by jboullion | Dec 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2009
MORE INFORMATION
Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Report: Wind Turbines Cause No Human Harm
Consistent with 10-plus years of commercial wind generation operations in Wisconsin, a national report issued today concluded that the sounds produced by wind turbines are not harmful to human health, according to the state’s leading renewable energy advocacy group.
Comprised of medical doctors, audiologists, and acoustical professionals from the United States, Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, the panel of reviewers undertook extensive analysis and discussion of the large body of peer-reviewed literature, specifically with regard to sound coming from wind turbines.
The panel was established by the American Wind Energy Association and the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA).
“This report corroborates testimony that RENEW presented in the ongoing Glacier Hills Wind Park hearings at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission,” according to Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin. In that proceeding, We Energies is seeking approval to construct a 90-turbine 162 megawatt wind park in northeast Columbia County.
by jboullion | Dec 14, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Even if a global deal can’t be reached in Copenhagen, actions by states such as Wisconsin can make a big difference in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
When Gov. Jim Doyle arrives in Copenhagen this week to address the international conference on climate change, he can and should stress the need for action on an international scale, but he can also show the importance of states, countries and individuals doing what they can – acting locally – to reduce the human impact on global warming.
Wisconsin has been moving forward, largely under the leadership of Doyle, several key legislators and others, such as Tia Nelson and Roy Thilly, co-chairs of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming, which made 63 policy recommendations when it concluded its work last year. The next step is to implement some of those recommendations in the form of a bill, a draft of which was unveiled last week.
The bill seeks to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the state while at the same time growing a green economy through investments in energy conservation and alternative fuels.
Doyle made the right point recently when he said, “States that stick their head in the sand and pretend this isn’t happening are states that five, 10, 15 years from now are going to be looking around saying, ‘How come we don’t have a piece of that economy?’ ”
As Journal Sentinel reporters Tom Content and Lee Bergquist noted in an article Friday, the draft released Thursday calls for greater use of renewable power, opens the door to construction of nuclear power plants and lays the groundwork for how Wisconsin addresses global warming.
by jboullion | Dec 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content and Lee Bergquist in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A draft of major legislation released Thursday calls for greater use of renewable power, opens the door to construction of nuclear power plants and lays the groundwork for how Wisconsin addresses global warming.
The legislation sets the stage for a major debate in Madison, with proponents touting the promise of thousands of new jobs and opponents warning that new controls will damage the state’s already weak manufacturing sector.
The bill would dramatically change the state’s sources of energy, mandating that 25% of electricity come from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable sources by 2025.
Wisconsin is heavily dependent on coal, a key source of greenhouse gases that most climate scientists say is a leading contributor to rising global temperatures.
The legislation also would tighten building codes to increase energy efficiency, impose restrictions on engine idling of freight trucks and adopt vehicle emissions standards similar to California and other states.
These link connect to:
+ Index to the bill
+ Short overview
+ Detailed summary
by jboullion | Dec 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in the BizTimes Daily:
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that three Milwaukee area companies have been granted a total of $3.1 million in federal funding to help them invest in manufacturing equipment and create 276 new green jobs.
“Wisconsin has a tremendous opportunity to be a leader in clean energy,” Doyle said. “With these funds, we will help these companies not only create hundreds of new green jobs in Milwaukee, but also manufacture renewable energy and energy efficient products.”
The companies receiving the federal funding are:
+ Helios USA – $1 million. The Milwaukee start-up is a manufacturer that will produce solar panels for residential and commercial applications. It is leasing 40,000 square feet in an existing facility and will invest more than $8 million for equipment and working capital. Helios expects to create 54 new clean energy jobs.
+ Nature Tech LLC – $800,000. The company is a Milwaukee start-up manufacturer of energy efficient cellulose insulation manufactured from recycled newsprint. It is leasing a vacant facility and will invest more than $3 million in the project. The company plans to create 47 new clean energy jobs.
+ ZBB Energy Corp. – $1.3 million. ZBB of Menomonee Falls is investing $4.5 million in equipment and working capital to expand its advanced battery products manufacturing. The company will retain 26 jobs and plans to create 175 additional jobs.
Doyle has launched a plan calling for the state to achieve energy independence by generating 25 percent of its electricity and 25 percent of its transportation fuels from renewable resources by 2025.
by jboullion | Dec 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory:
Home sales prices are very sensitive to the overall quality of the scenic vista from a property, but a view of a wind energy facility does not demonstrably impact sales prices.Over 30,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity are installed across the United States and an increasing number of communities are considering new wind power facilities. Given these developments, there is an urgent need to empirically investigate typical community concerns about wind energy and thereby provide stakeholders involved in the wind project siting process a common base of knowledge. A major new report released today by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory evaluates one of those concerns, and finds that proximity to wind energy facilities does not have a pervasive or widespread adverse effect on the property values of nearby homes.
The new report, funded by the DOE, is based on site visits, data collection, and analysis of almost 7,500 single-family home sales, making it the most comprehensive and data-rich analysis to date on the potential impact of U.S. wind projects on residential property values.
“Neither the view of wind energy facilities nor the distance of the home to those facilities was found to have any consistent, measurable, and significant effect on the selling prices of nearby homes,” says report author Ben Hoen, a consultant to Berkeley Lab. “No matter how we looked at the data, the same result kept coming back – no evidence of widespread impacts.”
An expert witness on real estate voiced the same conclusion during hearings on We Energies proposed Glacier Hills Wind Park.
