by jboullion | Sep 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an announcement issued by the Energy Center of Wisconsin:
Free live webinar
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
1:00pm – 2:00pm CDT
Presented by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, Clean Wisconsin
The Midwest contains the world’s largest concentration of productive agriculture and food processing, and produces enormous amounts of animal and food waste. The Midwest is also rich in woody biomass and other forestry resources that can be sustainably harvested.
However, only a tiny portion of these wastes is converted to biogas, a renewable substitute for natural gas that reduces fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas pollution. For agricultural waste alone, the Midwest’s 55 anaerobic digesters pale in comparison to Germany’s, which exceed 4,000 despite its significantly smaller agricultural output.
This webinar explores the potential for this renewable energy resource to grow by examining biogas sources, conversion technologies, and outputs together with energy policies needed to support them. With appropriate policy and deployment, biogas can become a substantial source of energy in the Midwest.
by jboullion | Sep 15, 2010 | Uncategorized
THINK GREEN PICNIC
…FOR PEOPLE WORKING TO SAVE THE PLANET
Join other GREEN people, for your monthly dose of what’s going on in the “green scene” – the picnic will feature many representatives from environmental groups.
Brats, hot dogs, veggie option, potato salad, chips, condiments, cookies, water and pop are provided. You are welcome to bring your own beer, wine or other drinks.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Pine Pavilion, Carson Park
4:30-7:00 PM No rain date
Be kind to the earth:
Please bring your own reusable plate, cup, napkin and utensils
***Payment and RSVP MUST BE MADE IN ADVANCE***
$3 Individual $5 Couple $7 Family
Send to Think Green, 3013 Putnam Glen Place, Eau Claire, WI
Sponsored by Green Drinks Eau Claire.
by jboullion | Sep 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a report titled “The Facts about Wind Energy’s Emissions Savings” prepared by the American Wind Energy Association:
. . . four of the seven major independent grid operators in the U.S. have studied the emissions impact of adding wind energy to their power grids, and all four have found that adding wind energy drastically reduces emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants. While the emissions savings depend somewhat on the existing share of coal-fired versus gas-fired generation in the region, as one would expect, it is impossible to dispute the findings of these four independent grid operators that adding wind energy to their grids has significantly reduced emissions. . . .
DOE data show that wind and other renewables’ share of Texas’s electric mix increased from 1.3% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2008, an increase in share of 3.1 percentage points. During that period, electric sector carbon dioxide emissions declined by 3.3%, even though electricity use actually increased by 2% during that time. Because of wind energy, the state of Texas was able to turn what would have been a carbon emissions increase into a decrease of 8,690,000 metric tons per year, equal to the emissions savings of taking around 1.5 million cars off the road.
by jboullion | Sep 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
RENEW Wisconisn’s summer newsletter includes these articles:
Council Backs Compromise on Siting Standards
After four months of intensive review and debate, the 15-member Wind Siting Council presented to the Public Service Commission (PSC) its final recommendations on the statewide permitting rule under development. The Council’s report comes at a critical juncture; the PSC will issue a fi nal rule on this proceeding before the end of August.
Community Wind on Move in Cashton
What may become Wisconsin’s first example of a Community Wind project cleared a significant hurdle in June when the Village of Cashton in Monroe County issued a permit to allow the construction of two Vestas V90 turbines, totaling 3.6 megawatts (MW), inside its business park.
Seventh Generation Pioneers Wind
Unusual from its start as a not-for- profit in the business of renewable energy, Seventh Generation Energy Systems (commonly called Seventh Gen) continues to pioneer organizationally and technically with the addition of Jim Yockey, executive director, and Ry Thompson, project manager. Alicia Leinberger, one of the founders of Seventh Gen, oversees marketing and business development for the eight-year-old organization.
Making Sense of the Gulf Disaster
About 100 people gathered in downtown Madison in early July to take part in “Hands Across the hands,” an internationally organized protest against continued oil drilling in and along the world’s coastal waters. Against the backdrop of the weed-choked waters of Lake Monona, they joined hands for 15 minutes to express their fervent desire to see a cleaner, less destructive energy future emerge from the liquid melanoma spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.
No doubt the protestors would like to do more, much more, than simply engage in a ritualized protest in front of a few camera crews. But we live in a society that is organized around the expectation of a limitless supply of nonrenewable hydrocarbons feeding concentrated energy into our economic bloodstream. Most of us have not bothered to comprehend the yawning gulf that lies between our best intentions and our abject dependence on the wealth-producing properties of petroleum.
Turbines Power Cascade Wastewater
With the start-up of two 100-kilowatt (kW) wind turbines, the Village of Cascade became the first Wisconsin community to power its municipal wastewater treatment plant with 100 percent locally produced wind energy.
The impetus behind Cascade’s embrace of wind power was the avoided utility expenditures associated with operating a wastewater treatment plant. In the first year of operation, Cascade
stands to save $30,000.
Calendar
Sept. 29 — Solar Decade Conference, Milwaukee, WI. A comprehensive solar energy educational opportunity for your home, business, and career. Sponsored by Focus on Energy, We Energies, and others. For details see www.solardecade.com.
Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 — 2010Solar Thermal ‘10, Milwaukee, WI. A national solar heating and cooling conference and expo for solar thermal professionals. For details see www.the-mrea.org.
October 2, 2010 — Solar Tour of Homes and Businesses. All across Wisconsin. Owners open their doors to let people see how renewable energy is practical, reliable, and affordable in today’s economy. The homes and businesses often include other energy effi ciency and renewable technologies. For details see www.the-mrea.org.
October 13, 2010 — Wisconsin Wind Energy Supply Chain Workshop, Milwaukee, WI. Learn how to join the wind energy supply chain from fi rst tier and aftermarket manufacturers. For details see www.thenewnorth.com.
Mar. 9 – 12, 2011 — Green Energy Summit: The Green Frontier, Milwaukee, WI. An acclaimed professional/academic conference featuring keynote speakers, workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation and others. For details see www.greenenergysummit.us.
by jboullion | Aug 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by by Shawnda Schelinder in The Daily Press, Ashland:
Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College continues to respond to the rapidly growing interest in renewable energy and sustainability — both in operations and in programming. At both the campus and the college level, WITC is employing a variety of methods to improve sustainability and reduce costs. And the college continues to investigate and expand programming, while enhancing current programs.
Locally, sustainability improvements will be evident at the WITC-Ashland Campus, thanks to the Ashland County Land and Water Conservation Department and a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Rain gardens, as functional as they are pretty, were planted at the southern edge of the campus.