by jboullion | Apr 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Chicago Tribune:
MADISON, Wis.— A poll of Wisconsin residents finds strong support for increasing the use of wind energy, even if doing so would raise electricity bills several dollars per month.
The Wisconsin Public Radio poll was released Friday. It shows that 77 percent of respondents want to see the state invest more in wind energy. Reasons included decreasing the nation’s reliance on foreign oil and helping the environment.
A majority, 69 percent, wouldn’t mind eight to 10 wind-energy machines being placed closed to where they live, and 79 percent favor placing the machines offshore in Lake Michigan.
Click here for poll results.
by jboullion | Apr 21, 2011 | Uncategorized
A news release from Dairyland Power:
Dairyland Power Cooperative and Oakdale Electric Cooperative collaborate on installation
NECEDAH, WI— Dairyland Power Cooperative and one of its 25 member cooperatives, Oakdale Electric Cooperative, have collaborated with the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to help bring renewable energy to area homes and businesses via a solar project on the Refuge’s Visitor Center.
The new Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is a state-of-the-art energy efficient facility featuring a 46 kilowatt photovoltaic array (solar system). The solar system was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Refuge also features an interactive
display on solar-powered energy at the visitor center as part of its environmental education programming.
“It has been great to work cooperatively with the Refuge on a sustainable, renewable technology that benefits the environment,” said Bruce Ardelt, General Manager, Oakdale Electric Cooperative. “We support a variety of renewable energy projects by interconnecting to distributed generation resources such as this solar unit, and are very pleased to see this project at completion.”
Dairyland has a power purchase agreement with the Necedah Refuge to buy all the renewable energy produced through the solar installation for distribution to cooperative members through Dairyland’s Evergreen program. Therefore, the renewable energy generated at the refuge ultimately helps power the homes and businesses in the region. The Necedah Refuge is a member of Oakdale Electric Cooperative, which provided electrical transmission interconnection to the solar project.
Evergreen is Dairyland’s renewable energy “green power” program. Supporting Evergreen is an ideal option for cooperative members who want to do more to preserve the environment and promote the growth of renewable energy generation. Dairyland’s diverse portfolio of renewables includes hydro, wind, biomass, landfill gas, cow manure digesters and solar.
A grand opening event for the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center is being held on Saturday, April 30. For more information, see www.fws.gov/midwest/necedah.
With headquarters in La Crosse, Wis., Dairyland provides wholesale electricity to Oakdale Electric Cooperative and 24 other member distribution cooperatives and 16 municipal utilities in four states
(Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois). Dairyland’s generation resources include coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, landfill gas, solar and animal waste. For more information, please visit http://www.dairynet.com/.
Photo courtesy of the Necedah Wildlife Refuge.
by jboullion | Apr 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dan Piller in the the Des Moises (Iowa) Register:
State grants West Branch wind facility $3 million
The Iowa Power Fund on Thursday awarded Acciona Wind Energy a $3 million grant to help finance a $19.9 million demonstration project near Mechanicsville that will show off Acciona’s new three-megawatt wind energy system.
“One tower will be steel and the other concrete. We’ve had requests for both,” said Joe Baker, president of Acciona’s plant at West Branch.
The four-year-old West Branch operation makes the nacelles, or the box behind the blade that houses the gears and generation capacity.
Acciona has focused on building 1.5-megawatt wind systems, but the larger units are becoming more standard in the industry, Baker said.
MidAmerican Energy’s wind farms in west-central Iowa have three-megawatt turbines.
“Within seven to 10 years most of the wind turbines will be three megawatts,” he said. A megawatt of electricity can power 200 to 500 standard-sized homes.
Iowa has 3,675 megawatts of wind generation capacity, ranking second behind Texas in total capacity and first as a percentage of its total electricity generation capacity
Acciona is a century-old Spanish company with roots in construction and water treatment. The West Branch facility, opened in 2007, is its only U.S. wind equipment factory, but Acciona operates five wind farms in Illinois, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.
From an article by Laurenne Ramsdell on Fosters.com:
Goss in Durham (MA) delivers first turbine to Chicago-area
DURHAM — Goss International unveiled its newly developed wind turbine components to area officials and state representatives on Thursday morning.
Goss, primarily a printing press company, has worked throughout the past year with Aeronautica Windpower, a Massachusetts-based licensing company, to cross train employees in order to produce the massive turbines.
According to Greg Norris, marketing communications manager for Goss, the first wind turbine that Goss has manufactured will be ready for shipment to Illinois next week. Norris said the eco-friendly equipment will be delivered to Testa Produce, a Chicago-based wholesale produce distributor.
Norris stressed the turbines are midscale electromechanical pieces of equipment that will be used for warehouses, farms, schools and universities, factories, small housing developments and an array of commercial sites.
Those who attended the update session had the opportunity to tour the area of Goss where the 750 kilowatt and 225 kilowatt machines are being manufactured. Wearing safety goggles, the representatives stood in awe at the size and power of the turbines being created.
As of Thursday, the 750 kilowatt turbine going to Illinois was in pieces for shipping purposes. Once the pieces are assembled, the machine is comparable in size to a small school bus.
by jboullion | Apr 19, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the La Crosse Tribune:
A year ago Wednesday, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 men and spewing 172 million gallons of oil in the ocean.
While we remember images of spewing oil and blackened beaches, nature has shown her remarkable resiliency, despite man’s best attempts at despoiling her.
A report by more than three dozen scientists grade the Gulf’s health as a 68 on a 100-point scale, which is slightly below the grade of 71 they gave the Gulf prior to the spill. While beaches are open as tourism returns to normal, there are still long-term environmental concerns such as hundreds of young dolphins dying and dead spots on the sea floor.
Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Associated Press that the Gulf is “much better than people feared, but the jury is out about what the end result will be. It’s premature that things are good.”
It also will be a while before there are tougher environmental and safety rules regulating the offshore drilling industry. The New York Times published a story Monday that said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has much work to do before more rigid rules can be put into place.
There’s certainly plenty of pressure from the oil and gas industry to resume deep-water drilling. A moratorium on new deep-water drilling was lifted in October, and the Interior Department has approved 10 permits and 15 others are pending, the Times said. The House of Representatives has three bills pending that would speed up permit approval and open new areas for drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as easing environmental rules off the Alaska shores.
Our country has an insatiable need for oil but fails to have a comprehensive federal energy policy to wean our dependence on fossil fuel.
