by jboullion | Apr 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
Unlike Wisconsin, Iowa welcomes companies in the wind energy industry, according to this 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.
by jboullion | Apr 15, 2011 | Uncategorized
Viroqua NewenHouse Earth Day OpenHouse
On Earth Day, Friday April 22, Madison Environmental Group, Inc. will be celebrating in Viroqua, WI at the Newenhouse kit home under construction. There will be tours of the home every hour, cake, old time music, and good times. This is a family friendly FREE event, from 2-6pm. NewenHouse kit homes will provide super insulated, small, sustainable homes for people who want to live lightly on the earth. The homes are designed to be Passive House and LEED Platinum certified. NewenHouses will not need a furnace, even in Wisconsin winters. You can follow Sonya’s BLOG about the building process on the website of Natural Home Magazine or view an article about the project here.
We will be serving the Driftless region’s infamous Maple Lattes with Kickapoo Coffee, Maple Valley Syrup and Organic Valley cream! Combine this event with an afternoon in Viroqua to visit the Main Street local shops, the Viroqua food coop, and eat at the Driftless Café. Directions to the Newenhouse OpenHouse 422 Hickory Street (2 hours NW of Madison). RSVP’s appreciated.
by jboullion | Apr 13, 2011 | Uncategorized
While Wisconsin officials drive wind energy development out of the Badger state, next-door Iowa leads, according to anarticle by Dan Piller in the Des Moines Register:
About 15 percent of Iowa’s electricity generation capacity now comes from wind, maintaining the state’s national leadership in figures released Thursday by the American Wind Energy Association.
With a major expansion by MidAmerican Energy, Iowa stands to rise to 20 percent this year.
“That’s a percentage close to what we see in Europe, and it’s exciting,” said Jessica Isaacs, senior analyst with the wind association.
Iowa still ranks second nationally in wind capacity with 3,675 megawatts, behind Texas’ 10,085 megawatts but still ahead of California’s 3,177.
Because of Texas’ larger electricity grid, Iowa’s 15 percent of total capacity coming from wind exceeds Texas’ 7.8 percent percentage of wind to total electricity.
Iowa’s total will grow this year with the addition of 593 megawatts by MidAmerican in Calhoun, Cass, Adams, Adair and Marshall counties.
The expansions will bring Des Moines-based MidAmerican to 2,316 megawatts of capacity, the largest utility-owned and operated wind generation portfolio among investor-owned utilities.
by jboullion | Apr 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an editorial in the Sheboygan Press:
President Barack Obama has twice in the last year called for the nation to reduce its dependence of foreign oil by embarking on a multi-faceted plan on energy.
Obama’s first call for energy independence was followed less than a month later by the Deep Water Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
We hope that the president’s latest energy initiative is followed not by a disaster, but by a commitment from Congress to develop a national energy policy. A commitment from the American people to be receptive of alternative energy sources would be nice, too. . . .
Until recently, we thought Wisconsin was poised to become a leader in helping the nation reach that goal.
Wind power was one area where Wisconsin was setting the pace.
The state had sensible rules on where wind turbines could be located in relation to residential properties and the state was on its way toward making progress on using this renewable energy resource. But those rules are on hold and are likely to be changed to the point where it will be impractical for companies interested in locating wind farms to do business in Wisconsin.
This is not only shortsighted in development of renewable energy sources, it is also a job-killer because the companies that now make wind turbines in Wisconsin are already talking about relocating to states where wind power is welcomed.
The easy thing to do is to keep relying on oil and coal to power our cars and heat our homes. The wise thing is to develop a long-range plan that relies on renewable energy.
by jboullion | Apr 7, 2011 | Uncategorized
A Fox Valley person provided a copy of the following letter to RENEW Wisconsin:
People of Glenmore Township:
PLEASE VOTE RESPONSIBLY!
Dear Fellow Townspeople,
Two months ago, I was a supporter of the BCCRWE [Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy]. I was actively opposing the wind turbines coming into any of the townships in our area, including Glenmore.
But then something happened.
As the March 7th meeting drew closer, I heard disturbing things from members of the BCCRWE. Things that scared me. Even before the meeting took place, there were threats being made towards our town board members if the vote did not go in the favor of the BCCRWE. There were “agendas” being planned, and conspiracies being formed, not only against the project, but against individual people.
On March 7th, I sat quietly through the meeting listening to barbaric accusations, foul language, curses and threats hurled at our town board. Members of the BCCRWE shouted inappropriate and belittling comments and became unruly and disruptive to the point that law enforcement needed to be called. Later, I read accounts of that same meeting, written by the BCCRWE, that were horribly distorted and inaccurate. Actually, they were straight out lies!
On March 16th, I sat through another meeting and watched the same unruly group, once again, disrespect our town leaders. As the members of the BCCRWE were chanting “Shame on you” to the town board, I was the one that was ashamed to have ever been a part of that group.
On April 5th, you have an opportunity to elect new town board members. Many of the candidates are the same people who threatened and disrespected our current board members for following the law. One candidate admitted, her only goal was to terminate wind turbines in the town and then she wants out. Is that the chairperson you want running the entire township? Even for one term?
The recent events of oil spills in the gulf and nuclear plant failures in Japan should make all of us take a second look at wind energy. I realized after the two meetings in March, that the only reason I didn’t want turbines, was because I couldn’t have on of my own. So, I’m a NIMBY.
It’s important, that we have “responsible” leaders in our township. The mob I witnessed at the last two meetings, did not fit that definition. It would be a disaster to have those people who demonstrated irrational, biased and disorderly behavior, become our new leaders. I was embarrassed to have ever been a part of that group.
Since I have seen how threatening and dangerous this group can be, I prefer to sign only as,
A Concerned Townsperson
