by jboullion | Jun 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
Two articles from Catching Wind, a newsletter published by RENEW Wisconsin with funding from a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy:
State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates
At the urging of Wisconsin utilities, several lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow a renewable energy credit (REC) to be banked indefinitely. If adopted, this measure (AB146) would constitute the most devastating legislative assault yet on the state’s renewable energy marketplace, which is already reeling from the suspension of the statewide wind siting rule this March and the loosening of renewable energy definitions to allow Wisconsin utilities to count electricity generated from large Canadian hydro projects toward their renewable energy requirements.
“Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support
Public support for wind energy development has held strong against the attacks launched by Governor Walker and the Legislature’s new Republican majority, according to a poll conducted between April 11 and April 18 by the St. Norbert College Survey Center for Wisconsin Public Radio.
Asked whether Wisconsin should “increase, decrease or continue with the same amount” of energy supply from various sources, 77% favored increasing wind power, the highest of any option (60% favored increasing hydropower, 54% biomass, 39% natural gas, 27% nuclear, and 19% coal).
by jboullion | Jun 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kathleen Foody in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — The long public debate over a proposed biomass power plant in Rothschild came to an end Monday when Domtar announced plans to move forward with the $255 million project.
The 50-megawatt power plant, a joint effort of Milwaukee utility We Energies and Domtar paper, is expected to burn 500,000 tons of the tops and limbs of trees left behind by traditional logging operations each year.
“(The final decision) puts … everything behind us,” Rothschild Village Board President George Peterson said. “We can move forward, We Energies and Domtar can move forward.”
We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said crews will begin working this week at the site adjacent to the existing Domtar mill on Business Highway 51 in Rothschild.
Manthey said We Energies still hopes to have the plant completed by the end of 2013, the eligibility deadline for federal tax credits. The facility also is part of We Energies’ plan to comply with state regulations requiring at least 8 percent of utilities’ sales to come from renewable energy by 2015.
by jboullion | May 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
From statements issued by three groups in opposition to Assembly Bill 146:
“Clearly, this bill is a drastic step in the wrong direction for our state. The Wisconsin Energy Business Association therefore opposes this attack on renewable energy in our state.” – Wisconsin Energy Business Association. Full statement.
We strongly recommend that this bill not be approved as it solves no known problem in Wisconsin and seeks only to roll-back policies on renewable energy that have served the state well and are otherwise benefitting Wisconsin residents with cleaner air and lower prices for electricity. – Wind on the Wires. Full statement.
Fresh attack on Wisconsin voters’ desire for a renewable energy standard would kill wind projects and sap state’s economy, say wind energy advocates – American Wind Energy Association. Full statement.
by jboullion | May 13, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
We Energies won final approval to build a $255 million biomass power plant in north-central Wisconsin Thursday.
The utility had wanted a decision this week to help it keep on target to complete construction by late 2013.
But the utility hasn’t decided whether it will proceed with the building the plant at this point. Utility spokesman Brian Manthey said We Energies and Domtar Corp., its partner in the project, are reviewing conditions that regulators attached to the deal – conditions that aim to bring down the overall cost of the project for utility customers.
The biomass plant at the Domtar paper mill in Rothschild is being proposed at a time when the utility has enough power to meet the needs of its customers but is required because of the state’s renewable portfolio standard.
That standard, adopted by the state Legislature in 2006, requires that 8.25% of We Energies’ power come from renewable sources by 2015.
If the project does not move forward, We Energies executives told investors last week they would want to have discussions with the Walker administration about alternatives, including a possible way of delaying the company’s compliance with the law.
There have been discussions of possible legislation that would help the utility delay the time frame for complying with the law, or it could take advantage of “off-ramps” built into the 2006 law that would allow it more time to comply.
by jboullion | Apr 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
This Earth Day falls a year and a day after one of the worst environmental disasters to hit the United States. The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig took the lives of 11 rig workers and released 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
What have we done with the lessons learned in that year? Not so much.
Still missing: a comprehensive energy policy that would significantly reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and place more reliance on alternative or renewable fuels.
There has been some improvement. Cleanup efforts continue, but most of the mess has been removed or has disappeared through evaporation or microbes. The disaster was extensive, but the damage turned out not to be quite as devastating as some expected (although not all of the victims have received full compensation and some effects will certainly linger).
Beaches are open again. Commercial and recreational fishing is back in action. Deep water drilling is probably safer than it was before the explosion; the federal government’s inspection program is tougher and more independent.
But critics say this all could happen again – that, in fact, another disaster is inevitable. That’s the risk of drilling in ocean waters. The feds recently approved the 10th deepwater drilling permit since the disaster.
Some of that is necessary in the short term. But in the long term, relying on fossil fuels is unsustainable.
