by jboullion | Mar 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Robert Imrie in the Wausau Daily Herald:
ROTHSCHILD — A proposed power plant that would burn wood to generate electricity and steam would be a “monster” source of pollution, causing neighbors to suffer from asthma and lung cancers, organizers of an effort to kill the project said Thursday.
The planned $255 million We Energies plant on the grounds of the Domtar paper mill along Business Highway 51 would burn waste wood to power the mill and generate electricity for consumers. View gallery
“We don’t want to be their guinea pigs,” Paul Schwantes told about 150 people packed into a room at the Village Hall, urging them to contact local political leaders. “This is a call to action. Tell them you do not want this project in our backyard.”
Schwantes said he was disappointed that only about 150 people in a village of 5,000 turned out to get more information about a “huge issue” in town. . . .
We Energies has applied to the state Public Service Commission to build Wisconsin’s first biomass plant in Rothschild. A decision is expected by the end of the year, said Brian Manthey, a spokesman for the Milwaukee-based utility.
The project would allow We Energies, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corp., to comply with a state mandate that 10 percent of Wisconsin’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2015.
In a telephone interview after the meeting Thursday, Manthey said the plant should not produce any more risk of asthma or lung cancers in the village, because the emissions will fall “well under” the state Department of Natural Resources standards for clean air.
by jboullion | Mar 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Pete Bach in the Green Bay Press Gazette:
APPLETON — The Boldt Company announced Tuesday it will provide all construction services for We Energies’ new 50 megawatt biomass cogeneration plant at the Domtar Corp. paper mill in Rothschild near Wausau.
The total project cost was pegged at $255 million.
“We’re excited about that,” said Bob DeKoch, Boldt president and chief operating officer. “We Energies is a great customer of ours and has been for a long time.”
We Energies, the Milwaukee-based provider of electricity and natural gas to more than 1 million customers, said the project will create about 400 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs.
DeKoch said the company will hire some new field craftsmen. The company believes the project management staff and engineering staff are sufficient to handle the job.
“We plan the work with all our customers and particularly our repeat customers so we make sure we have capacity available for them,” DeKoch said.
Boldt’s most recent work with We Energies was the 145 megawatt Blue Sky Green Field Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac County.
We Energies filed a petition March 15 to seek approval from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission for the Domtar plant, said WE spokeswoman Irissol Arce.
Construction will begin next spring if the PSC gives the green light by the end of the year, she said. On that timetable, the plant would be complete in the first half of 2013, We Energies said.
The facility is designed to use forest residue, clean wood waste and wood shavings to generate electricity and steam in sufficient amounts to assist Domtar’s paper making operations and wean the Montreal-based firm off fossil fuels.
by jboullion | Feb 23, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Wayne Nelson in BusinessNorth:
The proposed $250 million addition at Flambeau River Papers in Park Falls that would expand the mill into commercial manufacturing of “green diesel” and other renewable woody biomass products has cleared more hurdles on the way to a potential construction later this year.
On Jan. 19, Flambeau River Biofuels, an affiliate of the paper mill, said it has signed letters of intent with two more major project vendors. William “Butch” Johnson, majority owner of the paper mill and biofuels companies, said it has selected AMEC, a British engineering firm, to design the project, and Miron Construction based in Neenah, WI, as primary contractor.
In October, Flambeau River Biofuels selected Honeywell, Inc. to supply and integrate automation equipment and building controls for what would be the largest second-generation U.S. green diesel plant. In addition to producing transportation fuels and chemicals from woody biomass, the steam and electricity also produced in the process would make the paper mill the first in the nation to be fossil fuel-independent.
The biorefinery would be designed to process 1,000 dry tons per day of bark, sawdust and other residue with little market demand into 19 million gallons of green diesel and wax fuels per year. The project would add about 40 fulltime employees to the 300 already working in the mill. The additional demand for woody biomass would create an estimated 125 logging-related jobs for the regional wood products industry.
by jboullion | Jan 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill:
Enhanced Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Q: Won’t increased funding for statewide energy efficiency programs come out of the pockets of Wisconsin ratepayers? We shouldn’t be raising energy costs during an economic downturn by adding more fees to our utility bills.
A: Investing more money in energy efficiency has a demonstrable, risk-free payback for Wisconsin residents and businesses. Over the long run we will use less energy, which means we’ll actually be reducing our energy bills.
The cost of conserving energy is far less than the cost of building new power generation. Energy efficiency and conservation efforts are the least-cost means of mitigating carbon pollution.
Investing in energy efficiency also translates into stable, family-supporting jobs, particularly within the building and construction trades and at the 50+ businesses in Wisconsin that manufacture Energy Star appliances, windows, and other products. . . .
Renewable Fuels
Q: Will an Enhanced Renewable Portfolio Standard require the build-out of costly electric generation that Wisconsin doesn’t need, while doing nothing to reduce the demand for electricity? Don’t renewable energy sources cost more than coal and natural gas?
A: Each year, we send over $16 billion out of state to purchase coal, natural gas, and petroleum products to meet our energy demands. Every dollar we spend on these fossil fuels is a dollar that leaves Wisconsin. By increasing our state’s renewable portfolio standards, we are guaranteeing that more of our energy dollars remain here, and creating thousands of jobs for Wisconsin families in construction and building trades work, and, in the longer term, supply-chain jobs in our manufacturing, agricultural, and forestry sectors.
Also, the EPA has moved to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, which means that costs associated with burning coal and natural gas will continue to rise. We cannot continue to pretend that exclusive reliance on fossil fuels for power generation is either sustainable or affordable in the long term. We need to speed our transition to a cleaner energy economy and position Wisconsin as a leader in this growing industry before other states get ahead of us.
As we add renewable sources of energy to our fleet, many of the older and less efficient fossil fuel burning units will gradually be retired, and Wisconsin’s generation capacity will fall in line with demand. Initial infrastructure costs associated with a transition to renewables will be off-set by producing cleaner and reliable renewable energy for Wisconsin over the long-term. Meanwhile, the cost of renewable generation technologies continues to fall when compared to fossil fuel alternatives.
Increased reliance on renewable energy is central to creating a more sustainable Wisconsin. Life cycle costs associated with fossil fuel have a significantly greater adverse impact on public health, quality of life, and the environment.
Advanced Renewable Tariffs
Q: Won’t Advanced Renewable Tariffs simply increase the cost of energy for everyone by subsidizing certain types of renewable technologies at a cost that is higher than the market would otherwise tolerate? Don’t Advanced Renewable Tariffs duplicate the efforts of the Renewable Portfolio Standard?
A: Evidence from around the world suggests that feed-in tariffs lead to faster deployment of renewable generation sources than a stand-alone Renewable Portfolio Standard. Advanced Renewable Tariffs will help harness the power of Wisconsin’s rich agricultural resources by making it easier and more cost-effective for farmers to take farm-waste and generate electricity with it to power their farming operations and deliver clean, renewable energy back to the grid.
Incenting the deployment of smaller-scale, more distributed renewable generation sources cuts down on our state’s transmission infrastructure costs and will reduce our reliance on out-of-state renewable power in the long term.
This policy helps level the playing field so individual homeowners, farmers, and businesses can earn a return on investments in renewable energy that is similar to the returns that utilities earn.
by jboullion | Jan 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Stevens Point Journal:
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will present a series of public presentations on renewable wood resources for energy beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The series will focus on woody biomass and the opportunities that exist to use this renewable resource to meet our energy needs today and in the future. The free lectures are open to the public and will be held on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. in Room 170 of the Trainer Natural Resources Building.
Eight regional and national speakers will define what woody biomass is, how it is harvested and used as a feedstock for direct heat and power generation. They will give an overview of the opportunities and potential of biofuels from woody biomass, the state of technology to extract biofuels from biomass, and where this industry is heading in the next five, ten and twenty years.
The first lecture, “Introduction to Forest Biomass,” will be presented by Don Peterson, president of Renewable Resource Solutions, LLC, on February 3. He will discuss the basics of woody biomass to potential end-use markets, as well as compare and contrast the positives and negatives of all aspects of woody biomass from extraction to utilization.
