by jboullion | Mar 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a presentation by Michael Vickerman at the 2009 Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit, Milwaukee, March 25-28:
Value Proposition to System Owner
+ Less expensive (on a life-cycle basis)
+ Predictable return
+ Negligible risk
Value Proposition to Society
+ Emission-free
+ Non-depleting
+ Indigenous
+ Highly secure
SHW Potential in Wisconsin
+ Can offset between 2.6% to 4.1% of NG use
+ Avoiding 150 million therms/year
+ Saving $150 million annually (2006 prices)
+ Offsetting 820,000 metric ton of CO2
by jboullion | Mar 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
Form a presentation by Michael Vickerman at the 2009 Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit, Milwaukee, March 25-28:
Economies of scale are achieved by shrinking the labor contribution relative to output, which explains why utility-scale energy is less expensive than do-it-yourself energy.
Distributing renewable energy through customer-sited systems increases job-hours per energy unit produced as well as promoting entrepreneurship and small business development. . . .
From Small Systems – Big Results in Germany:
+ Utilities are required to accept power from customer-sited RE systems through fixed, long-term buyback rates
+ 15% of Germany’s electricity now generated from renewables
+ In 2007 $14 billion invested in RE
+ Germany has half the world’s PV capacity
+ Payoff: 300,000 people employed in the RE sector.
And in Wisconsin:
+ 338 Focus on Energy-funded RE systems installed
+ 40% increase over 2007
+ $3.5MM incentives obligated
+ Full-service installers — 35 PV; 24 biogas; 64 SHW; 21 wind; 15 biomass.
by jboullion | Jan 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
Jennifer L. Heinzen
Manitowoc, WI
Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer
Manitowoc County Executive
Courthouse, 1010 S. 8th Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220
January 27, 2009
Dear Representative Ziegelbauer,
This letter is in response to your comments made in The Daily Reporter dated January 24 concerning the Manitowoc County Board of Adjustment’s recent rejection of a seven-turbine wind farm. I am for many reasons baffled and disheartened by your statements, and ask for a few moments of your time to consider my words.
I am the lead instructor at Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) for the Wind Energy Technology program, a 2-year associate degree for aspiring wind turbine technicians. It is the only such program in the state, and we have worked very hard to make LTC nationally-recognized for its efforts in promoting conservation and renewable energy. Our 65 kW wind turbine started producing electricity for the campus in August of 2004, and nearly 30 students have climbed the tower since then. Two more wind turbines will be erected at LTC by 2010. Construction for the first will begin in just a few months.
As a state-certified master electrician and technical college instructor, I have a strong interest in keeping jobs at home. Promoting renewable energy in Wisconsin encourages conservation, efficiency and environmental stewardship. It also opens an exciting new market for a plethora of “green” jobs in the commercial, industrial, agricultural, and residential sectors. I work with the Department of Commerce, International Association of Electrical Inspectors, Wisconsin Distributed Resources Collaborative, and the Rural Energy Management Council to provide training for electricians in renewable energy. These classes and seminars fill up quickly and are in high demand statewide.
Manitowoc supports wind power in many respects. Companies like Tower Tech and Manitowoc Crane are prospering because of their connections to the wind industry. Orion Energy Systems recently obtained a permit from the City of Manitowoc to erect a large wind turbine at their new facility, and Manitowoc Public Utilities will likely be adding wind power to their energy portfolio. It’s ironic that this county, while supporting wind energy in so many ways, has also become notorious for writing ordinances that may as well say “no wind turbines allowed.”
I was a member of the Manitowoc County Wind Energy Systems Advisory Committee from 2005-2006. I had been asked by the County Board Chair to join this committee because of my experience with wind systems and my position at LTC. I accepted, believing naively that simple education was the remedy to the controversy. I thought the committee would only need certain fears eased, myths dispelled, and questions answered.
Unfortunately my attempts to help the committee write a reasonable ordinance were thwarted by the relentless storytelling and fear-mongering tactics used by the WINDCOWS, the Manitowoc-based wind energy opposition group. I underestimated their passion and dedication to the cause of essentially outlawing wind energy. As a result, the group created unrealistic and highly restrictive ordinances for wind farms, as well as small, privately-owned systems.
My defeat was both frustrating and inspiring. I dove into energy policy and legislation, and I am now president of the board of directors for RENEW Wisconsin. As you know, RENEW is a Madison-based, nonprofit organization that promotes clean energy. We have been working diligently on a statewide siting campaign that will hopefully end these expensive and extravagant local battles. (This 7-turbine project has been debated for nearly five years!) We have strong support from a wide variety of stakeholders and are confident that the legislation for uniform siting will pass this year.
Please believe our intent is in no way to belittle local communities or imply that anyone is “dumb,” as you stated in the article. But when irrational and unfounded fears are propagated and allowed to infest the minds of our local decision-makers, the madness must be stopped. I honestly don’t understand why the WINDCOWS and their allies hate wind power… Money? Aesthetics? I quit trying to rationalize it long ago because it really doesn’t matter.
State Statute 66.0401 outlines local governments’ authority to restrict wind and solar energy systems. Those opposed to a project must prove legitimate health and safety concerns. That’s hard to do, considering no civilian has ever been physically harmed by a wind turbine. Therefore, anecdotal tales of “wind turbine syndrome” run rampant on anti-wind websites, but the “evidence” is nothing more than a conglomeration of exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright fabrications.
Wisconsin currently has a renewable energy portfolio standard of 10% by 2015, and Governor Doyle is recommending 25% by 2025. The recent extension of the federal production tax credit emphasizes our commitment to make renewable energy systems cost-competitive with the highly subsidized world of traditional electrical generation.
I have lived in northeast Wisconsin my whole life, and I plan to stay and remain politically active. I hope you will reconsider your views on wind power here in our own back yard. The fuel is clean, renewable, abundant, and free. The concept is simple and the technology is readily available. Wind turbines are beautiful! They represent ingenuity, wisdom, forward-thinking, sustainability, and energy independence.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my views. I would be happy to speak with you more on this subject if and when you are interested.
Sincerely,
Jenny Heinzen
by jboullion | Jan 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2009
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Manitowoc County Says “No Can Do” to Windpower Project
The Manitowoc County Board of Adjustment rejected earlier this week a developer’s request for approval to build a seven-turbine wind project west of Two Rivers. The decision marks the latest setback in the project developer’s four-year-long quest to erect a community-scale wind project in the Town of Mishicot.
By contrast, the project developer, Emerging Energies LLP, recently secured a permit to erect eight turbines in the Town of Glenmore in Brown County, about 15 miles from Mishicot.
Under development since 2004, the Mishicot Wind Farm is strongly supported by Wisconsin-based environmental and clean energy groups, including RENEW Wisconsin.
“The Board’s rejection of the Mishicot Wind Farm is certain to send a chill through every Wisconsin developer seeking to construct a community-scale wind project here,” said RENEW Wisconsin Executive Director Michael Vickerman,
Blessed with some of the state’s strongest winds, Manitowoc County adopted a wind ordinance in 2004. Emerging Energies first proposed the Mishicot project in 2005. Progress since that time has been slowed by a countywide moratorium on wind development and the subsequent adoption of one of the most restrictive wind ordinances in Wisconsin.
Among these features is a minimum setback requirement of 1,000 feet from a turbine to a property line. In contrast, Emerging Energies’ permit in the Town of Glenmore specifies a setback of 1.1 times the total turbine height from property lines and public rights-of-way. The total height of a commercial wind turbine–tower plus vertically extended blade–ranges between 350 and 450 feet.
“Suffice it to say that if every jurisdiction adopted Manitowoc County’s setback standards, there would not be a single commercial wind project operating in Wisconsin right now,” Vickerman said.
As part of its application, Emerging Energies offered to provide an annual payment of $77,000 to be allocated equally among the county, the town, and neighboring residences living up to ½ mile away from a turbine. Over a 30-year operating life, the developer’s offer would pump $2.31 million directly into the local economy.
“The irony here is that Manitowoc County has prospered more from wind energy’s rapid expansion in recent years than any other county in Wisconsin,” Vickerman said. “The project site is 15 miles away from a turbine tower fabricating plant (Tower Tech) and a company that manufactures specialty cranes for wind farm construction (Manitowoc Crane Group).
“As a result of the global recession, wind component manufacturers are seeing a slowdown in orders. It is not unreasonable to believe that both Manitowoc companies could use the work,” Vickerman added.
Under Wisconsin’s renewable energy law, 10% of Wisconsin’s electricity must be generated by qualifying energy sources by 2015. RENEW estimates that windpower will contribute more than 75% of that electricity. In the past 12 months alone, 251 utility-scale turbines were installed across Wisconsin totaling 396 megawatts, expanding wind generating capacity by a factor of eight.
Yet a half-dozen projects totaling 600 megawatts of planned wind capacity in Wisconsin, from Grant County in the southwest to Kewaunee County in the northeast, have run into roadblocks, mostly from restrictive ordinances designed to thwart development.
“What happened in Manitowoc County is not an isolated phenomenon,” Vickerman said. “However, the county’s decision to reject the Mishicot project is at odds with state energy policy, which not only favors renewable energy development but also prohibits local jurisdictions from saying no to wind projects except to protect public health and safety.
“If we are serious about preventing local governments from arbitrarily exercising veto power over responsibly designed wind projects, then we have to change the law. Nothing else has worked so far.” Vickerman added.
–END–
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
by jboullion | Jan 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
A column by Mike Nichols in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel seems to present an either/or dicotomy between wind-generated electricity and digester-generated electricity. Nichols wrote:
This is something to ponder as we head into a new year – and a new era. We are developing huge wind farms in Wisconsin. People are talking about setting turbines out on our Great Lakes. Breaking wind could be the key to the future. The only question now is “What kind?”
Do we harness our skies or our pies?
The Journal Sentinel published the following response from RENEW’s executive director Michael Vickerman:
The statement that Wisconsin can generate more electricity from manure than from windpower is not supported by the numbers.
To make biogas from manure, a dairy farm operator has to keep the cows inside and under a roof at all times. Only in a confined setting is it possible to collect cow manure and break it down in an oxygen-free digester that results in methane. Of Wisconsin’s 1.3 million dairy cows, only one-eighth of them live in confined animal operations. The average dairy cow here is part of a small herd and spends a considerable amount of time in pasture.
As stated in the column, Wisconsin is well ahead of other states in capturing energy from dairy cow manure and generating electricity with it, and there is certainly room for growth. Bear in mind, however, that takes more than 2,000 dairy cows to produce enough methane to equal the output from one commercial wind turbine. Yes, Wisconsin now boasts about two dozen biogas generation systems attached to dairy farms. But compared with the output from the 251 wind turbines installed this year at four different projects, their electrical production is quite modest.
Though other locally available resources–solar, small hydro, woody fuels and biomethane—will certainly play a larger part in contributing to Wisconsin’s electricity mix, wind energy will remain the renewable energy workhorse for the foreseeable future.
Finally, the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force recommended a raft of policies to achieve a renewable energy goal of 25% by 2025, no small undertaking I can assure you. If we are serious about achieving that goal, we must accept expanded contributions from all eligible resources. We do not have the luxury of playing favorites.
