by jboullion | Apr 20, 2010 | Uncategorized
A letter to the editor of The Capital Times by State Rep. Steve Hilgenberg (Dodgeville):
The reaction to the Clean Energy Jobs Act by some agriculture groups is shortsighted and misinformed. I’ve reviewed the act with farmers, bioenergy leaders and economic development experts. It’s a win for farming and rural Wisconsin.
It has provisions to give direct support to farmers interested in supplying biomass markets. It expands the Focus on Energy program. Wind turbines will be built in rural areas where jobs will be created. Landowners will receive lease payments, and local tax bases will increase.
Addressing the energy crisis in rural areas will diversify farm landscapes and stabilize energy costs with energy independence. More of the $16 billion we send out of state every year will remain in ratepayer pockets and create green jobs here.
According to an analysis by the Public Service Commission, the Clean Energy Jobs Act will save Wisconsin citizens $1.4 billion over the next 15 years.
Maintaining our dependence on cheap (for now) fossil fuels puts Wisconsin on a path to nowhere. Check your facts and help make the Clean Energy Jobs Act law.
by jboullion | Apr 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a guest column by Wisconsin Ag Secretary Rod Nilsestuen in The Tomah Journal:
Legislators recently announced a substitute amendment to the Clean Energy Jobs Act that will bring down consumer costs, create more than 16,000 jobs in the state and position Wisconsin to continue its leading role in clean energy production. Through the Clean Energy Jobs Act, we will create clean energy that works for Wisconsin and is made in Wisconsin. Our state does not pump a barrel of oil. We don’t have coal deposits or natural gas. Our energy costs n which amount to one out of every 10 dollars generated in Wisconsin n mean we send about $16 billion a year out of our state to pay for fuel and electricity.
Passing the Clean Energy Jobs Act is an enormous opportunity to reduce our dependence on foreign fuels and make sure Wisconsin doesn’t lose out on this chance to create clean energy jobs to countries like China. The world is moving rapidly in this direction, and Wisconsin is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the growing clean energy market.
Especially when it comes to agriculture.
A key component of the recently announced substitute amendment to the Clean Energy Jobs Act is incentives for the development of small-scale renewable energy projects, with a preference for manure digesters. Under the revised bill, $25 million in grants and loans will now be available per year for four years through an expanded Focus on Energy Program. That is a big step forward for rural Wisconsin.
by jboullion | Apr 15, 2010 | Uncategorized
A commentary by Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin:
Immediate release
April 15, 2010
More information
Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Statement of Michael Vickerman
Executive Director – RENEW Wisconsin
Legislators Fire Blanks at Clean Energy Jobs Act
In an April 13 statement, Reps. Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem), Phil Montgomery (R-Green Bay), and Scott Gunderson (R-Waterford) contend that the substitute amendment for the Clean Energy Jobs Act, released earlier this week, will drive up electric rates across Wisconsin. As ammunition for their argument, the representatives point to recent requests in Iowa to raise electric rates, which they attribute to the state’s renewable energy policy.
The argument advanced by these three lawmakers is truly absurd, given the facts of the situation. In the first place, Iowa’s Alternative Energy Production (AEP) law, which dates from 1983, requires the state’s two largest electric utilities to add a mere 105 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity between them. By 1997, both utilities had achieved full compliance with that law. That mandate has not been increased or modified since that time.
Fast forward to April 2010. Windpower capacity alone in Iowa now totals 3,670 MW, and the Hawkeye State is now the second largest producer of wind-generated electricity in the nation behind Texas. According to the Iowa Policy Project, windpower accounted for 14% of the state’s electric output in 2009. Additional information on windpower development in Iowa can be accessed here.
The vast majority of Iowa’s windpower capacity was built for reasons other than complying with the state’s renewable energy policy. Iowa utilities invested in windpower because it is the lowest cost generation option available to them. Here’s what MidAmerican Energy Company, Iowa’s largest investor-owned utility, says about its windpower assets.
MidAmerican began building wind turbines in 2004 and has made the investment without raising customers’ electric rates. The price of electricity per kilowatt-hour … for MidAmerican customers is lower today than it was in 1995, and the company has committed to not seek an electric rate increase to become effective until 2014, which is nearly 20 years without a rate increase.
Given MidAmerican’s experience with windpower, it is clear that the allegation from Reps. Huebsch, Montgomery and Gunderson was spun without any apparent connection to reality. The proper place to file a claim this ludicrous is in a manure digester, where it can be broken down into usable energy.
It’s worth pointing out that a significant percentage of Iowa’s wind capacity serves Wisconsin utilities, among them Madison Gas & Electric (MGE), which owns the 30 MW Top of Iowa 3 installation and purchases additional supplies of wind-generated electricity from independently owned facilities there. These facilities were constructed after 2006, the year Wisconsin’s current renewable energy standard was enacted. Yet MGE’s residential ratepayers have seen annual rate increases of only 1.5% in the last four years. Compared with other expenses, such as college tuition, health insurance premiums, and vehicle registration fees, electricity cost increases have barely been noticeable.
Windpower’s rapid growth in the Upper Midwest has also contributed to the reduction of fossil fuel consumption, resulting in lower natural gas prices. That benefit is passed through directly to Wisconsin energy users in the form of lower heating bills. Indeed, over the last 12 months, overall energy costs declined measurably for most Wisconsin households and businesses, thanks to the prolonged slump in natural gas prices.
There is no surer way to control energy bills than to reduce the state’s reliance on imported fossil fuels through increased conservation and substituting renewable resources wherever practical. The choice before the Legislature is clear cut and momentous. Either it can embrace a 15-year commitment to invigorate the state’s economy through sustained investment in clean energy or it can decide to coast along on current energy policies until they lapse several years from now and lose their force and effect.
We at RENEW believe the Clean Energy Jobs Act will propel the clean energy marketplace into an economic powerhouse that will generate jobs and help Wisconsin businesses remain competitive. We strongly support the passage of the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill as amended.
–END–
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
by jboullion | Apr 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Organic Valley:
Proposed Wisconsin Legislation will Encourage Investment in On-Farm Renewable Energy Development
La Farge, Wis. – Commitment to renewable energy will help the economy grow, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and create a healthier environment for future generations. Acknowledging the widespread benefit of renewable energy development to farmers and rural America, Organic Valley today pledges its support of the renewable energy provisions within the Clean Energy Jobs Act, currently being considered by the Wisconsin legislature. As a farmer-owned cooperative of 1,652 organic family farms, Organic Valley takes a strong interest in the health and sustainability of small-scale family farms and rural communities. The cooperative has embraced renewable energy as a clean, responsible way to provide farmers with a reliable, homegrown source of energy and a consistent source of income.
“Organic Valley farmers are conscientious,” said Cecil Wright, vice president of sustainability and local operations for Organic Valley. “We care about what goes into our products and the impacts our agricultural practices have on our local environment. Legislation to encourage renewable energy development will provide more opportunities for our members to make their farms more productive and environmentally sound.”
The Clean Energy Jobs Act includes an Enhanced Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which will allow Wisconsin residents to receive 25% of electricity from renewable energy by 2025, with at least 10% of electricity coming from renewable energy sources within the state. In addition, the bill includes provisions which encourage small-scale renewable energy generation, which would enable Wisconsin families considering energy projects such as manure digesters, small wind turbines and solar projects to move forward.
“Organic Valley promotes on-farm renewable energy projects through our Farmer Renewable Energy Program,” said Wright. “Passage of this legislation will allow more members to participate in the program and offset some of their energy costs, creating even more sustainable farms.”
by jboullion | Apr 13, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A revised state clean energy and global warming bill unveiled Tuesday scales back the scope of the bill but retains a commitment to expand use of renewable energy and open the door to construction of nuclear reactors in Wisconsin.
The revisions, obtained by the Journal Sentinel, were drafted in response to concerns raised by business groups and politicians that the original bill was too unwieldy, too controversial and potentially too costly.
Jettisoned from the package were mandates concerning transportation fuels, including a requirement that Wisconsin require greater use of low-carbon transportation fuels such as biofuels.
To reduce the overall cost of the package, the bill allows energy efficiency gains to count toward a portion of a mandate that 25% of Wisconsin’s electricity come from renewable power sources by 2025.
A combined energy efficiency and renewable energy standard is also part of federal legislation that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last year.
The state bill would allow one-fifth of the mandate to come through energy savings, most likely from major energy saving initiatives by factories and other big energy users.
Another change responds to concerns raised by utilities concerning a mandate that had been in the earlier bill concerning small renewable energy projects around the state. The mandate has been replaced with expanded funding for small renewable energy projects. The new proposal states a preference that much of that money be allocated toward manure digesters on Wisconsin dairy farms.
The latest version also underscores the consequences of the weak economy and declining sentiment for taking action on global warming.
Doyle signed an executive order creating the task force in April 2007 – well before the collapse in the economy. In December 2009, after details were known, many business groups attacked it and said the recommendations would harm the energy-intensive manufacturing sector.
But some other industries and companies, notably Johnson Controls, the state’s largest public company, said the bill would create jobs and align the state to take advantage of emerging trends in sustainability.
At the same time, the public appears less concerned about climate change. A national Gallup Poll in March showed that the percentage of respondents who believe the seriousness of global warming is “generally exaggerated” has increased from 35% to 48% in two years.
“As introduced, the Clean Energy Jobs Act would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and help keep rising energy bills in check,” said Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, said in a statement. “The substitute amendment represents a compromise that will still accomplish all of these goals, but to a lesser degree than the original bill.”
Clean Wisconsin is still reviewing the details of the changes.
“As we understand them, the changes in the substitute amendment will result in even more jobs and lower energy bills in the next few years by increasing short-term commitments to energy efficiency,” Reopelle said. “However, paring back the renewable energy standard will likely result in less rate relief in the long term, because renewable energy helps hedge against the rising cost of fossil fuels.”
