Milwaukee project lauded for sustainability and solar installation

From a story by Mary Louise Schumacher in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

From a coffeehouse with a green design to a gathering place in a former industrial wasteland, from a dynamic railway station to a new airport concourse, from a face lift for what's now an upscale Cajun eatery to the restored roof of an old Polish church, 27 projects will be honored today by Mayor Tom Barrett for contributing to Milwaukee's urban landscape.

Barrett will present the Mayor's Urban Design Awards, for design excellence, and the Cream of the Cream City Awards, for smart preservation, at a reception at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Architecture and Urban Planning, 2131 E. Hartford Ave., at 5 p.m.

The design awards will go to projects completed by the end of 2007, including the Dr. Wesley L. Scott Senior Living Community, 2802 W. Wright St., for creating an environmentally sustainable building with a rooftop solar energy system (pictured above).

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Fox Valley companies win 2008 Pulp and Paper Energy Efficiency Awards

From a press release issued by Governor Doyle:

NEENAH – Governor Jim Doyle today announced the 2008 Pulp and Paper Energy Efficiency Awards, recognizing Proctor and Gamble Corporation of Green Bay and Neenah Paper of Neenah for outstanding achievement in implementing an energy efficiency projects. Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Rod Nilsestuen presented the awards on behalf of the Governor at the Wisconsin Paper Council Annual meeting in Neenah. . . .

Proctor & Gamble Corporation won the 2008 Project for Innovation award for construction of a new energy efficient tissue paper machine at their Green Bay location. The machine uses new technology to deliver its product using 19% less natural gas and electricity than most modern machines. This improvement in energy efficiency will contribute significantly to Proctor and Gamble’s sustainability and energy goals.

Neenah Paper won the 2008 Project for Energy Efficiency Implementation award for its wastewater treatment facility optimization project. The project involved using variable frequency drives to improve the efficiency of the aeration system and feed forward dissolved oxygen control. The project also reduces turbidity in the final waste matter and prevents the release of 1,260 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

Governor Doyle established the Pulp and Paper Energy Efficiency Award to recognize the Wisconsin pulp and/or paper mill that best shows outstanding achievement in implementing an energy efficiency project.

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EU emissions trading scheme rewards polluters

Harmful emissions trading scheme is EU mechanism that allows the issuance of free emission quotas, and this mechanism could bring huge profits to companies from energy sector of five EU countries. Those profits can go up to 71 billion euros in next four years.Studies for World Wildlife Fund - WWF conducted by carbon gases market research company called “Point Carbon” showed that in second phase

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Oil prices at record levels

Serious oil shortage is to be expected in years to come.New oil price record (more than $134 for barrel, 05/22/2008, New York Mercantile Exchange - NYME) has been set after US government confessed decrease in crude oil and gasoline stockpiles last week, surprising analysts who were expecting an increase. U.S. Energy Information Administration said that crude stocks fell by 5.4 million barrels

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Movie: Escape from Suburbia, June 17, Urban Ecology Center

The interest group Paths to a Sustainable Future will show Escape from Suburbia, the sequel to the award-winning film, The End of Suburbia, about the future of the American dream after the oil age. This film focuses on viable alternatives for communities working at the local level.

The movie will be shown at the interest group's meeting which begins at 6:00 p.m. at the Urban Ecology Center, 1859 North 40th Street, (414) 344-5460.

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Solar Valley grows under cloudy German skies

RENEW Wisconsin supports and the Governor's Global Warming Task Force has before it the concept of fixed above-market prices (called feed-in tariffs) for electricity produced from renewable resources, as described in an article by Mark Landler in The New York Times:

THALHEIM, Germany — This sad stretch of eastern Germany, with its deserted coal mines and corroded factories, epitomizes post-industrial gloom. It is a place where even the clouds rarely seem to part.

Yet the sun was shining here the other day — and nowhere more brightly than at Q-Cells, a German company that surpassed Sharp last year to become the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic solar cells. Q-Cells is the main tenant among a flowering cluster of solar start-ups here in an area known as Solar Valley.

Thanks to its aggressive push into renewable energies, cloud-wreathed Germany has become an unlikely leader in the race to harness the sun’s energy. It has by far the largest market for photovoltaic systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, with roughly half of the world’s total installations. And it is the third-largest producer of solar cells and modules, after China and Japan. . . .

At the heart of the debate is the Renewable Energy Sources Act. It requires power companies to buy all the alternative energy produced by these systems, at a fixed above-market price, for 20 years.

This mechanism, known as a feed-in tariff, gives entrepreneurs a powerful incentive to install solar panels. With a locked-in customer base for their electricity, they can earn a reliable return on their investment. It has worked: homeowners rushed to clamp solar panels on their roofs and farmers planted them in fields where sheep once grazed.

The amount of electricity generated by these installations rose 60 percent in 2007 compared with 2006, faster than any other renewable energy (solar still generates just 0.6 percent of Germany’s total electricity, compared with 6.4 percent for wind). . . .

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We Energies wind project begins commercial operation

From a press release issued by We Energies:

MILWAUKEE- We Energies’ Blue Sky Green Field wind project was placed into commercial service today. The 88 turbines have a demonstrated capacity of 145 megawatts and are expected to generate more than 328 million emission-free kilowatt hours annually - enough to power 36,000 homes.

“Blue Sky Green Field is one of several targeted efforts we’re undertaking to generate more energy from renewable resources,” said Rick Kuester, executive vice president of Wisconsin Energy Corporation, the parent of We Energies. “We appreciate the support we have received from our customers and from the communities of Calumet and Marshfield and northeast Fond du Lac County in making the project a reality.”

At a cost of approximately $300 million, the Blue Sky Green Field project consists of 88 Vestas Wind Systems turbines spread across 10,600 acres. Each turbine is capable of producing 1.65 megawatts of electricity. The V82 turbines have a hub height of approximately 262 feet and a blade length of 134 feet. From the foundation to the tip, each tower has a height 397 feet.

We Energies continues to pursue the development of additional renewable energy to meet customer demand and to meet the state of Wisconsin’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires utilities across the state to generate 10 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2015. “While the Blue Sky Green Field project is an important contributor to our renewable goals, We Energies will need to add several more renewable projects to meet the state mandate,” said Kuester.

A story by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reports on Blue Sky Green Field and notes:

In addition, the 86-turbine Forward Wind Energy Center in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties was completed this month, said Mick Baird, Invenergy project manager.

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Sun's energy facts

The energy coming from the sun to the Earth's surface is called solar energy. Sun energy is generated in its nucleus mainly through the thermonuclear reaction of hydrogen fusion into helium. In the form of electromagnetic waves this energy is then transmitted from the nucleus towards the surface of the Sun and further on in the surrounding space. The Sun's energy is generated in its core.

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Gas Tax Pain

From a new Fossil Fuel Watch by Michael Vickerman:

Could there be more convincing proof of America’s debilitating addiction to oil than the recent calls to institute a gasoline tax holiday issued by two of the three presidential aspirants still in the race?

Imagine what would happen if a candidate for public office endorsed a repeal of cigarette taxes. Articulating such a position would instantly disqualify that candidate from serious consideration by rank and file voters. Indeed, it would stop a candidacy faster than you can say “macaca.”

Yet, while Sens. John McCain or Hillary Clinton, both advocates of suspending the 18.4 cents/gallon gasoline tax, have been excoriated in editorials for espousing such patent flim-flam, they don’t seem to have lost any ground with the voting public.

While the McCain-Clinton gas tax suspension proposal may have a set a new low in the public discussion of energy, it can’t be dismissed as mere election-year pandering. Instead, this proposal reveals a dark truth about ourselves: we Amnericans are psychologically unprepared to accept the energy reality we now inhabit, which is that oil is neither cheap nor plentiful (relative to demand). The same holds true for natural gas.

The factors converging to create global energy insecurity—diminishing output from supergiant fields, rapid demand growth in the world’s most populous nations, civil unrest in oil-exporting nations, etc.—cannot be held at bay with political stunts.

Whether its citizens like it or not, the United States will, going forward, consume a smaller portion of the Earth’s remaining petroleum than at any time before during the Automobile Age.

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Details released on nation's premier energy education event in Custer, Wisconsin

Join the MREA and RENEW for the 19th annual Energy Fair June 20-22, 2008. The Fair will be held at MREA's headquarters, the ReNew the Earth Institute, located at 7558 Deer Road in Custer, WI. See the Travel and Accommodations page for directions and other information.

General Energy Fair Information
Since 1990, the Energy Fair has shown fairgoers how to change the world while having fun. Each summer the Fair transforms rural central Wisconsin into the global hot spot for renewable energy education. The Energy Fair is the world's largest renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living educational event of its kind. Please join us this year!

The Energy Fair features hundreds of workshops and exhibits all emphasizing clean energy & sustainable living and is fun for the whole family. In 2007, the Energy Fair hosted over 19,500 attendees. We hope to see you in 2008!

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Manitowoc mayor named to panel to study lake wind energy

From an article in the Manitowoc Hearld Tribune Reporter:

MANITOWOC - Mayor Kevin Crawford has agreed to serve as co-chairman of the Wind in the Great Lakes Work Group formed by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

The group will review the viability of wind power development on the Great Lakes. The commission is working with the Department of Natural Resources and the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.

The work group includes representatives who have an interest or stake in the development of wind power.

"The future of our city, our state and nation is to be found in renewable resources and alternative fuels," Crawford said in a news release. "The Great Lakes are not only the largest fresh water resource in the world, but they may also be the solution to much of our nation's energy problems as they are a fantastic wind resource, as well."

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WPPI awards Oconomoc and two other cities two-year energy-saving program

From a story by Matthew Inda on LivingLakeCountry.com:

City of Oconomowoc - For the next two years, Oconomowoc will partake in a communitywide effort that will raise even stronger conservation ethics by way of a pilot program awarded by Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI).

The program known as Leading by Example will give Oconomowoc Utilities the opportunity to better educate and demonstrate the effectiveness of energy efficiency, conservation and renewable resources development.

The program suits Oconomowoc well, based on its established environmental awareness and involvement, according to Wisconsin Public Power Inc. spokeswoman Anne Rodriguez.

"We were looking for a community where there is strong leadership in this area," she said. "Oconomowoc really provided that natural fit."

The only other two municipalities in the state to receive the grant were WPPI member communities River Falls and Columbus.

The program will reach out to, and help, citizens via ongoing conservation education efforts with local students, businesses and residential customers. It will also assist with energy efficiency improvements to municipal buildings and conservation projects in cooperation with industrial utility customers.

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Kohl's solar program becomes world's largest among retailers

From a press release issued by Kohl's Department Stores:

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis., May 12, 2008 — Kohl’s Department Stores (NYSE: KSS) announced today that it plans to convert more than 50 of its existing New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland locations to solar power, representing nearly 80 percent of its locations in these three states. Currently, Kohl’s operates 34 stores in New Jersey, 17 in Connecticut and 16 in Maryland.

With the East Coast solar installation, Kohl’s is the largest retail host of solar power, and its distributed solar program is now the largest in the world among retailers. In a distributed solar program, silent, renewable energy is produced and used at the same location requiring no transmission infrastructure. Kohl’s has converted more than 25 of its 88 California locations to solar power with plans to activate approximately 50 additional sites in the state. Solar installations are also under way at three Wisconsin locations, and Kohl’s hopes to add other states to its growing solar offering before year-end.

Initial construction for the East Coast solar conversions began in January. On average, solar panels provide 30 percent of a store’s annual energy, or enough to power 54 homes annually. The total East Coast program is expected to offset 370 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the 20-year program and is equivalent to removing more than 36,200 cars from the road for one year.

Read more here.

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Electricity facts

The electric energy (electrical energy, electricity) is the potential energy associated with the conservative Coulomb forces between charged particles contained within a system, where the reference potential energy is usually chosen to be zero for particles at infinite separation.The movement of electric charge is known as an electric current, and intensity of which is usually measured in amperes

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Johnson Controls helps Michigan school afford solar power

From an article by Jim Kasuba in The News Herald (Southgate, MI):

WYANDOTTE — The sun was shining brightly on the day the city and school district kicked off their first-ever solar energy project.

It was just as fitting that officials chose Earth Day to highlight the installation of a 10-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the roof of Wilson Middle School.

Melanie McCoy, general manager of Wyandotte Municipal Services, said her department received a $50,000 Michigan Energy Office matching grant earlier this year for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of the renewable energy system.

She said Wyandotte Municipal Services was pleasantly surprised by an offer from Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee-based company working with the district to integrate the project into the school's curriculum.

"Wyandotte Municipal planned on spending 50 percent of the cost of the grant, but Johnson Controls picked up a substantial amount of it," McCoy said.

Photovoltaics, or PV as it is sometimes referred to in the industry, is a technology in which light is converted into electrical power. In such a system, photons from sunlight knock electrons into a higher state of energy, creating electricity.

Such a system rarely generates enough power to fill the needs of a building the size of Wilson Middle School, but it can be used to supplement coal burning and natural gas.

The Wyandotte Municipal Service Commission awarded installation of the system to Kulick Enterprises Inc. of Wyandotte.

This hybrid energy conservation system will be a learning tool both for the energy providers at Wyandotte Municipal Services and students at the school.

The first 12 months will offer a learning curve that should provide data for future years, indicating how much the system can offset energy costs.

"For the first year, we are leasing the roof for $1 so we can get an idea how much energy it produces," McCoy said. "We can then share the savings down the road so we can all benefit from it."

She envisions the city-owned Wyandotte Municipal Services and the school district entering a financial agreement after the first year of the solar PV system's operation.

McCoy speculates that the reason solar energy isn't used more extensively is because of the start-up costs and the time it takes to recoup those costs.

Because of that, McCoy said solar power is expensive on a per-kilowatt scale.

"Coal is 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt, wind (power) is 10 cents a kilowatt and solar is 23 cents a kilowatt," McCoy said. "This system cost $100,000 and we think it's going to be $2,000 per year (in energy savings). If we were paying this ourselves, it would take 50 years until we regained our investment."

McCoy said silicon in the solar panels is a major component that makes them so expensive. She said panels made without silicon would make them considerably less expensive.

However, in this case the state grant and financial support from Johnson Controls have made the system extremely affordable.

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Racine City Council votes to allow electric vehicles

From an article by Stephanie Brien in The Journal Times (Racine):

RACINE — Julie Conigliaro is the proud new owner of a neighborhood electric vehicle, thanks to a City Council decision Tuesday night. Following the City Council’s vote to allow electric vehicles to drive in city limits, Conigliaro signed the dotted line on her new car.

“I’m really happy with it,” said Conigliaro, 41, literally jumping off the ground outside the City Council chambers after they unanimously approved the ordinance. In accordance with state law, the city had to approve an ordinance before neighborhood electric vehicles could be driven within city limits. The new ordinance allows electric cars on all city streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.

Madison adopted a similar ordinance in April and Union Grove is in the process of drafting its own ordinance.

“It’s good for the environment, but it’s also good for my pocketbook,” Conigliaro said.

The car cost her $10,500 and will only cost her pennies each time she charges it.

She bought her car from a dealer in Wausau, which is currently only one of five in the state.

Conigliaro lives on 3335 Victorian Dr. and drives four miles every day to her job at SC Johnson.

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Waukesha home installs solar panels on shingles of recycled diapers

From an article by Linda McAlpine on GM Today:

WAUKESHA - From the faux-slate shingles made of recycled baby diapers and rooftop solar panels to its engineered wood floors, the house being built at 1512 Rock Ridge Way in Waukesha is anything but traditional.

The 2,100 square-foot house is the 2008 Wisconsin Trend Home and when completed later this summer will house the latest in energy-saving and environmentally-friendly technology.

Starting at the top, Tim O’Brien, of O’Brien Homes, Waukesha, builder of the home, walked through some of its cutting edge highlights.

"The shingles, which look like slate, are made of recycled baby diapers, tires and plastic bottles," he said. "Because they’re light, they don’t need the structure to support them so you need less wood. You’re doing something good for the environment by using product made from recycled material. They also have a 50-year life span."

According to Lisa Schaal, solar site assessor for Sol Power, Milwaukee, the 20 solar panels on the roof enable the house to use about 500 or less kilowatts per month, compared with the average home electricity usage of 800 kilowatts per month.

Dave Schwabenlender, of Arch Electric, LLC of Plymouth, said the panels will generate power even on cloudy days.

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We Energies offers renewable energy feasibility study grants

From Amy Flom, We Energies Consultant:

We Energies is offering Renewable Energy Feasibility Study Grants to its business and not-for-profit electric customers, as well as to organizations teamed with We Energies business and non-profit electric customers. This program helps to cover the costs of studying the feasibility of installing a renewable electricity generation project at a customer's facility. Funds also can be used to conduct research on a renewable energy product or technology, or to help demonstrate or commercially advance a renewable energy product or technology into the marketplace.

How much grant money is available per project?

We Energies will fund half the cost that remains after other funding sources are applied to the cost of the study or project, up to a maximum grant of $200,000. Although matching funds are not required for this grant program, any additional funding that can be added to the proposal will be considered a favorable element of the project and increase the chances for a successful grant. In addition, the We Energies grant funds may be used as matching funds towards a larger State, federal or private grant program, provided the activities of the project meet this program's objectives, occur in We Energies service territory, and the applicant is teamed with a We Energies business or not-for-profit electric customer.

How do I apply for a We Energies grant?

Please complete the Feasibility Study Grant Application.

Grant proposals will be accepted on an ongoing basis and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability of funds.

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Nuclear energy safety report for Congress

Recently I found an interesting document called "Nuclear Power Plants: Vulnerability to Terrorist Attack" which was made for US Congress, which I think you may find interesting:CRS Report for CongressNuclear Power Plants:Vulnerability to Terrorist AttackCarl Behrens and Mark HoltSpecialists in Energy PolicyResources, Science, and Industry DivisionUpdated February 4, 2005SummaryProtection of

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Manitowoc wind-tower company set to expand

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

More expansion is in the works for Tower Tech Systems Inc. of Manitowoc after its parent company raised $100 million in a stock sale.

Tower Tech is a manufacturer of towers used in wind power projects, a growth area within the manufacturing sector given the record pace in the expansion of wind power generation projects across the country.

For Tower Tech, growth is buoyed in part by an agreement it signed this month to supply wind towers to a subsidiary of the Spanish company Gamesa, a leading player in the global wind industry.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Broadwind says it is the largest single order for towers placed by Gamesa with a North American tower manufacturer. Delivery from Manitowoc of the 256-foot, four-section wind towers for Gamesa begins this month.

"That's a significant arrangement to lock in with one of the premier and major wind developers in the U.S.," said Jeff Anthony of Milwaukee, a manager at the American Wind Energy Association and an active participant in Wisconsin's renewable-energy sector.

"Gamesa is establishing their presence in the U.S. and is one of the fastest-growing wind turbine suppliers and project developers in the U.S."

Broadwind Energy Inc. of Naperville, Ill., Tower Tech's parent company, said it planned to raise $100 million through sale of stock to investment funds managed by Tontine Associates. A separate agreement with an unidentified partner would result in additional financing, Broadwind said.

The proceeds will be used to "accelerate . . . current expansion plans" as well as acquisitions and investments in plans to grow production, the company said.

Lars Moller, chief operating officer, said the company would be poised to expand its production of towers and gears from current locations in Manitowoc and elsewhere, as well as through new factories "strategically placed throughout North America. . . ."

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Blue Sky Green Field Wind Farm almost operational

From an article by Brett Rowland in The Reporter (Fond du Lac):

JOHNSBURG — The status of the Blue Sky Green Field Wind Farm has generated a lot of hot air from locals, but operator We Energies said the 88 turbines haven't started generating power.

Blue Sky Green Field remains under construction as We Energies tests the turbines, said company spokesman Barry McNulty.

In recent weeks, locals have called and e-mailed The Reporter with rumors about the project, including that it had been shut down due to stray voltage. Another rumor presented to The Reporter stated the turbines were not constructed properly and the blades could come loose.

McNulty denied those rumors and said the project is progressing according to schedule.

"It just goes to show that it doesn't matter the type of fuel — nuclear, solar, wind — there will always be those who subject themselves to rumor," he said.

The wind farm is located about 15 miles northeast of the city of Fond du Lac in the towns of Marshfield and Calumet.

A contractor has erected all the turbines and now We Energies is conducting comprehensive tests on each unit. Some have been spinning during test runs, while others remain dormant. McNulty said 60 of the 88 turbines are able to rotate, while work on the others remains in progress.

"The turbines have been spinning at times, but have been taken offline at times," McNulty said.

McNulty said commercial operations at Blue Sky Green Field would begin about the end of May. . . .

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