by jboullion | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Legislative committees will hold a hearing on the bill (Senate Bill 185 and an identical companion Assembly Bill 265) on May 12 in the State Capitol.
From an article by Brad Bryan in The Country Today:
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state Senate last week seeks to make it easier for developers to build wind turbines in Wisconsin.
Authored by State Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, Rep. Jim Solestki, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, the bill would keep local municipalities from putting in place restrictive, anti-wind ordinances.
Tremplealeau County and the towns of Magnolia and Union in Rock County recently adopted ordinances that make it difficult, if not impossible, to construct wind turbines.
In 2007, Trempealeau County adopted an ordinance with a 1-mile setback limit from any occupied dwelling, which some have called the strictest anti wind power regulations in the country.
“There literally isn’t one square inch in Trempealeau County where you can lawfully place a turbine,” said Ryan Schryver, an advocate with Clean Wisconsin. “It’s no accident that every municipality uses different setbacks. There are no standards.”
Senate Bill 185 would establish statewide setback and other standards and would require a Public Service Commion-led stakeholder committee to oversee the process.
“I think everyone will get a seat at the table,” Schryver said. Among those at the table would be non-compensated landowners, PSC representatives, developers and other state agencies.
The bill would not, however, automatically roll back the strict standards already in place in some towns and counties.
“It’s not going to trump any existing ordinances without taking them into consideration,” Schryver said.
Ron Winn of Ettrick hopes the bill would roll back existing ordinances.
Winn is suing Trempealeau County for the right to build a turbine on his property.
Winn, who is suing on his own behalf, is a partner in the development company AgWind Energy Partners, which had erected test towers near Ettrick before a wave of backlash killed the project.
Because of the pushback it received in Trempealeau County – and the resulting expense – the company has set its sights on other wind projects, including one near Alma in Buffalo County.
by jboullion | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Legislative committees will hold a hearing on the bill (Senate Bill 185 and an identical companion Assembly Bill 265) on May 12 in the State Capitol.
From an article by Brad Bryan in The Country Today:
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the state Senate last week seeks to make it easier for developers to build wind turbines in Wisconsin.
Authored by State Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, Rep. Jim Solestki, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, the bill would keep local municipalities from putting in place restrictive, anti-wind ordinances.
Tremplealeau County and the towns of Magnolia and Union in Rock County recently adopted ordinances that make it difficult, if not impossible, to construct wind turbines.
In 2007, Trempealeau County adopted an ordinance with a 1-mile setback limit from any occupied dwelling, which some have called the strictest anti wind power regulations in the country.
“There literally isn’t one square inch in Trempealeau County where you can lawfully place a turbine,” said Ryan Schryver, an advocate with Clean Wisconsin. “It’s no accident that every municipality uses different setbacks. There are no standards.”
Senate Bill 185 would establish statewide setback and other standards and would require a Public Service Commion-led stakeholder committee to oversee the process.
“I think everyone will get a seat at the table,” Schryver said. Among those at the table would be non-compensated landowners, PSC representatives, developers and other state agencies.
The bill would not, however, automatically roll back the strict standards already in place in some towns and counties.
“It’s not going to trump any existing ordinances without taking them into consideration,” Schryver said.
Ron Winn of Ettrick hopes the bill would roll back existing ordinances.
Winn is suing Trempealeau County for the right to build a turbine on his property.
Winn, who is suing on his own behalf, is a partner in the development company AgWind Energy Partners, which had erected test towers near Ettrick before a wave of backlash killed the project.
Because of the pushback it received in Trempealeau County – and the resulting expense – the company has set its sights on other wind projects, including one near Alma in Buffalo County.
by jboullion | May 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chicago – Anyone looking for signs that sectors of the economy have found some shelter from the recession needed only to walk the halls of the McCormick Place convention center Thursday.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the world’s largest trade show for the wind power industry saw record attendance in its bid to prove that energy from wind has escaped the label “alternative.”
“When you look at this show, you wouldn’t know there’s a slowdown in the economy,” Kim Zuhlke, an executive at Alliant Energy Corp., said while standing between massive booths at the conference Thursday.
Organizers of Windpower 2009, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, weren’t sure how their conference would do, but the show ended up attracting more than 20,000 people. That’s 60% more than attended last year in Houston, the association said.
The recession has hit the wind power industry just like every other sector of the economy, as projects stalled for lack of financing. In an industry forecast earlier this year, the association said the wind industry is likely to slow this year after setting records for new projects last year.
“Everyone’s been in a holding pattern. It’s not just wind energy – the entire country had taken a pause,” said Ellen Shafer of Broadwind Energy, based near Chicago.
But the mood at the convention this week has been one of optimism, said Shafer, whose company has two Wisconsin subsidiaries – TowerTech, a Manitowoc maker of wind towers, and Badger Transport of Clintonville, a trucking company specializing in hauling the oversized components that are the of a wind farm development.
by jboullion | May 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Chicago – Anyone looking for signs that sectors of the economy have found some shelter from the recession needed only to walk the halls of the McCormick Place convention center Thursday.
With more than 1,200 exhibitors, the world’s largest trade show for the wind power industry saw record attendance in its bid to prove that energy from wind has escaped the label “alternative.”
“When you look at this show, you wouldn’t know there’s a slowdown in the economy,” Kim Zuhlke, an executive at Alliant Energy Corp., said while standing between massive booths at the conference Thursday.
Organizers of Windpower 2009, sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, weren’t sure how their conference would do, but the show ended up attracting more than 20,000 people. That’s 60% more than attended last year in Houston, the association said.
The recession has hit the wind power industry just like every other sector of the economy, as projects stalled for lack of financing. In an industry forecast earlier this year, the association said the wind industry is likely to slow this year after setting records for new projects last year.
“Everyone’s been in a holding pattern. It’s not just wind energy – the entire country had taken a pause,” said Ellen Shafer of Broadwind Energy, based near Chicago.
But the mood at the convention this week has been one of optimism, said Shafer, whose company has two Wisconsin subsidiaries – TowerTech, a Manitowoc maker of wind towers, and Badger Transport of Clintonville, a trucking company specializing in hauling the oversized components that are the ingredients of a wind farm development.
by jboullion | May 8, 2009 | Uncategorized
FIRST RELEASED May 8, 2009
REVISED May 12, 2009
MORE INFORMATION
Ed Blume
608.819.0748
eblume@renewwisconsin.org
State snares federal dollars for renewable energy work
In the most recent round of federal renewable energy grants, Wisconsin led all states in capturing project dollars to address market and development challenges associated with wind energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that a Wisconsin non-profit organization and three post-secondary schools captured more than $1 million for projects to promote market acceptance and workforce development, two challenges identified in a 2008 DOE report.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will receive nearly $600,000, while the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will receive just over $300,000 and Lakeshore Technical College (Cleveland, WI) a little less than $200,000.
“Our success in receiving these awards is a reflection of the State of Wisconsin’s strong commitment to expanding the wind energy marketplace here,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.
RENEW Wisconsin proposed in its grant application to develop a one-stop online source of information for wind developers, state and local policymakers and regulators, and the general public.
The web site will include documents and links to relevant state and federal statutes and rules, facts sheets on everything from aesthetics to court decisions, zoning, and other resources, as well as a calendar of upcoming workshops, seminars, training, briefings, grant opportunities, RFPs, and other relevant events and opportunities.
The other grants will promote workforce development. The UW-Madison will provide short courses in wind power plant design, construction and operations and develop curriculum to integrate wind energy systems curriculum into power engineering education programs; the UW-Milwaukee intends to create a wind energy educational collaborative in southeastern Wisconsin; and Lakeshore Technical College will develop additional partnerships to boosts its ongoing wind technician training programs.
DOE Awards in Market Acceptance:
• RENEW Wisconsin (Madison, WI) – Sowing the Seeds for a Bountiful Harvest: Shaping the Rules and Creating the Tools for Wisconsin’s Next Generation of Wind Farms – $93,348
DOE Awards in Workforce Development
• The Board of Regents of the UW System (Madison, WI) – A Continuing Education Short Course and Engineering Curriculum to Accelerate Workforce Development in Wind Power Plant Design, Construction, and Operations – $119,135
• Lakeshore Technical College (Cleveland, WI) – POWER – Purposeful Partnerships Coordinating Wind Education Resources – $199,236
• University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI) – Integration of Wind Energy Systems into Power Engineering Education Programs at UW-Madison – $399,931
• University Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI) – Southeast Wisconsin Wind Energy Educational Collaborative – $330,184
Full list of awards and DOE news release at http://www.energy.gov/news2009/print2009/7381.htm.
–END–
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.
