Transit backers' quest for financing may get results soon

From an article by Larry Sandler and Patrick Marley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin's public transit supporters have their best chance in years to win long-sought funding for buses and proposed commuter trains.

But that's no guarantee they'll get it - or that what they get will pay for everything they want.

Heading into next year's state budget debates, key elements are in place to overhaul transit finance: the passage of a Milwaukee County advisory referendum seeking a local sales tax for transit and other services; growing support from legislators, Gov. Jim Doyle and the business community for buses and KRM Commuter Link trains; a sense of urgency that the cash-strapped Milwaukee County Transit System is running out of time; and a statewide coalition that reaches beyond southeastern Wisconsin into Dane County and the Fox Valley.

Also in place, however, are the same factors that have blocked a solution until now: Conflicting agendas from Milwaukee-area politicians; and fear that voters will punish lawmakers who raise sales taxes.

For years, transit advocates have sought to take buses off the property tax and out of competition with other local services for funding. Sales taxes support most other major U.S. transit systems, but Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and others have opposed new taxes here.

While the issue has been debated, the Milwaukee County bus system has been caught in a cycle of fare increases, service cuts and falling ridership as federal funds dwindle. Without new state or local funding, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the Public Policy Forum have warned that the bus system could face a 35% service cut by 2010.

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Congress for the New Urbanism meeting, Dec. 3

Congress for the New Urbanism
CNU Wisconsin Group
Invites you to attend a great local opportunity to become involved in CNU and meet professionals and others with similar interests.

Presenting: “New Urbanism and You”

With Guest Speaker: Steve Filmanowicz, Communications Director, Congress for the New Urbanism

Steve will speak about the benefits of walkable urban development, ranging from more livable communities, to reduced carbon emissions – plus, how CNU is working to remove the barriers that stand in the way of great neighborhoods and sound transportation systems.

MILWAUKEE
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
5pm (light snacks served)
Office of Engberg Anderson Design Partnership
320 E. Buffalo - Corner of Milwaukee & Buffalo Streets, 53202
Take elevator to 5th Floor
Doors open until 6pm

Note: The CNU Wisconsin Group is developing a chapter of the national Congress for the New Urbanism - which seeks to expand its influence and capabilities through chapters. For questions, call Joan Herriges at 414-289-7685, or email joanherriges@yahoo.com.

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Dependable transit vital to Milwaukee’s future

An opinion piece by Michael Grebe in The Business Joournal:

As gas prices fluctuate and the economy trudges along, sustainable, dependable modes of transit will be critical to keeping our local economy from stagnating. If southeastern Wisconsin desires economic growth and prosperity for citizens, we must follow peer cities nationwide and invest in our current transit systems and new initiatives encouraging economic development in the region.

The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) must be properly funded so it can continue to provide critical service and access to jobs and educational opportunities in this community. Routes should be restored and frequency of buses increased. Continuing to cut funding and service to this system is an added blow to the populations hardest hit by these economic times.

To complement bus service and connect local residents to nearly a million jobs in the corridor linking this region to Chicago, the proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail would expand the pool of potential jobs and employees for this region and promote economic development. Connecting with other transit options such as buses and shuttles, it would provide southeastern Wisconsin with the full-service mass transit system it needs, creating an infrastructure linking people to jobs to support economic growth in this community.

Southeastern Wisconsin is one of the few metro regions of our size that funds transit with property taxes. Recently, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) supported removing bus transit from the property tax and enacting up to 0.5 percent sales tax to fund transit.

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Coal to sustain We Energies bills

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

The falling price of natural gas could result in a small refund to We Energies electricity customers early next year, but the Milwaukee utility is forecasting a big jump in the price of another fuel it uses in its power plants - coal.

The utility is forecasting a jump of $100 million, or 25% in the amount of money it plans to spend on coal next year, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said.

The key drivers of the higher cost: rises in market prices for coal and transportation expense by rail from Wyoming and Colorado. Also factoring in, to a lesser degree, Manthey said, is the need to buy more coal next year as the first of two new coal plants under construction in Oak Creek prepares to start generating power.

Two months ago, the utility signaled to investors that it might have to raise prices for customers next year because of rising coal costs. But the slowdown in the economy and the resulting drop in natural gas prices has made that less likely, Manthey said.

The typical We Energies customer using 750 kilowatt-hours a month currently pays $89.23 per month for electricity.

The company raised prices three times this year for a total of 9%. One increase was to cover the costs of the utility's power plant construction program and other projects. The other two came in response to soaring fuel prices. The state's other utilities have also raised fuel prices at least once this year.

Based on November bills, We Energies customers' monthly bills are lower than those of three of the five investor-owned utilities in the state. Customers of two Madison utilities and one in Green Bay pay more, while customers of Xcel Energy Corp.'s Eau Claire utility pay less.

As recently as two months ago We Energies said soaring fuel costs would reduce its 2008 profit by as much as $20 million to $40 million from the company's business plan, but the drop in natural gas prices since the summer now means customers could see a refund early next year.

"Whether or not there will be a refund and how much money would be refunded will be known after the books are closed in December," Manthey said.

But the drop in natural gas prices could help customers on their heating, or natural gas, side of their monthly utility bill if gas prices remain low, Manthey said.

Another increase on electricity bills will hit We Energies customers in January. The increase, authorized earlier this year by the state Public Service Commission, will amount to a jump of nearly 4%, or nearly $4 a month for the average residential customer, pushing the monthly bill to $93.07.

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US energy facts

Though accounting for only 5 percent of the world's population, Americans consume more than 21.7 percent of the world primary energy (2005). Total world energy consumption is a bit more than 462 quadrillion (1015) Btu and US consume almost 101 quadrillion (1015) Btu.The United States was self-sufficient in energy until the late 1950s when energy consumption began to outpace domestic production.

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Climate change a priority for Conservation Lobby Day, Feb. 25

From an announcement issued by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters:

With a new legislative session comes new opportunities AND new Conservation Priorities! At the 11 Listening Sessions held around the state, local groups and citizens like YOU had a lot to say about which issues should be top priorities. In the end, only 4 can rise to the top.

In 2009-2010, the conservation community will be fighting to make sure:

+ Wisconsin adopts a strong statewide plan to tackle global warming.
+ Wisconsin returns to an Independent DNR Secretary and has timely DNR Board Appointments by the Senate.
+ Wisconsin develops a statewide plan to protect our drinking water.
+ Wisconsin creates standards for safe agricultural, industrial and municipal waste-spreading. . . .

On February 25th, 2009, join citizens from across Wisconsin at the state Capitol to tell legislators that you expect them to vote well on natural resource issues.

RSVP TODAY for Conservation Lobby Day on February 25th, 2009!

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MATC-Mequon dedicates wind turbine

From a media release issued by Milwaukee Area Technical College:

A ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the erection of a wind turbine at Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Mequon Campus was held at the campus Nov. 12. The 160-foot tall unit with a blade diameter of 56 feet is the largest wind turbine on a college campus in the state. It is part of a sustainability initiative designed to educate students and the public about renewable energy technologies. . . .

Located at the south end of the campus building, the 90-kilowatt, V-17 turbine is a remanufactured unit made in Denmark by Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of turbines. It does not feed electricity to We Energies but supplies power directly to the Mequon Campus. . It will directly provide about 8 percent of the campus’ electricity, saving taxpayer dollars.

The wind tower cost approximately $200,000, with grants of $57,000 from Focus on Energy and $25,000 from We Energies. The college expects to recoup its investment within eight years or less at current energy prices.

More on the wind turbine here.

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Easy to understand fact sheets on energy tax credit

The Web site awkwardly called the Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency hosts two useful fact sheets for any individual or business considering a renewable energy installation.

Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit covers these eligible renewable enrgies and technologies: Solar Water Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Other Solar Electric Technologies

Business Energy Tax Credits covers these eligible renewable enrgies and technologies: Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Solar Thermal Electric, Solar Thermal Process Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal Electric, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, CHP/Cogeneration, Solar Hybrid Lighting, Direct Use Geothermal, Microturbines

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RTA takes a good first step, but more is needed

From an opinion piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Cooperation among transit authority board members should be lauded, but many obstacles remain in keeping regional transit on track in southeastern Wisconsin.

After a vote last week to resolve a funding issue for regional mass transit, members of the board of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transportation Authority broke into applause. It was well deserved.

On a 6-1 to vote, members representing the cities and counties of Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee (one from each city and county, plus one appointed by the governor) agreed to ask the Legislature for authority to levy a sales tax of up to 0.5% for mass transit, including a commuter rail line, in the three counties.

Considering the time and effort it took to get this far and the fact that people in the region often have difficulty agreeing on whether Lake Michigan is wet, that's a significant accomplishment.

The board also asked the Legislature to turn the RTA into a permanent agency that would oversee all mass transit in the three counties, creating a coordinated regional mass transit system with seamless bus and commuter rail services. The RTA recommended that any transit sales tax replace property tax funding for public transit in Milwaukee, eastern Racine and Kenosha counties.

The assumption is that the sales tax would raise enough money to replace the property tax support for transit as well as to expand transit systems in Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee and to build and operate a new commuter train line, the KRM Commuter Link, connecting Milwaukee and its southern suburbs to Racine and Kenosha.

The agreement came with two major compromises. The first was to ask the Legislature to also authorize municipalities to enact up to an additional 0.15% sales tax for public safety purposes, again primarily to ease the property tax burden. The second was to exclude the part of Racine County that is west of I-94. Residents there apparently are not convinced that they would benefit from public transit.

We're not particularly moved by either compromise. There is a good argument that public safety and protection of property are services that belong properly on the property tax. Furthermore, including an additional tax on top of the 0.5% transit tax may just confuse the issue for some legislators. As to western Racine County, we think it could benefit indirectly at first and perhaps directly later from mass transit services. Excluding it now is shortsighted.

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Eligibility relaxed for energy-efficiency assistance

From a media release issued by Focus on Energy:

More Wisconsin residents may now be eligible for Focus on Energy's assistance program which offers limited-income homeowners low-cost efficiency improvements to improve the comfort, safety and affordability of their homes. The assistance program called Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®, is now seeking applications from homeowners with incomes between 150-250 percent of the poverty level, which is a significant increase from the past maximum of 200 percent. To put the new maximum into perspective, a family of four's maximum eligible annual income increased to $53,000 from the previous $42,400. . . .

Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, is part of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR offers qualifying homeowners a no-cost energy evaluation performed by a qualified program provider. Depending on the results of the evaluation, the home may receive energy efficiency improvements, such as adding insulation, finding and eliminating drafts, replacing an inefficient heating system, installing compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and more. Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR will pay 90 percent of the costs of the energy efficiency improvements - the homeowner pays just 10 percent.

Energy efficient homes save energy and money all year long. In summer, a home that's properly sealed and insulated stays cooler and more comfortable, reducing the need for fans and air conditioners during hot daylight hours. In winter, energy efficient homes keep warm air inside, improving comfort and reducing heating costs during Wisconsin's coldest months.

Homeowners wishing to apply for Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR are encouraged to call Focus on Energy at (800) 762-7077 or visit focusonenergy.com to download an application.

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$16 nearly gets you the effect of a wind turbine in your backyard

From an article by Julie Lawrence at OnMilwaukee.com

While new fuel efficient cars and home solar panels are some of the most powerful ways to reduce our carbon footprint, a $25,000 investment is usually out of the question for most college students who are already battling rapidly increasing education costs.

But what about spending $16? Two University of Wisconsin student entrepreneurs say it can go further than you might think.

Mechanical engineering major Ted Durkee and business partner Brandon Gador, a recent graduate of Madison's School of Business, launched Powered Green this past October to provide an economical way for anyone to support renewable energy.

Their product, Energy Seal, is a recycled aluminum laptop sticker that funds carbon offsets. At $16, the cost of the sticker covers the production of enough renewable energy to offset what an average laptop uses in its lifetime.

Amazingly, $14 is enough to subsidize the retail cost of the laptop's lifetime energy consumption, paying for wind turbines that create electricity. The remaining $2 is for the actual seal, visual evidence that promotes the buyer's support of the eco-friendly endeavor.

"It essentially has the effect of a wind turbine in your backyard without actually having one," explains Durkee, who partnered Power Green with Village Green Energy, a renewable energy credit distributor based in California.

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Milwaukee company prez says biogas producers need buy-back rates that cover costs

A Clear Horizons' employee (in the red shirt) leads a tour of the biodigester on the Crave Brothers Farm near Waterloo. The bags along the low wall contain potting soil that includes fiberous material left after the digestion process.

Michael Vickerman previously addressed the need for higher buy-back rates in two proceedings at the Public Service Commission -- the first in a rate case for Alliant Energy and the second in a WPS rate case. The rate issue ranks high on RENEW's agenda for the next two years.

The excerpts below from a guest editorial by Richard R. Pieper Sr., chairman of Milwaukee's PPC Partners Inc., in The Capital Times re-enforces Vickerman's argument:

I'm told the following: the world is going green and Wisconsin wants to grow its business base. I believe the former but not the latter, because the Public Service Commission, utilities and some politicians in this state seem to consider both ideas about as important as what cricket team is the current world champion.

I proudly admit to having a horse in this race or at least a cow in the shed. PPC Partners Inc. is one of Wisconsin's oldest, largest, employee-owned companies. It has over 1,000 employees throughout the U.S., but primarily in Wisconsin. It was started as Pieper Electric by my father, Julius Pieper, with five employees. We have an entrepreneurial spirit and believe in the creativity of Wisconsin workers.

In September, I was told by a group of CEOs that one of our cutting-edge subsidiaries, Clear Horizons LLC, should "locate in California, where you can get things done." We absolutely do not want to relocate this company. We do want Wisconsin to give more than lip service to supporting alternative sources of energy.

Here's what Clear Horizons does.

Clear Horizons has developed a solution to dairy farm manure disposal that not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions created by methane gas from the manure, but also provides enough alternative fuel from a herd of 750 cows to electrically power 200 homes. The equipment takes the methane and uses it to power engines that generate electricity which can be bought by utilities. A light bulb does not care if the current is produced by cows or coal. . . .

The lack of cooperation in this state has caused other companies like Microgy to leave for Texas. GHD, a similar company from Chilton, Wis., is doing work in Idaho and Mexico. Within the last 12 months, the states of California, Arizona and Vermont have passed legislation guaranteeing producers of biogas a minimum payment because those legislators understand America must become more energy independent, as well as reduce need for substations and transmission and subtransmission lines.

Jobs? Recent reports state green energy adds jobs. Every MW of biogas installed creates 35 jobs per year. The biogas potential in Wisconsin equates to 14,000 jobs created per year.

Currently, utilities have little incentive to promote alternative energy sources. They act according to federal mandates but are not creatively pursuing opportunities.

Cleaner air, more jobs; what's not to like? We're here. We're ready. We're necessary to the future of this state. We need some policies. Is anybody listening?

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Transit board suggests sales tax for rail, buses for Kenosha, Milwaukee & Racine counties

From a story by David Steinkraus in The Journal Times (Racine):

A group representing three local counties and the governor is proposing a sales tax of up to .5 percent to fund public transit.

It’s easy to get lost in the details, but no one should ignore the magnitude of what happened on Monday morning, said Jody Karls, the city of Racine representative on the Regional Transit Authority.

What the RTA voted to do on Monday was ask the state to make it the permanent transit oversight body for southeast Wisconsin and to give it power to levy local sales taxes of up to 0.5 percent in each member area. That tax would fund the extension of Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail service from Kenosha through Racine and to Milwaukee, and would fund other transit modes such as city bus systems.

Beyond those specifics, Karls said, is the over-arching importance of having all the counties and municipalities along the potential KRM corridor speaking with a single voice.

He and other officials met with The Journal Times editorial board on Monday morning, a few hours after the RTA voted on its recommendations. It has a Nov. 15 deadline to report to Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature, and it would be up to them to grant the RTA’s requests.

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Solar heating system attracts renewed interest at Urban Ecology Center in Washington Park

From an article by Dustin Block in The Daily Reporter:

Solar power, a renewable-energy casualty of the early 1990s slain by cheap fossil fuels, is showing signs of life.

The Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee is reviving a solar-powered heating system at its community center in the county’s Washington Park.

The solar-thermal system was built in the late-1970s as an alternative source of energy during the oil boycott. But as energy prices fell in the U.S. in the 1980s, interest in renewable energy waned and the Washington Park system was shut down.

Joey Zocher, the Urban Ecology Center’s Washington Park program manager, estimated the solar power system is worth about $250,000. But it will take at least $100,000 to get the community center system running again, she said. The building also needs a new roof.

"The county is supportive,” Zocher said, “but we still have some money to find."

The story behind Washington Park's solar experiment encapsulates the country’s experience with renewable resources, said Bob Ramlow, who has worked with solar power in Wisconsin since the 1970s and was one of the founders of the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in central Wisconsin.

"In the 1970s, the whole country was excited and thinking about saving energy," he said. "People wanted to do their part. It was patriotic to be involved with renewable energy and energy conservation."

Ramlow said the symbolic moment when the country abandoned that commitment was in 1981, when Ronald Reagan moved into the White House and, on his first day, had the solar collectors on the roof taken off.

"The word from the administration from then to now,” Ramlow said, “was renewable energy sources are the energy of the future, but now we need nuclear, coal and oil."

He said it took nearly 30 years for renewable energy to recover in the U.S. But projects such as reviving solar energy in Washington Park suggest change is coming.

Shawn Young, solar thermal division director for Madison-based H & H Solar Energy Services, inspected Washington Park's solar system last year. He sent a report to Milwaukee County concluding the system was worth saving.

"It's not the best solar collector on the market,” Young said, “but it's not obsolete."

The system collects sunlight on the building's roof and transfers the energy to a liquid that fuels the furnace and generates heat. When it was originally installed, the designers anticipated cutting energy use in the building by 60 to 80 percent. Now, the system could cut energy use 10 to 15 percent, Young said. The decline in savings is mainly because of the system's age.

But even with the reduced efficiency, the county could save $1,000 a month on its heating bill, Zocher said. She estimated the investment needed to refurbish the Washington Park system would take eight years to pay back.

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Support Mass Transit and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

One of several open letters in the Sheperad Express to President-elect

The first priority for the next administration regarding transportation needs to be correcting the serious imbalance between huge federal funding and support for highway expansion and automobile use, compared to only modest support for public transportation. Just months ago, billions of dollars were shifted from the federal mass transit fund into the highway fund to cover our national highway spending binge. Greater federal support for transit infrastructure (longdistance rail, commuter rail, light rail, and bus), as well as for operating expenses, is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to improve air quality in densely populated cities and to reduce the national insecurity that results from our overwhelming dependence on foreign oil. Ending the existing tilt in the playing field in favor of highways will encourage smart growth, urban infill development and redevelopment, and higher employment in our cities. It will also provide additional environmental benefits ranging from increased energy efficiency to preservation of agricultural land.

The impending government bailout of the American automobile industry—a dinosaur that has survived for the last decade or more by trying to sell every American a truck (SUV) in which to commute to and from work—provides an opportunity to try to reshape and refocus it for the future. The industry will only survive if it can produce technologically advanced, fuel-efficient vehicles that can compete with models from Europe and Asia. Requirements for continued improvement in fuel efficiency and air emission standards are necessary to spur constant innovation, rather than giving the industry a “pass” or exemption.

Dennis Grzezinski
Attorney Specializing in Environmental Law

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Our public rail system and the jobs it provides are at risk

From a column by State Senator Dale Schultz:

As Wisconsin employers increasingly turn to our state’s rail roads to get their goods to a global market, state residents and communities enjoy the benefits of keeping jobs here, cleaner air from less truck emissions, and safer roads with less truck traffic.

Those benefits make our state owned railroad system a great investment and explain why I believe, despite a tough fiscal climate, we should increase funding to preserve the infrastructure of our public rail system in the next state budget.

Our public railroad system, which serves numerous communities, has been a great benefit by helping employers compete in the global market and keep family supporting jobs in Wisconsin.

The system also helps many villages and cities with their community development goals by generating increased tax revenues as employers invest in plant expansions and equipment.

In the past two years, in just the region I represent as a state senator, our public rail system has led to new jobs and tax base through major projects in Boscobel, Reedsburg and Rock Springs. For numerous state communities, rail service has been an essential asset to save jobs and create new jobs.

As rail shipping replaces thousands of truck trips, our roads last longer, our carbon footprint shrinks and we all breathe cleaner air.

The state helps communities and rail shippers save freight rail service through its Freight Rail Preservation Program. FRPP grants fund up to 80 percent of projects to rehabilitate tracks and bridges on public rail lines, buy essential rail lines so they aren’t abandoned, and save rail corridors for future rail service and sometimes as recreational trails in the interim.

While freight rail traffic is growing in Wisconsin, FRPP funding is falling far short of the needs. In the current state budget, FRPP funds met less than ten percent of the needs, forcing delays of badly needed projects on public owned rail lines. Since 1992, most FRPP funding went to add rail lines to our public system as a last resort to avoid loss of rail service for communities.

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