by jboullion | Sep 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
More than a year after it was shut down, the Domtar paper mill in Port Edwards continues to attract attention from those who want to use the site.
After issuing a reuse strategy in April that details proposed plans for the facility should the Canadian-based papermaker decide to sell it, village officials and local economic development leaders began receiving more inquiries about the property.
“Within the last couple of months, there have been about five (inquiries),” said Melissa Loken, economic development director for the Heart of Wisconsin Business Alliance. “Domtar is drawing more attention than a normal site.”
Several of the roughly 30 parties that expressed interest since the mill shut down in June 2007 produce biofuels or other renewable energy products, such as solar panels, Loken said. Although those companies want their identities to remain confidential, several others were made public this week for the first time when south Wood County municipal officials submitted a federal stimulus grant application for a proposed Highway 54 bypass and bridge.
Onalaska-based Mathy Construction Co. has expressed interest in using part of the site for the storage of its petroleum products and possibly biofuels, Port Edwards Village Administrator Joe Terry said.
“The other thing that interested them is the concept of purchasing lower-grade waste heat from any of the neighboring facilities,” Terry said.
Innovolis, a local alternative energy producer that, according to its Web site, uses tidal and river currents to generate power, also has expressed interest in using the site, as have University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point researchers, who are investigating the possible development of an $8 million experimental biorefinery.
by jboullion | Sep 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release posted on Yahoo!Finance:
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE: KSS – News) will be named Green Power Partner of the Year during the annual Green Power Leadership Awards held Monday, Sept. 14 in Atlanta, Ga. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Center for Resource Solutions (CRS), the Green Power Leadership Awards recognize the actions of organizations, programs and individuals that significantly advance the development of green power resources in three categories: on-site generation, green power purchase and Partner of the Year.
“To receive the Green Power Partner of the Year Award is a tremendous honor,” said Ken Bonning, Kohl’s executive vice president of store planning and logistics. “Since joining the Green Power Partnership in 2006, Kohl’s has continually demonstrated our support of green power through increasing our purchase of renewable energy credits, expanding our solar initiative and implementing strategies to manage our energy usage in an environmentally responsible way. We strive to set an example of how a business can consistently implement and explore sustainable solutions that make sense for the bottom line, the environment and the communities we serve.”
This is the third consecutive year Kohl’s will receive a Green Power Leadership Award, earning recognition for green power purchase in 2007 and on-site generation in 2008. This is Kohl’s first time receiving the Green Power Partner of the Year Award, which recognizes four EPA Green Power Partners annually who distinguish themselves through their green power purchases, leadership, overall strategy and impact on the green power market. . . .
Kohl’s currently ranks second in retail, fourth overall and fourth among Fortune 500 companies on EPA’s list of top Green Power Purchasers with a 2009 green power purchase of 600,990,000 kWh – more than double Kohl’s previous green power commitment and enough to meet 50 percent of the company’s purchased electricity use. According to U.S. EPA, Kohl’s green power purchase of 601 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding carbon dioxide emissions of more than 79,000 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 60,000 average American homes annually.
by jboullion | Sep 15, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
Summer’s done? Already?
Despite its late date, Labor Day weekend kind of snuck up on the Wisconsin Rapids area this year. One reason: Cooler weather often made the warmest of seasons tough to recognize.
Still, with one last long holiday weekend and the unofficial end of summer to enjoy, it’s hard to complain — especially with the kickoff of local high school sports and the start of the college and professional football season.
Here are few more reasons to be thankful while relaxing, or contemplating all the yard work that needs to be done.
Seen what Mid-State Technical College has been doing lately? The school based in Grand Rapids is working to expand its five renewable energy programs.
This will be an important field in the coming years, as government and businesses work to “go green” for economic and environmental reasons.
Employers will need qualified workers in these burgeoning sectors, and it’s encouraging to see a local institution like Mid-State leading the way.
The college has been working with Energy Composites Corp. on a training program for future employees of the company, which plans to add at least 400 jobs to Wisconsin Rapids with a wind energy component plant.
In addition to Mid-State’s renewable thermal energy, renewable electricity and bio-refinery technology programs that began a year ago, the school’s renewable energy specialist and energy conservation specialist programs started up this week.
U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau, was in town Monday to check up on the programs for which he helped secure $428,000 in President Barack Obama’s 2009-10 budget.
The future looks bright if Wisconsin Rapids can build upon the solid base educational institutions like Mid-State and companies like Energy Composites are building. . . .
by jboullion | Sep 14, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by KJ Lang in the La Crosse Tribune:
Technical colleges in Wisconsin and nationwide are adapting to train workers for “green jobs” as the commitment to a sustainable future ramps up in the U.S.
Students are learning how to install solar panels and wind turbines, produce biofuels and do other work in renewable energy fields.
“We are really an important link to making sure the workforce matches this developing area and our country’s transformation to alternative energy,” said Dan Clancy, president and state director of the Wisconsin Technical College System.
While some schools within the Wisconsin Technical College System have developed new programs to respond to the trend, most simply folded renewable energy and sustainability concepts into existing classes, said Clancy.
The colleges also have been careful to tailor green programs to communities in which an economic opportunity already exists.
Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis., started a wind energy technology program and built a small commercial wind turbine to take advantage of its prime wind energy location along Lake Michigan.
Western Technical College has no new renewable energy or sustainability programs, but several programs are growing greener, said Bill Brendel, dean of agriculture apprenticeship and technology at Western.
Student electricians now learn about solar energy, while the heating and air conditioning programs include information about geothermal energy. Automotive students can get lessons on biofuel or hybrid electric vehicles.
Western also is considering creating a certificate in renewable energy in conjunction with Madison Area Technical College, said Brendel.
Brendel compares the current shift to renewable energy and green alternatives to the 1970s growth in computer-related jobs.
by jboullion | Sep 9, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
With renewable energy becoming an increasingly popular topic across the country, central Wisconsin leaders hope to be on the cutting edge as demand grows.
Mid-State Technical College classes have begun for two new renewable energy programs, and three others already were in place. Demand is fueling the need for a sustainable/renewable energy training center at the school’s Wisconsin Rapids campus, officials said.
“This is a really solid start,” Mid-State President John Clark said Monday during a meeting with U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wausau. “We’re hoping (others) will be using this as a pattern for future projects.”
Leaders hope to use a $428,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, which Obey earmarked within President Barack Obama’s $410 billion budget bill earlier this year, to purchase solar panels, wind turbines and other lab equipment.
Mid-State also is working with leaders at Energy Composites Corp. in Wisconsin Rapids and the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board to develop a first-of-its-kind curriculum for wind-energy and composites training, an endeavor for which the board recently garnered a $100,000 grant from the state Department of Workforce Development.
Energy Composites continues its efforts to obtain LEED Platinum certification for its planned 350,000-square-foot manufacturing plant that will produce blades for industrial wind turbines in Wisconsin Rapids, President Jamie Mancl said.
“We’re trying to put everything together,” Mancl said Tuesday, after a closed session meeting with the Wisconsin Rapids Common Council to discuss the company developer’s agreement with the city. “It’s going to take some time, but we’re still on schedule.”
Energy Composites isn’t the only company that has been working on such a certification.
The Mead Wildlife Area Education & Visitor Center, near Milladore, announced Wednesday it received LEED Platinum Green Building Certification status, the highest level of sustainable design.
