by jboullion | Feb 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Charter Street heating plant on the campus of the UW-Madison will switch from coal to biomass before the end of 2010.
From an announcement from Governor Doyle:
MADISON—Governor Jim Doyle announced today that a new biomass boiler will be installed at the Charter Street Heating Plant as part of his commitment to stop burning coal at state-owned heating plants on Madison’s Isthmus.
“We must move away from our dependence on coal,” Governor Doyle said. “This new project will help build the biomass market in Wisconsin, keep the money we spend on energy in the local economy and create green jobs in the area.”
The new biomass boiler will be capable of burning up to 100% biomass, everything from wood chips to switchgrass pellets, and will eventually be able to burn about 250,000 tons of biomass per year. This demand for biomass will help create and sustain a biomass market in Wisconsin and provide economic benefit for landowners, farmers and processors in the state.
With the switch to biomass, there will be 108,800 fewer tons of coal burned in the area each year and lower particulate emissions. Reducing particulate emissions by moving away from coal at the Charter Street Heating Plant is a key step in working to improve air quality in Dane County and moving the County back into attainment.
A media release from Better Environmental Solutions highlighted the importance of biomass production to southwestern Wisconsin:
“Planting switchgrass is a great crop for our highly erodible fields,” said Jim Schaefer, a Platteville area farmer. “We want create more markets for grass and other biomass crops for energy and fuels.”
Southwest Badger RC&D has been working with farmers and researchers on six switchgrass test plots and ways to collect woody biomass to restore native prairie and switchgrass and woodlands.
“The state’s demand for biomass will help farmers promote more conservation practices and give us cleaner water and reduced flooding,” said Steve Bertjens, NRCS Southwest Badger RC&D coordinator.
by jboullion | Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a story on WXOW News 19:
La Crosse, WI (WXOW)- Gundersen Lutheran is one step closer to becoming energy independent thanks to the La Crosse City Brewery.
“People in the La Crosse community have seen these flares for many years and we approached City Brewery and said this would be a unique partnership and a wonderful partnership to capture this waste methane, waste energy, going right now and just being released,” says Corey Zarecki, efficiency improvement leader at Gundersen Lutheran.
The combined heat and power project is located on the City Brewery’s Property.
Waste methane gas discharged from the Brewery’s waste treatment process is being turned into electricity. The process is expected to generate three million Kilowatt hours per year.
“We’re gonna be generating electricity and putting that to the grid as clean renewable energy source,” says Corey Zarecki.
The project is expected to generate 8 to 10 percent of the energy used at Gundersen Lutheran’s La Crosse and Onlaska facilities. That is enough electricity need to power 280 homes.
by jboullion | Feb 3, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in The Business Journal:
Wausaukee Composites Inc. and Pacal Industries LLC have notified state officials that the two manufacturing companies intend to lay off a total of 150 employees from their operations in southwest Wisconsin.
The companies informed the state Department of Workforce Development through separate Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters received by the department this week.
Wausaukee-based Wausaukee Composites said beginning Tuesday it laid off 61 employees at its plant in Cuba City in Grant County because of the “sudden and unanticipated termination” of deliveries and purchase orders from the plant’s only customer, according to its WARN letter. The layoffs are expected to be temporary.
The plant produces wind turbine components. The customer, Wausaukee Composites’ largest client, was not identified.
Wausaukee Composites said it could not provide a date for when employees might be recalled, given the volatility of the U.S. economy and availability of credit for wind farm developers purchasing turbines from the customer.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an announcement from Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI):
Grants are now available for both new construction and remodeling of existing homes that are targeting net zero energy use when completed.
Complete details can be found at www.GreenMaxHome.com. Click here to view the GreenMax Home RFP.
WPPI’s Web site explains the concept of a net zero energy home:
A net zero energy home is connected to the energy grid that supplies your local utility with power, but it is designed and constructed to produce at least as much energy as it consumes. The house supplies energy back to the grid in — at a minimum —an amount equal to the amount of power the homeowner purchases from the grid, resulting in a “net zero” impact on the nation’s energy supply. Any excess energy generated by the house is fed back into the grid.
This new concept combines state-of-the-art, energy-efficient construction and appliances with commercially available renewable energy systems such as solar water heating and solar electricity. In many cases, the entire energy consumption — heating, cooling and appliances — of a net zero energy home can be provided by renewable energy sources.
Proposed homes must be built in a WPPI Energy member utility service area. WPPI’s member utilities are:
Alger Delta, MI
Algoma
Baraga, MI
Black River Falls
Boscobel
Brodhead
Cedarburg
Columbus
Cuba City
Eagle River
Evansville
Florence
Gladstone, MI
Hartford
Hustisford
Independence, IA
Jefferson
Juneau
Kaukauna
L’Anse, MI
Lake Mills
Lodi
Maquoketa, IA
Menasha
Mount Horeb
Muscoda
Negaunee, MI
New Glarus
New Holstein
New London
New Richmond
Norway, MI
Oconomowoc
Oconto Falls
Plymouth
Prairie du Sac
Reedsburg
Richland Center
River Falls
Slinger
Stoughton
Sturgeon Bay
Sun Prairie
Two Rivers
Waterloo
Waunakee
Waupun
Westby
Whitehall
by jboullion | Jan 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Samantha Marcus in the La Crosse Tribune:
City and county officials unveiled on Thursday an ambitious plan aimed at improving the La Crosse area’s environmental sustainability.
The strategic plan calls for major reductions in energy consumption and shifts to renewable energy sources and is scheduled to hit the La Crosse Common Council floor Feb. 12 and the La Crosse County Board on Feb. 19.
“It’s for the good of the community, so I do hope everyone will be behind it,” said council member and mayoral candidate Dorothy Lenard, who sits on the joint Oversight Committee on Sustainability.
City Senior Planner Tim Kabat said Thursday this collaborative plan is unique in Wisconsin.
The city portion of the 67-page draft outlines targets for increasing the purchase of “environmentally preferred products” and services by 50 percent, cutting city hall’s paper consumption by 10 percent each year starting this year, reducing nonrecyclable waste by 25 percent and increasing the amount recycled by 25 percent.
The plan also recommends improving community transportation by reducing public transit trip times and starting a community car-sharing program.
Two of the more immediate priorities are recycling plastics within six months to a year and hiring a sustainability coordinator, said Jai Johnson, committee chairwoman, council member and county board supervisor.
