by jboullion | Aug 3, 2012 | Uncategorized
From a story on WTAQ radio, Green Bay:
GRANT COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – Wisconsin’s largest electric utility will spend $27 million to buy an existing wind farm in the southwest part of the state.
Wisconsin Energy, the parent of We Energies, has agreed to buy the Montfort Energy Center near Montfort in Grant County. NextEra Energy Resources of Florida currently owns the facility.
It opened 11 years ago, and it now has 20 turbines that provide enough power for about 9,000 homes. We Energies’ CEO Gale Klappa says the wind farm will deliver positive benefits for both customers and shareholders. It will also help the utility meet its state-mandated requirement to produce 8.25 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2015.
by jboullion | Jul 27, 2012 | Uncategorized
From a blog post by Tom Content on JSOnline:
Helios Solar Works has received a loan of $652,079 to support its $11 million investment to purchase equipment and add a third shift of workers at its Menomonee Valley solar panel factory.
The loan was announced by the Northwest Side Community Development Corp., based on funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Helios opened its factory at 1207 W. Canal St. last year. The funds will be used to help meet demand from new orders from Helios customers in the United States, Asia and Europe, according to the community development corporation. The corporation said the loan will support the addition of up to 40 jobs.
“It is very satisfying to know that the NWSCDC is helping Helios ship solar panels to customers worldwide stamped ‘Made in Milwaukee,’ ” said Sam McGovern-Rowen, NWSCDC planning director, in a statement. Helios makes efficient panels using a highly automated production process.
Helios chief executive Steve Ostrenga says employment currently stands at about 35, running two shifts, and the company is planning its capital investment in part to accommodate a third shift and development of a new panel aimed at the residential market.
“We’ve been doing primarily commercial and this gets into the residential space with a differentiated product that lowers the total cost of installation,” he said in an interview.
by jboullion | Jul 26, 2012 | Uncategorized
From a commentary in the Fond du Lac Reporter by John Anderson, director of siting policy for the American Wind Energy Association:
Wisconsin State Sen. Frank Lasee’s recent statements regarding the potential health effects of wind turbines are not supported by numerous government and peer-reviewed studies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently published the “Wind Turbine Health Impact Study: Report of Independent Expert Panel.” Most notably, the authors of this report concluded:
• There is no evidence for a set of health effects from exposure to wind turbines that could be characterized as “Wind Turbine Syndrome.”
• Claims that infrasound from wind turbines directly impacts the vestibular system have not been demonstrated scientifically. Available evidence shows that the infrasound levels near wind turbines cannot impact the vestibular system.
• The strongest epidemiological study suggests that there is not an association between noise from wind turbines and measures of psychological distress or mental health.
• None of the limited epidemiological evidence reviewed suggests an association between noise from wind turbines and pain and stiffness, diabetes, high blood pressure, tinnitus, hearing impairment, cardiovascular disease, and headache/migraine.
• Scientific evidence suggests that shadow flicker does not pose a risk for eliciting seizures.
by jboullion | Jul 25, 2012 | Uncategorized
RENEW Wisconsin will continue to advocate for Focus on Energy to spend the $10 million per year allocated for renewable incentives.
We intend to keep a close watch on how the Focus administrators spend the money, and we told them so. These funds are being collected from rate payers this year, so Focus should spend as much of the money this year as possible. Simple!
RENEW effectively advocated for Focus on Energy (Focus) to reinstate incentives for distributed renewables since the non-residential incentives were suspended in July of 2011. RENEW organized members and other stakeholders to communicate this message to the Public Service Commission and Focus. RENEW’s advocacy led Focus to roll out the renewable programs in July.
Additionally RENEW solicited input from the renewable community, met with the Focus administrators, and provided suggestions in early June on how the Focus funds should best be used. Focus accepted and incorporated the majority of these suggestions in the Focus renewable programs that were launched in early July.
RENEW continues to advocate on behalf of the renewable energy community with the Focus administrators. We asked Focus to drop the need for installers to be licensed plumbers and electricians; to reconfigure the need for a building permit before installation; to clear up whether solar systems could be ground mounted; and, to reduce the minimum incentive for solar and wind installations in the Business Program RFP. Once again, Focus administrators accepted the majority of these suggestions.
Focus also addressed the questions received from RENEW and others in a list of frequently asked questions for residential systems at Focus FAQs.
Be aware that Focus has limited funds for residential solar projects. Focus will provide weekly updates on the level of funds available through the renewable energy program Web pages at Focus funding updates.
Business renewable projects will be considered for funding after a submission due date of August 29, 2012. FAQs on this RFP were issued on July 23, 2012.
Please continue to provide your comments and suggestions to RENEW and to Focus on how the renewable program should be managed within the budget constraints outlined by the PSC.
By working together, we can have the best program possible. Please support RENEW with a membership or donation at Join Today!
by jboullion | Jul 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
In a weekend editorial the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted RENEW’s executive director Don Wichert:
While national leaders dither, local officials and families can start doing things to reduce human impact on climate change
It’s possible that this summer is just a fluke; that the heat waves and drought that are wreaking havoc for farmers and others are an anomaly, and that the weather will return to “normal” next summer or maybe the summer after that. That it’s just summer and it’s hot, and that this really isn’t part of a trend that climate scientists have been predicting.
But that’s not the way to bet. . . .
“The extreme weather and heat waves are costing lives, hurting farmers and families, and inaction is wasting tax money,” said Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison), member of the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee in a news release. “We need to take cost-effective steps to reduce greenhouse air pollution, create jobs and protect lives like my Jobs, Energy and Tax Savings Act (AB 117) to reduce energy costs at the 9,000 state facilities by 30% to 75% and cut the risk of extreme climate change.”
“We know that using more renewable energy and more energy efficiency creates more jobs here and produces far less green house gases than the fossil fuels they replace,” said Don Wichert, P.E., Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin. “Access to renewable energy can be increased by reducing upfront costs through private ownership, by creating fair and consistent electricity policies, and by reinstating utility renewable energy commitments.”
It’s also the message being pushed by a retired Marine colonel and former strategic adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who argues that sustainability and climate change are national security issues. Local leaders need to start the shift to more sustainable practices such as regenerative agriculture techniques and advanced manufacturing because “D.C. isn’t going to do anything,” Mark Mykleby, author of “A Natural Strategic Narrative,” he told the Editorial Board Thursday.
The science says climate change is happening now, not just in computer models or overactive imaginations but in the real world. From rising sea levels to droughts to tornadoes and wildfires, there is a growing list of anomalous events that indicate climate change is already upon us. And the safe bet is to start acting now to mitigate the human effect on climate change at the international, national and local levels.
