by jboullion | Apr 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by in the Thomah Journal-News:
A proposal to generate energy for solid waste by-products of the Ridgeville landfill site will be the subject of a special meeting of the Monroe County Board of Supervisors at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Sparta.
Gail Frei, Monroe County solid waste manager, will present the proposal at the session to be held in the courthouise annex meeting room.
Frei outlined the plan to make electricity from biogas at a meeting of the Solid Waste Committee in February. At the time, the committee approved $14,000 to begin initial planning for the program. Frei, who was Vernon County’s solid waste manager for 18 years, said there was a ready market for the electricity produced and the process would extend the life of the landfill.
As outlined, The Monroe County Landfill Gas-to-Energy/Food Waste Diversion Project is an environmentally proactive landfill gas management project designed to reduce the amount of methane gas released to the environment by the landfill, process specific food waste outside the landfill to create biogas, and use those gas products for constructive purposes. Frei said the project would reduce landfill odors from decomposing food waste, extend the life of the landfill, and develop a new revenue source (sale of electricity) to pay a capital cost loan. After the loan is repaid, the revenue would be used to offset landfill costs, which means anyone using the landfill will share in the benefits.
by jboullion | Apr 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a story on WXOW-TV:
LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) Dairyland Power serves a half a million households in their system.
Currently, more than 90 percent of their energy is produced from coal.
However, officials say Dairyland wants to have 25 percent of their power be produced by sustainable renewables, like wind and solar, by 2025.
Dairyland isn’t the only one looking at making a transition away from coal.
Today, Secretary of State Building Commission David Helbach spoke at UW-L about how Wisconsin is trying to covert its state institutions from coal consumers.
There are 16 heating state plants that heat and cool institutions using some amount of coal.
These heating plants can be found at variety of places from government buildings to college campuses, including UW-La Crosse.
Secretary of State Building Commission David Helbach says, “Coal has about twice the pollutants as natural gas so just by changing the fuel you reduce your emissions by half.”
The state wants to transition the biggest users of coal first, which are not university’s like UW-L.
That means the university will be put on the back burner.
Helbach, “We’d like to do some of the other plants first so this plant may not be until the first round, maybe on the second or third round”
Since Dairlyand’s transition can’t happen over night either, it is taking steps to make coal burning more environmentally friendly, like recycling by it byproducts and installing a scrubber system and bag house to make air safer.
by jboullion | Apr 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a story on WXOW News 19, La Crosse:
Matching funds boost total to $106,374
MADISON – Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today announced a Wisconsin Industry Partnership training grant of $53,105 to help meet the skilled workforce needs of an expanding food resource and agribusiness sector in western Wisconsin.
DWD’s regional partner, the Western Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, and 20 employers in the Food Resource and Agribusiness Network (FRAN) will provide $53,269 in matching funds for a project total of $106,374.
“These resources demonstrate how by working together, we can meet the needs of employers and prepare workers for jobs of tomorrow, resulting in a stronger Wisconsin economy,” DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman said. “One of the region’s main economic strengths is its agriculture and food processing industry. It is one reason why Wisconsin is a leading state in organic farming. The grant will help the food and agribusiness sector grow and create more jobs.”
One FRAN employer includes Organic Valley of La Farge, the largest organic farm cooperative in the country. For over two decades, the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service has held its annual convention in La Crosse. Sales of organic products total nearly $133 million annually in Wisconsin.
Another FRAN partner is Kwik Trip, which is doubling the size of its bakery, a $30 million project expected to add more than 100 jobs. Last year, the western Wisconsin region’s food resource and agribusiness sector had 3,374 jobs, and it is projected to add jobs in coming years.
by jboullion | Apr 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dorothy Jasperson-Robson in the Westby Times:
On Thursday, April 8, a proposed community wind project meeting was held in the village of Cashton. The well attended meeting provided the general public and adjacent land owners with the opportunity to learn more about the proposed $9.7 million wind energy project, which calls for the construction of two wind turbines to be developed in the village of Cashton Green Industrial Park.
Through a joint venture with Organic Valley, Western Technical College, Gundersen Lutheran Health System and the village of Cashton, two wind turbines will be constructed in the Cashton Greens Park, located off State Highway 27, southeast of the village of Cashton, in Monroe County.
The renewable energy wind generation system would be located adjacent to Organic Valley’s Cashton Distribution Center. The two wind turbines would generate approximately 10.5 million kilowatt hours (kWh) annually or enough power to supply 7,000 average residential homes. Electricity produced by the turbines will travel to an existing electrical substation, owned by the village of Cashton, and be distributed from the substation.
Wes Slaymaker, of Wind Energy Systems Engineering, calculated that each turbine in the Cashton project will cost $3 million dollars, be 262 feet high, produce 1.8 megawatts of energy with three 150-foot blades. The wind farm development will help the village of Cashton reach its mandated Green Credit before the 2025 deadline and the entire project is expected to be paid off within 20 years, by LLC partners in the project, Organic Valley, Gundersen Lutheran and Western Technical College.
by jboullion | Apr 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
A news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:
MADISON — Hours ago, the democratically controlled state Legislature failed the people of Wisconsin when it adjourned before taking up the Clean Energy Jobs Act.
“It’s ironic that on Earth Day, our Democrat-led state Legislature effectively killed a vital piece of clean energy legislation,” says Keith Reopelle, senior policy director, Clean Wisconsin. “Senate Democratic leaders Jeff Plale and Russ Decker’s refusal to schedule the bill for a vote guaranteed the bill’s demise.”
The Clean Energy Jobs Act would have created more than 15,000Â jobs for Wisconsinites. Just yesterday, Wave Wind, a wind energy service provider in Sun Prairie, sent an open letter to the state Legislature noting that the delayed passage of the bill forced the company to lay off 12 employees. Had the bill passed, Wave Wind would have created 100 new high-quality jobs.
“The world is transitioning to a clean energy economy, and Wisconsin is getting left behind,” says Reopelle. “Wisconsin has now lost the manufacturing and design jobs that would have been created by the bill  to China, California and Illinois.”
The bill also would have lowered energy bills for homeowners and businesses with its renewable energy and energy efficiency provisions, allowing Wisconsin to make incremental but critically important steps toward reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and increasing our energy independence.
“It is a travesty that Wisconsin’s Legislature missed the opportunity to take action on such an important bill for the health of our state’s economy and environment,” says Reopelle. “While today’s inaction is definitely a setback, thanks to the hard work of our allies in the Legislature and coalition partners, we have laid the foundation for future clean energy legislation and remain hopeful that Wisconsin will soon return to its forward-thinking roots.”
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Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and polluters accountable.
