by jboullion | Dec 16, 2011 | Uncategorized
An article by Danielle Endvick in The Country Today:
The turbine foundations have been built and basic infrastructure is in place for Wisconsin’s first community wind project.
Cashton Greens Wind Farm, set to begin operation this spring near Highway 27 southwest of Cashton in Monroe County, is expected to generate nearly 5 megawatts of energy, enough to power 1,000 Cashton homes annually.
The $11 million renewable energy project is a collaborative effort of the Village of Cashton, Gundersen Lutheran Health System and Organic Valley, the nation’s largest cooperative of organic farmers.
Cecil Wright, Organic Valley director of sustainability, said planning on the wind farm, which is being erected on land near the cooperative’s distribution center, began in 2008.
“It’s taken a lot of discussion and a lot of learning,” he said.
The project is one of several Organic Valley has spearheaded in an effort to gain energy independence. Others included the use of biodiesel in its truck fleet, solar photovoltaic windows in its headquarters and solar hot water panels in its cheese packaging plant and cafe.
The cooperative also encourages energy efficiency for its members through an On-Farm Sustainability Program.
“Our farmers and board have always wanted us to be responsible and get involved in renewable energy,” Wright said. “Climate change is real for us, there’s no doubt about that. Our farmers get that, our organization gets it, our consumers get it.”
Electricity generated from Cashton Green’s two commercial-scale turbines will flow into the Cashton power grid. The village invested in the wind farm’s infrastructure.
As developers and owners of Cashton Greens, Organic Valley and Gundersen will receive income per kilowatt hour generated. Through a renewable energy contract with the Upper Midwest Municipal Power Agency, the two companies will buy back energy to offset their footprints.
“We’ll turn around and buy it back after it goes through the system,” Wright said, “but the actual electrons will be used by the village.”
The partner companies will benefit from renewable energy credits.
Wright said the wind farm will allow Organic Valley to hedge rising energy costs.
“As the price of electric goes up, our project revenue will go up with it,” he said.
A pre-project performance study suggested a pay-off point of 20 years, he said.
“If the cost of electricity goes up, it should more than pay for itself in that time,” he said.
A plan for independence
Cashton Greens is one step in a long-term plan to make Gundersen Lutheran energy independent by 2014.
Corey Zarecki, director of engineering and operations for Envision, Gundersen’s renewable energy program, said the health care system has aggressively worked toward that goal since 2008.
“Within the first 18 months, we improved energy efficiency by 20 percent,” he said.
Zarecki said Gundersen’s interest in renewable energy was spurred by increasing utility costs.
In 2007, the system’s energy costs were increasing at a rate of more than $350,000 per year.
“Those costs were translating as higher health care costs,” Zarecki said. “We chose to do something about it.”
The resulting renewable energy program has led to implementation of solar and biomass electric, a heat and power partnership with a local brewery, and an Onalaska landfill gas energy project that will be operational in 2012.
Gundersen is also tied to a similar wind farm site near Lewiston, Minn., that should be running by New Year’s, Zarecki said.
“Our overall goal with Envision is to be both ‘green’ and ‘green,’ ” he said. “We want to reduce the cost of health care while being green from the environmental perspective and the financial perspective.”
Most Envision projects have had paybacks of five to 10 years, Zarecki said.
The health care provider is invested in improving the communities it serves, he said.
“If you think about a hospital, we’ve been the community for 100 years,” he said, “and we hope to be in the community for longer than that, into the future.”
With the wind farm and completion of recent solar projects, Wright said renewable energy will account for 10 percent of energy usage at the Organic Valley headquarters.
The wind farm will also serve as a living lab for students from the Western Technical College of La Crosse.
Wright and Zarecki said they hope Cashton Greens sets an example.
“Most wind projects are done by developers or utilities,” Wright said. “It’s a little more unusual for companies and a community to get together.”
Michels Corporation, a Brownsville-based contractor will install the turbines.
The partners are anxious to see the turbines at work.
“The tower and blades will show up in February, and we’ll begin installation in March,” Wright said. “We’re hoping to have things turning by May.”
by jboullion | Dec 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
For immediate release
December 7, 2011
More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Leslie Glustrom, research director of Colorado-based Clean Energy Action, and an unwavering critic of utility reliance on coal for electricity generation, will be the featured speaker at RENEW Wisconsin’s Energy Policy Summit.
The Summit will be held on Friday, January 13, 2012, at the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Pyle Center located on the UW-Madison campus. Summit attendees will spend the day discussing and selecting renewable energy strategies that make sense in the current political environment in Wisconsin. More information on the Summit can be found on the RENEW Wisconsin website at http://www.renewwisconsin.org.
As research director, Glustrom authored in 2009 an extensively referenced report on U.S. coal supplies titled, “Coal—Cheap and Abundant—Or Is It? Why Americans Should Stop Assuming that the US has a 200-Year Supply of Coal,” available for free at http://www.cleanenergyaction.org.
Since 2009, Glustrom has traveled to numerous states helping them to understand the likely constraints on their coal supplies.
Glustrom’s on-going research illuminates a future in which coal prices will likely continue to escalate, driven by a combination of less accessible coal supplies, increasing demand from Asian countries, and rising diesel fuel costs for hauling coal to distant markets like Wisconsin.
Clean Energy Action is spearheading a campaign to shut down Colorado’s coal-fired power plants and replace them with locally generated renewable electricity.
“Leslie’s experiences with Clean Energy Action can help Wisconsin renewable energy advocates formulate effective strategies for 2012 and beyond,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison.
“Even though Colorado is a coal-producing state, it has adopted some of the most aggressive policies in the country for advancing renewable energy,” said Vickerman. “Colorado’s commitment to clean energy is driving its economy at a time when its coal output is diminishing. For example, Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines with four plants employing 1,700 people in Colorado, supplied 90 turbines this year to Wisconsin’s largest wind project, the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County.”
“Leslie will inspire us to reverse the retreat from renewables and retake the initiative going forward,” Vickerman said.
In Boulder, Glustrom was part of the team that led the successful 2010 and 2011 ballot initiatives allowing Boulder to move ahead with plans to municipalize and break away from the long term commitment to coal plants made by their incumbent utility, Xcel Energy.
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by jboullion | Nov 25, 2011 | Uncategorized
REtaking Initiative – REframing Message REvitalizing Economy
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Pyle Center, UW-Madison Campus
702 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53703
Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace is going through a tumultuous period. We need to chart a new course for 2012 to address the ongoing policy uncertainties and emerging marketplace realities.
RENEW WI invites stakeholders from around the state to join us in shaping the renewable energy community’s 2012 policy agenda.
If you want to build or buy any part of today’s energy economy, this is a conversation you want to be part of. Join RENEW members, businesses, energy customers, and legislators to craft a robust policy platform for renewable energy in Wisconsin.
Breakout Groups will discuss strategies for:
Expanding Market Access for Customers and Generators;
Economics of Renewable Production;
Regulatory Environment for Renewable Production ;
How do we choose who we want to be customers of?
Summit Outcomes
Summit Statement for enacting an Energy Economy that works for Wisconsin, with RENEW Wisconsin facilitating working groups throughout 2012.
by jboullion | Nov 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article in The Chippewa Herald:
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Federal Railroad Administration says a route running along the Mississippi River is the most feasible and reasonable for a proposed high-speed commuter train between the Twin Cities and Chicago.
That puts an end to another option that would have sent the route along the I-94 corridor through Eau Claire.
However, not only is the preferred route in the earliest planning stages, but fixing the existing track for the entire high-speed line could cost as much $3 billion — and such funding isn’t visible on the horizon.
But advocates hailed Tuesday’s announcement as an important step in getting more money for faster passenger rail service.
“We’re pleased that we’re able to find a path to move forward and continue to develop the project … if nothing else,” said Dan Krom, director of the passenger rail office for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
“If we can get to Chicago in 5-1/2 hours, we can compete with autos,” Krom told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
by jboullion | Nov 17, 2011 | Uncategorized
A news release from RENEW:
Construction is now proceeding on the Cashton Greens Wind Project, Wisconsin’s first community wind project. Consisting of two 2.5 megawatt turbines, this innovative installation will serve two well-known western Wisconsin organizations – Organic Valley, La Farge, and Gundersen Health System, La Crosse. The two organizations are partnering in the development and ownership of this project.
“We at RENEW salute Organic Valley and Gundersen for demonstrating the viability of a large-scale wind turbine project in Wisconsin as a strategy for controlling their energy expenses and reducing their reliance on fossil fuels, said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison.
According to the two companies, the generated electricity will account for five percent of Gundersen’s energy independence goal and more than offset the electricity usage at both Organic Valley’s distribution center in Cashton and its headquarters facilities in La Farge.
“This is leadership by example at its finest. In this case, two economic linchpins in their region have joined forces to incorporate on-site renewable energy production into their base operations,” said Vickerman.
“Organic Valley and Gundersen join a group of farsighted Wisconsin businesses that are taking great strides toward energy independence and sustainability, among them Epic Systems (Verona), Johnson Controls (Milwaukee), and Montchevré, a goat cheese producer in Belmont.”
Erecting wind turbines using in-state contractors, in this case Michels Corporation (Brownsville), will generate jobs for workers and business for local suppliers and subcontractors.
This project was supported with incentives from Focus on Energy, the statewide energy efficiency and renewables program funded by Wisconsin’s utility ratepayers.
“Ironically, this project occurs at a time when our state government is back-pedaling on policies and incentives to boost renewable energy as a means of moving toward energy independence. In contrast to Wisconsin’s elected officials, leading Wisconsin companies certainly ʽget it’ when it comes to the economic and environmental values of renewable energy,” said Vickerman.
For more information about this project and its owners/developers visit Organic Valley’s news room at http://www.organicvalley.coop/newsroom.
