by jboullion | Feb 5, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Wayne Nelson in BusinessNorth:
The legislature and Gov. James Doyle used federal stimulus money to offset one-third of the budget shortfall, he said. The remaining deficit was offset with spending cuts and new taxes.
“Without the federal stimulus money, we would have had to shut down the (UW) campuses,” he said.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on lawmakers in both states to help create private sector jobs, and reduce unemployment. In Wisconsin, the emerging priorities are stabilizing the state’s manufacturing sector and jumpstarting the state’s entry into the green energy economy.
On Jan. 6, Governor Doyle introduced his green energy development plan, the proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act, to the Legislature. The bill embodies recommendations by the Global Warming Task Force that Doyle created in 2007 to find ways to combat predicted climate change in Wisconsin, including drought, damage to forests and wetlands, and already historically low Lake Michigan water levels.
“This bill will ensure Wisconsin is on the leading edge in capturing green jobs,” said state Rep. Nick Milroy, D-Superior.
It calls for weaning the state of its dependence on fossil fuels by increasing the use of renewable fuels, and even invites a debate over potential new nuclear power development.
The bill would mandate that 25 percent of energy be generated from renewable sources – including wind, solar and biomass – by 2025. The state’s current goal is 10 percent by 2015, and at the end of 2008, Wisconsin was just less than 5 percent.
by jboullion | Feb 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a story on WEAU-TV (Eau Claire):
Governor Jim Doyle visited Evrisko Systems in Eau Claire this morning. During his visit, Governor Doyle discussed his plans to position Wisconsin to seize opportunities in energy efficiency manufacturing, invest in the state’s innovative manufacturing and clean energy business, and create thousands of new jobs.
“I am very, very proud of what’s happened in Wisconsin in the last seven years, and NanoRite is a good example of this. We have developed a really strong and growing entrepreneurial, high-tech culture in this state,” Doyle said. “My number one priority is helping our business create jobs and giving our workers the opportunities to get these jobs.”
Governor Doyle also mentioned that Wisconsin is recognized across the United States for having one of the best early start-up tax credit systems. The Governor has called on the legislature to pass the clean energy jobs act to accelerate the state’s clean energy economy in hopes of creating at least 15,000 jobs.
by jboullion | Feb 3, 2010 | Uncategorized
Michael Vickerman (left), Josh Stolzenburg (center), owner of North Wind Renewable Energy, LLC, Stevens Point, and Dave Miller, Wave Wind, LLC, Sun Prairie, testify in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill before the Special Assembly Committee on Climate Change. Vickerman leans forward to show the committee members a map of renewable energy installations.
From a summary of Michael Vickerman’s (RENEW Wisconsin)
testimony before the Assembly Special Committee on Clean Energy, February 2, 2010:
RENEW Wisconsin strongly supports the provisions in SB450/AB649 to expand the state’s Renewable Energy Standard to 25% by 2025, which includes a 10% in-state renewable energy set-aside. RENEW has evaluated the availability of specific resources to reach that standard and has concluded that meeting such a target is technically feasible. If adopted, the in-state set-aside will become the most powerful engine for job development and capital investment over the next 15 years.
We expect such a requirement to be achieved through a combination of utility-scale power plants and smaller-scale generating units dispersed throughout Wisconsin. With respect to distributed renewable generation, we note the following:
1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.
2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.
3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Last week, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.
4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.
5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.
by jboullion | Feb 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a question-and-answer summary of the Low Carbon Fuels Standard included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill written by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, for Clean Wisconsin:
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (SB 450 and AB 649), announced recently by Governor Doyle, has been introduced by both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by the governor’s Climate Change Task Force. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, if adopted, will increase Wisconsin’s use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fuels and cleaner cars. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in the bill would be established based on recommendations currently under development by a broad stakeholder group of the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA).
Below are a series of answers to frequently asked question about how an LCFS will impact biofuels and oil sands (compiled by Pete Taglia of Clean Wisconsin and member of the Midwestern Governors Association’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Advisory Group). If you have questions about the LCFS you can contact Pete Taglia at ptaglia@cleanwisconsin.org.
Question: What is a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)?
A LCFS is a fuel policy that will help break our dependence on foreign sources of oil and promote energy independence by gradually moving Wisconsin toward the cleanest and most efficient sources of transportation fuels. A LCFS rates different types of transportation fuels by their efficiency and carbon footprint and allows fuel providers to choose what mix of fuels will be used to meet the requirement.
Question: What types of fuels qualify for an LCFS?
An LCFS policy is unique in that all transportation fuels are able to compete in the fuel market, including the following resources:
• Ethanol: Alcohol fuel made from corn or cellulose (wood, plant stalks, harvest residues, etc.). Wisconsin has 8 corn ethanol plants producing almost 500 million gallons per year.
• Biodiesel: A diesel substitute (mono alkl ester) made from vegetable and animal oils that is then mixed with petroleum diesel (e.g., B20 is 20% biodiesel). Wisconsin has 8 biodiesel plants that use soybean oil, waste animal fats, and waste grease feedstocks.
• Renewable diesel: A fuel chemically similar to petroleum diesel (a hydrocarbon fuel) but made with renewable resources such as wood waste. Flambeau River Biofuels in Park Falls and New Page in Wisconsin Rapids both received Department of Energy grants to produce renewable diesel from wood waste.
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): Wisconsin has approximately 20 CNG fueling stations and two school district bus systems that use natural gas. ANGI Energy Systems of Milton is a leading manufacturer of CNG fueling systems and Wisconsin leads the nation in the production of biogas from dairy manure and food wastes.
• Electricity: Wisconsin has numerous electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of state, utility and private car fleets. Wisconsin’s largest corporation, Johnson Controls, is a leading battery manufacturer that won a recent contract to supply batteries to Ford’s new electric van and Columbia Parcar of Reedsburg manufacturers a line of electric utility vehicles in WI.
by jboullion | Jan 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Danielle Begalke in The Country Today:
EAU CLAIRE – The Clean Energy Jobs Act is aimed at amping up energy efficiency and conservation, curbing dependence on nonrenewable resources and creating more jobs in Wisconsin.
That’s according to Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen, who expressed support for the bill during a Jan. 21 visit to northwestern Wisconsin.
The bill, which Gov. Jim Doyle introduced earlier this month, implements recommendations from his Global Warming Task Force to address climate change and ramp up the state’s “green economy,” a Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection news release said.
Nilsestuen visited with Wisconsin Farmers Union members in Chippewa Falls Jan. 21 before speaking at the joint Midwest Value-Added Agriculture Conference and Local Food Summit in Eau Claire.
“With the Clean Energy Jobs Act we’ll put together a framework for moving Wisconsin toward becoming a much greener and cleaner state,” Nilsestuen told conference attendees.
The proposed legislation calls for 20 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020 – and 25 percent by 2025.
“We consume $16 billion worth of out-of-state fuel for our cars and homes every year,” Nilsestuen said. “You can easily see why we want those dollars to stay here in the state.”
The secretary said he hopes to see more alternative fuel options become available for farms of all sizes.
“We have about 30 anaerobic digesters in the state,” Nilsestuen said. He estimated that each digester provides enough energy to fuel 400 homes.
“We need to make these options more available, to make them sustainable and profitable for small farmers,” he said.
