by jboullion | Nov 12, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Shelley Nelson posted on RiverTowns.net:
Plans for a nearly seven-fold expansion of Murphy Oil’s Superior refinery are on hold.
The company, headquartered in El Dorado, Ark., is putting the brakes on detailed design engineering until it can find a partner to provide a reliable source of bitumen crude from the Canadian oil sands to feed the expanded facility.
The proposed project would increase the refinery’s processing capacity from 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day to 235,000 barrels per day, making the Superior refinery the largest rather than the smallest of Murphy Oil’s three refineries worldwide.
The company also operates a 120,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Meraux, La., and a 108,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Mill Haven, Wales.
The refinery is the only oil refinery in the state.
If it happens, the $6 billion investment – the largest in Wisconsin history – could create 300 permanent jobs and 3,000 to 4,000 construction jobs.
“We’ve beaten down doors trying to find a partner for the project,” said Jim Kowitz, interim manager of the Superior refinery. “We have not come up with a partner yet.”
The company needs a partner to ensure a crude supply from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, for the expanded facility. However, with crude prices hitting record highs, Murphy Oil has found no takers for the partnership.
“With dropping crude prices – if demand stays up – it may look more favorable for Canadian producers to invest in,” Kowitz said. ” When crude is $140 a barrel, they’re making lots of money. When crude is $60 a barrel, they’re not making near as much, and they might be interested in spending money to get into the U.S. fuels market rather than just be a crude supplier. That’s our hope. If crude stays down for awhile, our project will look more attractive again.”
by jboullion | Nov 11, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a story by Anita Weier in The Capital Times:
The state Public Service Commission on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposed 300-megawatt mostly coal-fired power plant proposed by Wisconsin Power & Light at Cassville.
In justifying their decision, commissioners cited the cost, inefficiency and carbon dioxide emissions of the plant.
“Based on the evidence, I find this particular project is not in the public interest,” said PSC Chairman Eric Callisto.
“Public comment was really significant,” said Commissioner Mark Meyer, praising the extent of public participation after he stated that he could not support the application because it did not meet fundamental requirements.
Commissioner Lauren Azar said the proposal would lock the state into a coal technology that may soon be obsolete.
by jboullion | Nov 10, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a story by Rick Olivo in The Daily Press:
Bayfield County could reasonably consider installing a commercial scale wind turbine on one of two possible locations in the county, says a preliminary assessment from a consulting professional engineer.
The report, released to members of the Bayfield County Board Executive Committee Thursday said a large-scale wind turbine would be “reasonably productive” if built on a Mount Ashwabay site or another Bayfield hills site west of the City of Bayfield.
“The county could either develop one of those sites or try to find a site closer to Washburn, where the wind turbine could be directly connected to its largest electric use buildings in Washburn,” said Robert H, Owen Jr., of Superior Safety and Environmental Services of Middleton. Owen said the Mt. Ashwabay site was large enough to accommodate about 12 600-kilowatt turbines, with a few more potentially sited on the upper reaches of the ski slope property. Owen said in the report that the county could consider selling the output from the wind turbines to Xcel Energy, or deliver most of its output to county offices and sell just the surplus energy.
While Owen said much research was needed into the amount of wind available from the Bayfield area sites, he said the amount of energy available to a single 600-kilowatt turbine could add up to 1.23 million kilowatt hours a year. Nevertheless, he was careful to emphasize that his estimates concerning available wind energy were only preliminary and could be seriously overstating or understating the amount of energy actually available. He said an absolute necessity to come up with accurate figures was a wind-speed study that could last a year or more at the sites.
Nevertheless, he said because of predictable future increases in the cost of electrical energy, the amount Bayfield County pays for electricity, currently put at five cents per kilowatt hour, could increase to 50 cents per kilowatt hour by the year 2030.
by jboullion | Nov 7, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Debbie Griffin in the River Falls Journal:
River Falls agreed last year to let Madison-based EcoEnergy install a 197-foot wind-test tower on a hill in the Whitetail Ridge Corporate Park. The company plans to gather wind-speed data through April next year to see if it warrants a permanent 400-foot turbine.
Alex DePillis, an EcoEnergy wind-monitoring engineer, said if the data pans out and the company installs a permanent wind turbine, it would generate enough electricity to power for a year about 350 homes or one of the city’s big industrial businesses.
“The wind-generated electricity would be carried by the city’s lines and used wherever it’s needed at the time,” said DePillis about the potential wind-generated power.
by jboullion | Nov 6, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article in the River Falls Journal:
River Falls committed early last month to join the Wisconsin Energy Independent Community Partnership, a state-led program aiming to generate 25% of Wisconsin’s fuels – used for electricity and transportation – from renewable resources by the year 2025.
A press release from the River Falls Municipal Utilities and Governor Jim Doyle’s Web site says the city joins 11 other community members of Wisconsin Public Power, Inc., the city’s power supplier, in committing to help the state achieve energy independence.
River Falls plans to reach this goal by using renewable fuels, taking advantage of diverse resources and reducing energy consumption. Participation in the program enables access to more federal and state funding as well as technical assistance in developing renewable sources.
