by jboullion | Mar 10, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jo Anne Killeen in the Onalaska Holmen Courier-Life:
The “buy local” argument that surfaced recently before the Holmen Village Board is an economic development issue and Holmen’s Economic Development Committee is putting together a proposal to present to the board that would change bid acceptance policies.
The issue was raised at last month’s board meeting when the board voted 5-2 to accept an out of town bid versus a more local bid. The “local” bid for a new squad car, which came from Sparta, was only $65 higher than the lowest bidder from Hartford. Trustee Nancy Proctor, along with Trustee Tony Szak were the two votes arguing to buy local.
The board also recently gave a bid to a West Salem company when a Holmen bidder was $46 higher.
“We ought to stay local with the economy the way it is,” Proctor said.
State law requires municipalities who put something out to bid to accept the lowest bid without preferences when there are no other local ordinances allowing them to do otherwise.
Trustee Ryan Olson, who chairs the economic development committee, said he sided with the majority on the squad car vote because of Village President John Chapman’s argument that the integrity of the bidding process was at stake.
Olson also said the decision might have been good government, but not good business. The committee members all agreed local procurement is an economic sustainability issue and discussed alternatives.
At the EDC meeting March 3, Olson said the village could do one of two things. It could develop, adopt and implement an ordinance and then wait to be challenged on it or it could approach state legislators to further define what “preference” means in state procurement laws.
by jboullion | Mar 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in The Business Journal:
Alliant Energy Corp. said Thursday that its Iowa utility, Interstate Power and Light Co., has canceled plans to construct the proposed coal-fired Sutherland Generating Station Unit 4 in Marshalltown, Iowa.
The company said in a press release that the decision was based on “current economic and financial climate; increasing environmental, legislative and regulatory uncertainty regarding regulation of future greenhouse gas emissions and the terms placed on the proposed power plant by regulators.”
The decision follows Wisconsin regulators’ denial in December of a proposed 300-megawatt expansion of the Nelson Dewey Generating Station by Wisconsin Power and Light Co., Alliant’s Madison-based utility. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin ruled that the $1.26 billion project was too costly when weighing it against other alternatives such as natural gas generation and the possibility of purchasing power from existing sources.
In a statement, Alliant Energy chairman, president and CEO Bill Harvey said the PSC’s decision and the cancellation of the $1.2 billion-to-$1.3 billion Iowa power plant project “removes the option of adding new coal-based capacity to meet our customers’ future energy needs.”
by jboullion | Mar 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the University of Wiscosnin-Green Bay:
GREEN BAY – A grant from Wisconsin Focus on Energy will allow researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Environmental Management and Business Institute the opportunity to evaluate the economic and environmental outcomes of converting marginal agricultural areas into biomass-yielding grasslands for electricity and heat generation in the state.
Starting in July, UW-Green Bay students and professors will use the $164,853 grant to study the multiple benefits of converting non-ideal farmland into sustainable grassland areas that can be used to produce bio-fuels for energy and heat production.
Planting agricultural crops in poorly drained or marginal soil areas may be delayed, prevented or unprofitable for traditional farming. However, these areas may be ideally suited for native, mixed-species grasslands that can withstand harsher conditions, yet still be harvested for bio-fuel production, researchers say.
Targeted plantings of these grasslands between agricultural fields and aquatic systems could also reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into watersheds, thus limiting pollution and improving the health of the state’s valuable water resources.
“Future energy demands will only be met with diverse and environmentally sustainable energy sources,” said Prof. Matt Dornbush, Natural and Applied Sciences. “This project seeks to answer if it is economically and environmentally feasible to use biomass-based energy produced through the growth of native grasslands to help fill those needs.
by jboullion | Feb 27, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Susan Troller in The Capital Times (Madison):
Snug Haven Farms’ spinach has been featured on the menu at upscale restaurants like L’Etoile, and this weekend, farmers Judy Hageman and Bill Warner will talk about their success at the 20th annual Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse.
Their class, which focuses on how to grow the dark green veggie in hoop houses, is just one of many planned for the conference, which runs from Thursday, Feb. 26, to Saturday, Feb. 28. The event is expected to draw more than 2,000 people from across the United States and a few foreign countries.
“This conference is the biggest one in the country for organic farmers, and it’s just a great experience, whether it’s your first time or you’ve been a part of it from the beginning,” said Hageman, who grows spinach in Belleville and regularly sells her produce at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. “There is so much hands-on information, and everyone is willing to share what they know. You just have light bulbs going off the whole time you’re there. The exhibits are terrific, and the food is magnificent, too.”
by jboullion | Feb 26, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Southwest Badger RC&D Council and Better Environmental Solutions:
Richland Center–With Governor Doyle’s recent announcement of a new biomass boiler at the UW Madison Charter Street Power Plant to use 250,000 tons of biomass annually, southern Wisconsin has become a prime target for biomass production. Two other proposed plants will use a combined 800,000 tons of biomass per year in Cassville, WI and just across the border in Carroll County, Illinois. Southwest Badger Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council, Inc. is holding a biomass briefing on March 6, 2009 in Richland Center.
“Southwest Wisconsin is the Saudi Arabia of biomass such as wood, switchgrass, and corn stover. The challenge is harvesting it sustainably,” said Steve Bertjens, NRCS Coordinator for Southwest Badger RC&D Council. The briefing will provide interim reports on 3 current SW Badger projects– the Biomass Inventory and Analysis Project, Switchgrass Establishment and Harvesting Demonstrations, and the True Costs of Harvesting Woody Biomass in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin.
The SW Badger Biomass Briefing is free to the public and will be held at the Ramada White House, 1450 Veterans Drive, Richland Center, WI from 1-3:30 p.m. on Friday March 6th.
Brett Hulsey, president of Better Environmental Solutions, said, “This Biomass Briefing will answer questions like, ‘Where will a million tons of biomass per year come from?’ and ‘Is biomass production and use a sustainable renewable energy source?’.” Hulsey will also be presenting yield data collected from warm season fields currently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
University of Wisconsin Extension Weed Specialist Mark Renz will present the first year results from the “Switchgrass Establishment and Harvesting Demonstrations.” This project is working to quantify achievable yields and develop best practices for growing switchgrass. Last spring the Council established 62 acres of warm season grass plantings on six farms using a variety of establishment treatments on each farm. Renz and his research students are collecting field data on the demonstrations like establishment success, yield per treatment, above and below ground production, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas flux.
