by jboullion | Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Debbie Griffin in the River Falls Journal:
For the first time ever, River Falls made the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of top 21 Green Power Communities in the country. The city made number 10 to be exact, with a 5% participation rate and deriving 15% of its energy from renewable sources.
Not only is it River Falls’ first time on the list, but also it’s the first city in Wisconsin or the Midwest to make it.
River Falls Municipal Utilities Communication Coordinator Chris Blasius said RFMU has been eyeing the list for years, waiting to apply for the status if and when River Falls ever met the EPA’s criteria. The city hit that magic mark this year.
Blasius said the main thing that landed the city on the list is how much it spends on renewable energy.
by jboullion | Feb 3, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Chad Dally in The Daily Press (Ashland):
Municipalities around the Chequamegon Bay region have been awarded state funding for energy independence assessments as part of a pilot program for Gov. Jim Doyle’s 25×25 plan.
Doyle has set a non-binding goal for communities around the state to generate 25 percent of their energy and 25 percent of their transportation fuel from renewable sources by 2025.
So far, more than 70 municipalities have signed on to the 25×25 resolution, including several around the bay area. But current energy and fuel usage, and how to reach that 25 percent goal, remains cloudy. The Alliance for Sustainability will help eight municipalities and Bay Area Rural Transit with both. The municipalities include: the cities of Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn; the towns of Bayfield and LaPointe; Ashland and Bayfield counties; and the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
The Alliance will itself have help from “resource teams” from the state’s Office of Energy Independence and agents from UW-Extension in both Ashland and Bayfield counties, said Kelly Randleman, office assistant for the Alliance.
The first task for the $60,000 award will be to establish a baseline assessment for each municipality to determine how much work needs to be done toward the 25×25 goal. That means meeting with representatives from each municipality to get an inventory on their “fleets and facilities,” Randleman said. Energy consumption in municipal buildings, street lights and other areas under public control would be studied, along with fuel consumption for municipalities’ vehicle fleets and what type of fuel is used in each vehicle.
While one end of the assessment studies consumption, another will examine renewable resource potential in the region, Randleman said.
by jboullion | Jan 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly, RENEW Wisconsin’s newsletter, features these articles:
+ Rest in Peace: Cassville Generation Plant
+ Mississippi River Bird and Bat Study
+ Osceola School Heats Pools with Solar
+ Bob Ramlow: Solar Pioneer
+ Focus on Energy Issues Biogas Profiles
+ Focus on Energy Earns National Honor
+ State Plugs into Renewable Energy
by jboullion | Jan 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly, RENEW Wisconsin’s newsletter, features these articles:
+ Rest in Peace: Cassville Generation Plant
+ Mississippi River Bird and Bat Study
+ Osceola School Heats Pools with Solar
+ Bob Ramlow: Solar Pioneer
+ Focus on Energy Issues Biogas Profiles
+ Focus on Energy Earns National Honor
+ State Plugs into Renewable Energy
by jboullion | Jan 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Wisconsin Renewable Quarterly, RENEW Wisconsin’s newsletter, features these articles:
+ Rest in Peace: Cassville Generation Plant
+ Mississippi River Bird and Bat Study
+ Osceola School Heats Pools with Solar
+ Bob Ramlow: Solar Pioneer
+ Focus on Energy Issues Biogas Profiles
+ Focus on Energy Earns National Honor
+ State Plugs into Renewable Energy