From an article by Sharif Durhams in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Milwaukee County’s bus system unveiled on Wednesday the first of 90 new buses purchased to replace those in its aging fleet.
The clean diesel buses cost a total of nearly $33 million. About half of that money came from the federal stimulus package.
Milwaukee County plans to buy 35 more buses in 2011, according to MCTS.
From an article by Tom Content and Lee Bergquist in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Many old coal-fired power plants are shutting down or being upgraded, but Valley escapes change
Many of Wisconsin’s oldest coal-fired power plants are shutting down or are being upgraded as regulators tighten standards to improve air quality.
But We Energies’ Valley plant – with its twin 400-foot smokestacks that tower over the High Rise Bridge a mile south of downtown Milwaukee – is a glaring exception.
The utility has avoided installing costly pollution controls by capitalizing on the plant’s age, its unique role in producing steam to heat many downtown buildings and a court settlement with environmental regulators.
Valley is We Energies’ oldest power plant that lacks modern emission controls. As a result, it exposes metro Milwaukee – an area with longstanding air quality problems – to more air pollution.
“Valley is the poster child for the oldest and dirtiest coal plants in the state,” said Jennifer Feyerherm of the Sierra Club, an organization that has been active in forcing utilities to clean up operations of old power plants.
We Energies’ No. 2 executive said the company has installed equipment to bring down pollution.
“We have not ignored Valley,” said Rick Kuester, the utility’s executive vice president.
He signaled for the first time that the company is studying the future of Valley and considering adding more pollution controls or switching to a cleaner burning fuel.
Kuester also emphasized the critical role the plant plays in the financial health of downtown Milwaukee by relying on steam to keep heating costs stable. The plant also provides supplemental electricity for the broader power grid on hot summer days when usage is high.
From a commentary by Michael Vickerman:
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
July 12, 2010
About 100 people gathered in downtown Madison in early July to take part in “Hands Across the Sands,” an internationally organized protest against continued oil drilling in and along the world’s coastal waters. Against the backdrop of the weed-choked waters of Lake Monona, they joined hands for 15 minutes to express their fervent desire to see a cleaner, less destructive energy future emerge from the liquid melanoma spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.
No doubt the protestors would like to do more, much more, than simply engage in ritualized protest in front of a few camera crews. But we live in a society that is organized around the expectation of a limitless supply of nonrenewable hydrocarbons feeding concentrated energy into our economic bloodstream. Most of us have not bothered to comprehend the yawning gulf that lies between our best intentions and our abject dependence on the wealth-producing properties of petroleum. Nor how this addiction fills us with delusions of godlike mastery over our environment while blinding us to the reality that we humans have grossly overshot our planet’s carrying capacity.
For those who read and still remember the science fiction classic Dune, the “spice” on Arrakis remains the quintessential literary analogy to the reality of Earth’s oil. Like our oil, the spice held a special place in that world as the ultimate prize worth waging wars and plundering hostile environments for. . . .
Need I mention that once you begin to appreciate the finitude of the Earth’s endowment of petroleum, there’s nothing to stop you from taking immediate steps to curb your personal consumption of this irreplaceable fuel. Whatever you do to lessen your dependence on petroleum will turn out to be a much more satisfying and meaningful response to our energy predicament than any canned protest promoted through Facebook.
As for myself, I made two resolutions since the Macondo well erupted. The first is to go through this summer without activating the household air-conditioner. So far, so good, I can report. (Luckily, we were spared the triple-digit temperature swelterfest that gripped the East Coast last week). It wasn’t that long ago that life without air-conditioning was the norm rather than the exception. If we all resolved not to turn on air-conditioners, we could force the retirement of two to three coal-fired plants in this state.
The other change was to ratchet up my reliance on my bicycle and make it the default vehicle for all my local travels, irrespective of weather conditions. I have been a fair-weather bicycle commuter for many years, but after watching everyone on TV blame someone else for the catastrophe, I felt the need to push myself a little harder. My objective here is to regard my car as a luxury that one day I might do without.
Though the extra perspiration and the occasional dodging of raindrops may take some getting used to, you are going to sleep better at night. Trust me on this.
If the oil spill has prompted a similar response from you, feel free to describe them and send them to the moderator of our Peak Oil blog or post them in a response.
From an article by Charlie Mathews in the Manitow Hearld Times Reporter:
MANITOWOC — Paul Smith is excited to hang a “Jobs Open” sign at Tower Tech’s manufacturing plant on the Manitowoc River peninsula.
With two major new contracts, the wind tower company’s chief operating officer said about 60 people will be hired in the next month, increasing the work force to more than 200.
“It feels pretty good to bring some individuals back from layoff, as well as hire new to do welding, painting, blasting and assembling,” said Smith.
The recession hit the wind industry hard, but contracts awarded in late June and this week to supply 265-foot, 200-ton towers for Danish-based Vestas and Spanish firm Gamesa Technology Corp. will keep the Manitowoc plant operating at full capacity for the next year.
“Our people have a work ethic combined with basic fabrication and welding knowledge that enable us to build some of the heaviest towers in the industry better than anybody,” Smith said.
It also helps that Milwaukee-based We Energies was looking for Wisconsin suppliers for its $367 million Glacier Hills Wind Park to be erected in 2011 in Columbia County. Tower Tech will build 90 towers for the project.
From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:
Collectively drawing upon the individual roadblocks that developers experienced in permitting wind energy projects in Wisconsin, a group of renewable energy stakeholders urged the Public Service Commission to adopt standards that can’t be undermined by additional restrictions imposed by local governments.
The comments, submitted on behalf of 38 signatories, addressed the draft siting rule published by the Commission in mid-May. The draft rule proposed standards applicable to all wind energy systems — large and small — erected in Wisconsin. In the next phase of this proceeding, the Commission will review the public comments before issuing a final rule in August.
The rule will specify, among other things, setback distances from neighbors, sound limits, shadow flicker durations, procedures for decommissioning inoperable turbines, and mitigating electronic signal interference.
Noting that local governments would have discretionary authority going beyond the legislation’s intentions, renewable energy supporters recommended specific changes to give developers a greater sense of certainty in the permitting process.
“We are willing to work collaboratively and cooperatively with political subdivisions to establish mutually agreeable provisions beyond the requirements of the rules,” the stakeholders said in their joint comments. “However, we cannot develop wind projects in Wisconsin if current uncertainty regarding political subdivision requirements continues.”