by jboullion | Jun 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Sara Daehn in the Cresco Times-Plain Dealer:
Cresco, Iowa – Construction is underway on a 99-megawatt wind farm near Riceville.
The Crane Creek Wind Project will consist of 66 GE 1.5 megawatt wind turbines and is expected to generate electricity to provide for the energy needs of approximately 27,000 homes serviced by investor-owned electric and natural gas utility Wisconsin Public Service, who will take over ownership of the project upon completion.
About 50-60 construction workers began working at the site of the Crane Creek Wind Project, located at 9895 Fir Ave. in rural Riceville, on April 13. So far, crews have been busy mobilizing the construction site, pouring foundations for each turbine and creating access roads.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin wind energy development stands still because of local opposition to wind siting. In other words, local opposition hasn’t stopped Wisconsin utilities from developing and electricity customers from using wind-generated electricity. The opposition just sends the jobs to workers in Iowa and Minnesota.
by jboullion | Jun 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the UW-Extension, Lincoln County:
A Workshop for Local Government on Working with Small Scale Wind Powered Generators
There is no charge for this program but we’d appreciate it if you let us know if you’ll be attending. Please call the Lincoln County Extension Office at 715-539-1072 by June 5th to register.
When: TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2009
Where: Room 257, Lincoln County Services Center, 801 N. Sales Street, Merrill, WI
Wind powered generators have been around for decades but as the market for ustainable power sources and the technology to meet that market has developed public and private investments into wind power has been speeding up. At the same time local and state governments have been faced with the challenge of how or if they should regulate them. This workshop provides local elected and appointed officials, and those in the public who are interested, with an opportunity to find out what the state of the industry is for smaller private and community based wind generators, talk about the variety of state and local regulations that are currently in place to guide their placement and operation, present some model ordinances that communities can consider, review the resources that are available for supporting and/or promoting the adoption of wind and other alternative energy sources, and actually visit a couple of privately installed wind powered generators. . . .
Featured Morning Speaker
Mick Sagrillo, Sagrillo Power and Light and Wisconsin Focus on Energy, has over 25 years experience with wind technology and founded in 1983 Lake Michigan Wind & Sun, Ltd, a company which manufactures wind generator components & towers, remanufactures and repairs equipment, and installs wind systems. He has been involved in over 700 projects in 46 states and 29 foreign countries. He is also an author and has written many of the most influential articles published on small-scale wind technology. He is the wind editor and a regular contributor of wind power articles to Home Power Magazine; monthly columnist for the American Wind Energy Association’s Windletter; columnist for Solar Today magazine and has written various articles on wind power for PV/Wind Energy News and Backwoods Home magazine. Many of his articles have been widely reprinted and translated into other languages. He has led many workshops on wind energy, is a founding member of the Midwest Renewable energy Association and has served as president of the board. He has an unparalleled record of service to organizations working to promote sustainable energy and has received numerous awards for his outstanding work. He is currently the owner of Sagrillo Power and Light, a consulting firm specializing in home-sized wind turbine technology and educational workshops and serves as a consultant for Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy Program.
Wind site tours
1:30 PM
Randee Block Farm
Lincoln County – Town of Scott
3:30 PM
Mike and Kathy Anderson Farm
Marathon County – Town of Marathon
by jboullion | Jun 3, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wind turbine prices have fallen significantly in recent months amid the economic slowdown, and that, in turn, has brought down the projected cost to build the state’s largest wind farm.
The Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County is now projected to cost a maximum of $413.5 million, down from a projection of $525.6 million when We Energies announced the project last year.
The Milwaukee utility is seeking to build the project in the next several years to comply with a state law that requires 10% of Wisconsin’s electricity be supplied by wind turbines and other renewable energy sources by 2015.
“Market conditions for the procurement of wind turbine equipment have changed considerably” since the utility first submitted its proposal to the state Public Service Commission, We Energies said in a filing with state regulators.
We Energies is proposing a 90-turbine wind power project, the Glacier Hills Wind Park, northeast of Madison. It would be the largest wind farm in the state, slightly bigger than the 88-turbine Blue Sky Green Field wind farm We Energies began operating near Fond du Lac last year.
Glacier Hills would generate enough power over a year to supply 45,000 typical homes, the utility says.
The utility also said it has reached an agreement with Vestas to supply turbines for the wind project, if the development is given the go-ahead by state regulators.
The drop in prices for wind turbines is linked to the recession and a slowdown in wind power development caused by both the economy and tight credit markets.
by jboullion | Jun 3, 2009 | Uncategorized
Commentary by
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director, RENEW Wisconsin
June 2, 2009
Much to no one’s surprise, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell sharply in 2008 from previous year levels. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), which has been tracking greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, attributes the 2.8% decline to a combination of high energy prices in spring 2008 and the global economic contraction that picked up strength during the second half of the year.
This was certainly the largest year-over-year decline ever reported by the agency. However, even with 2008’s substantial decline, greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. sources have risen 16.9% since 2000. The results, which are preliminary and are likely to be adjusted this fall, can be viewed at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/flash.html.
The most dramatic reductions occurred in the transportation sector, which fell by more than 5%. Jet fuel consumption is down 9.1%, from this time last year, while demand for diesel fuel consumption is off by 9.9%, reflecting a substantial reduction in truck traffic and rail tonnage. Though it seems like ancient history, the price of diesel fuel on Memorial Day 2008 was $4.72 per gallon, $2.45 higher than current prices.
Even the electric power sector, one of the faster-growing sources of emissions in recent years, was not spared from this trend. According to EIA, about half of the 2.1% reduction in CO2 emissions in the electric power sector can be attributed to declining electricity output. But another contributing factor was the extraordinary growth in installed wind generation capacity last year. A record-shattering 8,500 MW of new wind projects was placed in service in 2008, capping a four-year boom that has nearly quadrupled total installed capacity in the United States.
Bucking the downturn, wind project construction has been one of the very few bright spots in the domestic economy. Nowhere was the pace of activity more feverish than in Iowa, now the No. 2 state in installed wind capacity, trailing only Texas. More than 900 utility-scale turbines started operation in 2008, doubling the state’s wind generating capacity. This year, the Iowa Policy Project expects wind energy to account for 15% of the state’s total generation. In no other state has wind energy penetration even reached double-digit figures.
Last year’s frenetic construction pace is starting to ebb, however, as wholesale electric prices sink to historic lows. As declining demand for electricity exerts downward pressure on coal and natural gas prices, wind energy developers will struggle to attract financing for their projects. Right now, the signals from the power markets strongly discourage new plant construction of any type, be it wind, coal or natural gas.
The pain administered by the economic downdraft has been especially acute at Alliant Energy, whose Wisconsin subsidiary is located in Madison. Having lost two very large customers due to plant closures, including the mammoth General Motors plant in Janesville, Alliant is aggressively cutting costs to prepare for a forecasted 10% decline in sales to industrial customers. These measures include a suspension of contributions to employee 401(k) plans, layoffs affecting all management levels, the closure of redundant power stations and the postponement of planned power plant upgrades.
Ironically, even though it is scaling back operations elsewhere, Alliant’s Wisconsin subsidiary is moving forward with a 200 MW (133 turbine) wind project in southern Minnesota called Bent Tree. If approved, Bent Tree would be the largest wind project owned by a Wisconsin utility.
Alliant’s desire to build Bent Tree is a direct consequence of Wisconsin’s energy policy, the centerpiece of which is a requirement on utilities to increase the renewable energy content of electricity sold to their customers. Between now and 2015, Alliant must acquire additional sources of renewable energy to satisfy that mandate. Given where the economy is headed, Wisconsin’s renewable electricity standard may be the only thing that’s keeping Alliant in the power plant building business.
If Alliant’s windpower plans stay on track, the utility will meet its 2015 target several years in advance. Last December, Alliant commenced operations at its 68 MW (41 turbine) Cedar Ridge plant southeast of Fond du Lac, in the heart of Wisconsin’s wind belt.
Between the nasty economic weather out there and the state’s pro-renewable energy policy, I expect greenhouse gas emissions here to fall even more dramatically in 2009.
Sources:
“Alliant eliminates 60 jobs in state” (May 28, 2009)
“Beloit power plant to shut down by year-end” (May 26, 2009)
“Alliant decisions on plants on hold” (May 24, 2009)
“Like economy, greenhouse has emissions fell in ‘08” (May 22, 2009)
“Rate watch: CEO calls rate hikes ‘most unwelcome’ (May 14, 2009)
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/pluggedin.html (Tom Content’s blog for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Michael Vickerman is the executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison. For more information on what Wisconsin is doing to advance sustainable energy, visit RENEW’s web site at: www.renewwisconsin.org and RENEW’s blog at: http://renewwisconsinblog.org. RENEW also operates Madison Peak Oil Group’s blog: http://www.madisonpeakoil-blog.blogspot.com
by jboullion | May 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in The Marshfield News-Herald:
A Wisconsin Rapids-based manufacturer is leading the charge to create standardized training for the growing wind energy industry.
Energy Composites Corp., the parent company of Wisconsin Rapids-based Advanced Fiberglass Technologies, is working with the U.S. Department of Energy and a Norway-based company to develop a universal standard of training that would include an internationally accredited curriculum.
“The idea is in the industry we don’t have a way of assuring we have trained individuals … (who) have some way of proving their capabilities,” said Sam Fairchild, Energy Composites’ chief executive officer.
Det Norske Veritas, a global certification company, began developing wind energy standards when the industry first started in the early 1980s, but those standards were limited to equipment and building techniques — not training, according to the company’s Web site.
Energy Composites signed a letter of intent with Mid-State Technical College last week to establish a 12-credit certification program that will be the first of its kind and set the precedence for other wind energy companies.
“We’re pretty confident that we can get that done by spring semester next year with the first course load,” Fairchild said. “The guys at Mid-State have been great. The retraining of people is something that is precisely up their alley.”
