide a reliable speedy mass transit link along the eastern edge of the region from downtown Milwaukee to Kenosha.
