by jboullion | Sep 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
September 27, 2010
One of the abiding pleasures of my job at RENEW Wisconsin is going out into the field to visit renewable energy installations. Many of the systems sprouting across the state owe their existence to state and federal policies that make these systems economically viable to their owners.
In turn, some of those policies owe their existence to RENEW, an advocacy organization that has elevated the Wisconsin renewable energy marketplace from a dreamy aspiration to a thriving marketplace employing hundreds of people and generating millions of dollars a year in local revenues.
Whenever I’m asked to describe our mission, I often say that we act as a catalyst for advancing a sustainable energy future in Wisconsin. Our vision of that future places small, entrepreneurial companies at the center of the transition toward clean, locally available energy resources that do not deplete over time.
RENEW endeavors to steer Wisconsin along this path through policy mechanisms that help renewable energy businesses establish themselves in an economy that for many decades has operated almost exclusively on fossil energy. Because of that dependence on concentrated energy sources like coal, natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons, which are still priced very cheaply, the shift to renewable energy has been an uphill battle. The incumbent energy sources are well-entrenched and will not hesitate to expend significant political capital to block policy initiatives aimed at putting renewable energy on a more equal playing field.
At RENEW’s urging, the State of Wisconsin has taken a few measured policy steps to carve out some room for renewable energy. The most important of these initiatives is a statewide incentives program (Focus on Energy) for small-scale renewable energy systems. Though most of Focus on Energy’s budget is set aside for energy conservation and efficiency, about $10 million a year is reserved for customer-sited renewable energy systems such as solar hot water, solar electric, biogas, biomass heating, and small wind.
This program, coupled with several voluntary utility initiatives, has elevated Wisconsin into a regional showcase for renewable energy systems serving dairy farms, cattle farms, orchards, greenhouses, breweries, cheese producers, corporate campuses, apartment buildings, municipal wastewater facilities, schools and technical colleges, and manufacturers.
The policy seeds planted 10 years ago are yielding an impressive crop of installations this year, broadly distributed throughout the state. As important as these policies are, however, these systems don’t get built unless someone decides to spend dollars today to receive a decades-long supply of energy tomorrow. We at RENEW would like to give a shout-out to the owners and installers of this year’s bumper crop of home-grown renewable energy, including:
The City of Evansville, for hosting a 100 kilowatt (kW) Northwind turbine to serve its wastewater treatment plant. Installer: H &H Solar, Madison.
Stonehouse Development, for building two Green Built apartment houses in the Madison area, each with 60 kilowatts of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar water heating systems. Installers: Full Spectrum Solar, Madison (PV); Cardinal Solar, Sun Prairie, solar hot water.
Random Lake School District, for hosting a 50 kW Endurance wind turbine on the high school grounds. Installer: Kettle View Renewable Energy, Random Lake.
Fountain Prairie Inn and Farms, in Columbia County, for hosting a 50 kW Endurance wind turbine to serve its sustainable family farm. Installer: Seventh Generation Energy Systems, Madison.
SCA Tissue, Menasha, for hosting four 20 kW Renewegy wind turbines at one of its facilities. Manufacturer and installer: Renewegy, Oshkosh.
Milwaukee Area Technical College, for building the state’s largest PV system, to be used as a training center. The system is rated at 540 kW. Contractor: Johnson Controls, Milwaukee; Installer: Pieper Power, Milwaukee.
Montchevré-Betin, Belmont, a producer of goat cheese, for upgrading its wastewater treatment capacity with an anaerobic digester and 335 kW generator. Contractor: Procorp, Milwaukee. System owner: Clear Horizons, Milwaukee.
I urge the citizens of Wisconsin to go out and see for themselves how fertile the territory is here for home-grown renewable energy. As you observe these installations out in the landscape, delivering clean energy year after year to the local area, you begin to appreciate the totality of benefits that these systems yield. If you talk to system owners or installers, you will feel their passion and soak in the positive energy that comes from being part of this growing community. They are, along with the installations themselves, the most persuasive advocates for extending and strengthening Wisconsin’s clean energy policies. They not only represent today’s jobs and business opportunities, but also tomorrow’s hope.
by jboullion | Sep 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by B.C. Kowalski in the Stevens Point Journal:
As visitors from Stevens Point’s Russian sister city, Rostov Veliky, leave today, they’ll take with them a message of environmentalism.
That was the focus of a weeklong stay for Rostov Veliky Mayor Yuri Aleksandrovitch Boiko and four others as they traveled through Stevens Point.
Boiko said Stevens Point could serve as a good example of environmental consciousness for Rostov Veliky.
“The one thing that is really unique is the way Stevens Point residents respect nature, the way they relate to the environment,” Boiko said through an interpreter. “What is really cool is that everyone seems to care about nature, from the young and old.”
The Rostov Veliky delegation met with various groups related to the environment, including Trout Unlimited, a number of farms, a lake management roundtable and a watershed group from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Boiko said he will take a number of environmental ideas back to Rostov Veliky. Of the 14 he listed in his journal, Boiko mentioned installing a solar panel at Liberty Park, buying an electric car for Rostov Veliky’s stadium and creating an environmental youth group that would focus on Nero Lake.
by jboullion | Sep 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
It was five years ago that renewable energy proponents dubbed this Wisconsin’s Solar Decade – the 10 years that would move solar energy from the fringe to the mainstream.
In 2010, solar remains a fraction of the state’s energy mix, but it’s growing. And with it, interest is intensifying in manufacturing products for the solar industry.
As solar advocates prepare to host industry conferences this week, the solar industry is installing larger projects, and the cost per project is shrinking.
“It’s not getting sunnier in Wisconsin, but prices are coming down and rates are going up,” said Niels Wolter, solar electric program manager at Focus on Energy, the statewide energy efficiency initiative that provides incentives for renewable energy installations.
So far this year, the typical cost of a solar-electric system installed at a business with the help of Focus on Energy incentives has fallen 13% from a year ago. The price of these same systems installed on homes has fallen by 7%.
“We’re seeing that it may cost $6,000 to $9,000 to install a solar hot water system on a home, and the payback may be around 12 to 14 years,” said Amy Heart, Milwaukee solar coach and head of Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s Milwaukee office.
A solar-electric, or photovoltaic, system may cost $15,000, but it has a payback of about 10 years, she said.
The main hurdle to broader deployment of solar remains the high upfront cost, as well as the complexity of the incentives available to bring down the cost, Wolter said.
In recent months, though, attention to solar has intensified in the area:
• Construction started this summer on the state’s first solar panel factory, Helios USA, in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley. Helios expects to employ 50 people by next summer.
“That’s a good sign for Wisconsin, that there are going to be some jobs here on the manufacturing side in addition to the installation side of things,” said Carl Siegrist, senior renewable energy strategist at Milwaukee utility company We Energies.
• The largest solar project to date in the state opened in Milwaukee. It’s the Milwaukee Area Technical College PV Educational Laboratory, generating more than 500 kilowatts of power, all with the aim of training students for careers in renewable energy.
• The number of businesses engaged in solar is increasing. Two years ago, seven companies were installing solar in a 20-mile radius of Milwaukee. This year, that number has more than tripled, to 24.
by jboullion | Sep 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a column by Gregg Hoffman on WisBusiness.com:
Contrary to stereotypes of the gloomy, cloudy Midwest, Milwaukee, and Wisconsin in general, are very conducive to effective use of solar energy, and in fact have developed into leaders in the country in that field.
That fact will be highlighted during Milwaukee Solar Week, Sept. 28-Oct. 2. Milwaukee Shines, the city of Milwaukee’s solar program, will team with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and other organizations and businesses to showcase renewable energy successes and opportunities during the week.
We Energies and Focus on Energy also are hosting solar events during the week. Milwaukee Shines is coordinating the week.
“The city is fortunate to be hosting two premier professional solar conferences, which will highlight all Milwaukee has to offer a growing solar market,” said Matt Howard, director of Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability.
Professionals and the general public will both find things of interest during the week.
“Milwaukee Solar Week has something for everyone,” said Amy Heart, Milwaukee’s Solar Coach and MREA’s Milwaukee Director. “This is a perfect chance to get information on installing solar on your home, find out how to get in the solar business or establish business connections in this growing industry.”
Heart emphasized that Milwaukee and Wisconsin do get an average of 4 ½ hours of sunlight per day. “That’s more than Germany, and Germany is an energy exporter,” she added.
by jboullion | Sep 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Stevens Point Journal:
The front design for the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum new site at 1100 Main St. will blend in with the surrounding older buildings.
On Wednesday, the Stevens Point Historic Preservation/Design Review Commission approved the design by Arc Central, the architectural and design firm working on the renovations.
The Main Street front is part of an ongoing project to move the Children’s Museum from the CenterPoint MarketPlace to its new location in what was called “The Connection.” Because it is in the Main Street Historic District, the Main Street side of the building needed to be approved by the city commission.
Jim Lucas, project designer with Arc Central, said the idea was to “capture the flavor of downtown.”
The museum’s front also will have solar panels to collect light for the museum. The museum will sell back the excess energy to Wisconsin Public Service.
The museum will use the panels to teach children about alternative energy in a hands-on manner.
