by jboullion | Sep 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article on ControlDesign.com:
It was like the Egyptian obelisk going up in “The 10 Commandments,” only it was a lot faster, and the slaves were replaced by portable hydraulics. Oh, and there was a 32 ft diameter fan at the top.
This was the scene on a sunny, early-September afternoon as Wago installed a 100 ft tall wind turbine next to its U.S. headquarters in Germantown, Wis. And, as if the gleaming white tower wasn’t impressive enough, it was “tipped up” in an amazing 8-10 minutes by a portable hydraulic unit hooked up right next to the tower. After that, it took only another 15 minutes to bolt down the tower, hook up its electronics, and get it spinning in the breeze of Wisconsin’s famous “dairy air.”
Capable of generating 20 kW for Wago’s multi-function facility, the small-scale, commercial-grade VP-20 turbine was built by Renewegy in nearby Oshkosh, Wis. The turbine employs Wago’s 787 Series power supplies, 756 Series cables/connectors, 288 Series fuse blocks and backup capacitor module.
The wind turbine’s initial cost was $80,000, but state and federal incentives allow Wago to reduce its bill by about $35,000. Other VP-20s have been installed at SCA Tissue in Neenah, Wis., and at the North Texas Job Corp Center in McKinney, Texas. Renewegy reports that it can install single 20 kW units on farms, 40 kW dual units to serve schools, and 100 kW five-unit systems for small wind farms and commercial applications.
by jboullion | Aug 25, 2011 | Uncategorized
Immediate release
August 25, 2011
More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Wind Farm Productivity Comparable to Iowa’s
Production figures from wind energy projects owned by Wisconsin utilities reveal that there is no significant difference between wind farms in Iowa and the Badger State, according to an analysis of utility annual reports performed by RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization advocating for public policies and private initiatives that advance renewable energy.
The most productive wind project last year was Wisconsin Public Service’s Crane Creek project in Howard County, Iowa, followed closely by Wisconsin Power and Light’s Cedar Ridge project in Fond du Lac County. (See table below.) The output from both projects in 2010 exceeded 30 percent of their rated capacity. Capacity factor is a measure of actual output relative to potential output if the turbine ran 100 percent of the time at full capacity.
“These figures suggest that the winds in Wisconsin can deliver significant quantities of clean energy to nearby users,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW. “This is especially true of the newer turbines with taller towers and longer blades.”
“Clearly Wisconsin ratepayers are getting their money’s worth from Wisconsin’s newest wind projects,” Vickerman said. “Moreover, the host communities reap considerable economic benefits in the form of payments to local governments and landowners.”
Differences in output between wind projects in the same region can be attributable to causes other than the wind resource itself. These can include shutdowns caused by grid congestion and operating restrictions aimed at minimizing impacts on wildlife and project neighbors.
“The evidence suggests that Cedar Ridge is a standout performer among Wisconsin wind projects, and every bit as productive as the projects in Iowa owned by Wisconsin utilities,” said Vickerman.
Click table to enlarge.
by jboullion | Aug 24, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Held and Thomas Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Board seeks female or minority contractor participation
Plans to build a 154-foot wind turbine to generate power for the Milwaukee Port Authority stalled Thursday over the lack of minority and female business participation in the lowest bid on the construction contract.
The Milwaukee Board of Harbor Commissioners tabled action on the contract with the low bidder, Kettle View Renewable Energy LLC of Random Lake. The firm’s bid of $522,900 included roughly $2,000 of work by subcontractors, which would meet the emerging business enterprise designation.
That’s not nearly enough, according to Ald. Robert Bauman, who led the commission’s criticism of the contract.
The alderman said he would not support a contract for city work that did not address the severe unemployment and underemployment problem in his district and others.
“If that means losing $500,000, then we’ll lose $500,000,” Bauman said.
As proposed, a combination of $400,000 in federal renewable-energy stimulus money and grants of up to $100,000 each from the state Focus on Energy Program and We Energies would pay for the wind turbine.
With the federal funding, the contract does not include any specific requirements for emerging business participation. Bauman and other commissioners, though, argued that the low bid from Kettle View fell far short of the goals to generate jobs for city residents.
Experience preferred
Randy Faller, a principal in Kettle View, said his firm worked with experienced subcontractors familiar with the intricacies of the excavation and electrical work in constructing a wind turbine. He has been unable to find businesses that offer that experience and emerging enterprise certification.
The commission has limited options: reject all five bids and seek new proposals or approve the contract with Kettle View.
Bauman said he would scrap the turbine project before approving the current proposed deal.
“I don’t see our citizens tolerating this,” he said.
Mayor Tom Barrett “supports strong emerging business requirements in contracting,” said Matt Howard, the city’s environmental sustainability director, whose office proposed the wind turbine. “However, federal law prohibits the Board of Harbor Commissioners from imposing these requirements in this wind energy project.”
by jboullion | Aug 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
Immediate release
August 8, 2011
More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Statement of Michael Vickerman
Executive Director – RENEW Wisconsin on
Alliant’s Iowa Wind Energy Project
Alliant Energy, parent company of Wisconsin Power and Light, disclosed its intention last week to build a 100-megawatt wind energy facility in Franklin County, Iowa, and place it in service before December 2012. For the moment at least, the costs of this investment will not be borne by Alliant’s Iowa or Wisconsin ratepayers, but rather the parent company’s shareholders.
Moving forward now on this project locks in the favorable pricing terms for the wind turbines that Alliant had negotiated several years ago with Vestas, a Danish turbine manufacturer with a plant in Colorado.
We at RENEW support Alliant’s renewable energy venture so long as it operates as either a merchant plant, selling the electricity into the Midwest wholesale market, or a dedicated source of renewable electricity serving Alliant’s Iowa ratepayers.
However, RENEW firmly believes that utility-owned generating assets should be located in the same state where the ratepayers who are underwriting the project reside. In other words, if there comes a time when Alliant needs a new wind project to meet its Wisconsin renewable energy requirements, it should either build that installation in Wisconsin or purchase electricity from a new nonutility-owned installation located in Wisconsin.
There is a fully permitted wind project in Alliant’s Wisconsin territory that is ready to serve Wisconsin Power and Light customers. Located in Lafayette County, the Quilt Block project, developed by EDP Renewables, an independent wind developer, is licensed to be a 99-megawatt facility that could be operational before the end of 2012. The economic benefits to Lafayette County and Wisconsin as a whole from pursuing local wind projects like Quilt Block far exceed what can be obtained from more distant sources of renewable electricity.
END
by jboullion | Aug 5, 2011 | Uncategorized
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
We Energies customers could see a small increase in electric bills in 2012 linked to the higher price of coal and other power plant fuels expected next year, the company said Wednesday.
The state’s largest utility filed a plan with the state Public Service Commission that said costs linked to power plant fuels are projected to rise by about $50 million in 2012.
The utility wants to delay an increase in non-fuel rates until 2013. Whenever that increase hits customers’ bills, it would result in a hike of about 6%, the utility projects.
Under the utility’s plan, rates would rise in 2012 only because of power plant fuel prices, and the bottom line for customers would be an overall 2012 increase of less than 1%.
Residential customers would see a 0.7% increase, adding 77 cents a month for a typical residential customer now paying $104.90 a month for electricity, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said. Business customers would see increases of about 1% to 1.1%. . . .
The higher price of coal is projected to lead to $28 million in higher costs next year, including the price of the fuel itself and cost to deliver it by train to Wisconsin. Other increases include $10 million for power it buys from the Point Beach nuclear plant and about $8 million for natural gas.
Offsetting these increases somewhat is the state’s newest and largest wind farm, set to open late this year. Generation from the Glacier Hills Wind Park would decrease 2012 fuel costs by more than $12 million, We Energies said.
