Climate scientist will deliver warning on warming

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Organizers of the annual Renewable Energy Summit next month in Milwaukee have landed a high-profile keynote speaker – outspoken climate scientist James Hansen.Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, an arm of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was among the first climate scientists to speak out about global warming, warning about the problem in testimony to Congress in 1988.In recent years, he has become more outspoken about the need to address global warming. In 2006, he criticized his superiors in the Bush administration for efforts to limit his comments to the media about climate change.Hansen agreed to address the Wisconsin energy event...

Read more »

LEDway and We Energies demonstrate Unique Street Smart Technology

From a news release posted on Yahoo! Finance:STURTEVANT, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BetaLED is testing two leading forms of lighting control systems with its LEDway streetlights. Eleven LEDway streetlights installed along 92nd Street in Sturtevant, Wis., were recently outfitted with either a power line communication system or wireless radio frequency (RF) system as part of a side-by-side demonstration of lighting control technologies available for LED streetlights. Both lighting control systems are designed to manage each fixture to ultimately reduce operating and energy expenses.Milwaukee based We Energies is taking part in the evaluation, testing the remote access and monitoring capabilities of each system as well as calculating reduced energy and maintenance costs presented by LED technology...

Read more »

Green jobs ready to bloom as spring nears; job fair March 27

From an article by Jessica Steinhoff in The Shepard Express:The time to green your resume is now. The federal Green Jobs Act got a $500 million boost from the economic stimulus package and is expected to train 70,000 workers in renewable-energy and energy-efficiency jobs. Plus, a floundering economy is nudging companies to hire employees to design and implement energy-savings plans and other cost-saving measures. Wisconsin Environment Director Dan Kohler is pleased with the strategy for building a greener workforce—particularly on the state and local levels. “The federal recovery plan includes significant funding to help states design educational programs to get workers moving ahead in the green economy,” he says.In Wisconsin, universities, technical colleges and government and community workforce-development...

Read more »

Landfill gas may fuel dryers at Jones Island

From an article by Don Behm in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Building a 17-mile pipeline to carry landfill gas from Muskego to the Jones Island sewage treatment plant on Lake Michigan will save the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, its customers and property-tax payers at least $148 million in the next two decades, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and sewerage district officials said Monday.The bulk of the savings will come from buying landfill gas at just 48% of the price of natural gas, under terms of an agreement negotiated with Veolia ES, owner of the Emerald Park landfill in Muskego.There could be additional savings to property-tax payers in the district if federal stimulus money is used to pay even part of the estimated $22 million in pipeline construction costs, sewerage district...

Read more »

Greening of Wisconsin: Boost renewable use

An editorial from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:The economic stimulus package approved last week gives Wisconsin and other states an opportunity to ease the financial crisis by doing more than just making ends meet. Money in the package aimed at energy projects provides an opportunity to move from an economy too reliant on fossil fuels and toward an economy based on sustainable green energy.As the Journal Sentinel's Thomas Content detailed in an article last week:Wisconsin businesses and governments should receive at least $276 million, and possibly more, in energy-related funds from the economic stimulus bill, according to the state agency in charge of the recovery. Energy provisions in the stimulus package include funding for efforts to make buildings more efficient and to boost the use...

Read more »

Stimulus bright spot: renewable energy

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Johnson Controls has begun generating electricity from the largest solar power system in the state - nearly 1,500 panels erected on the northeast corner of the company's headquarters campus in Glendale.The solar power system is part of the $73 million renovation and rehabilitation of the headquarters campus and power solutions businesses for the state's largest company - and will be a showpiece for Johnson Controls as it tries to persuade customers to incorporate renewable energy into their buildings.Power began generating this month after We Energies commissioned the solar system, said Don Albinger, vice president of renewable energy solutions at Johnson Controls.The expansion of solar power is timely, coming as the stimulus...

Read more »

State Fair Park to install solar panels

An article from The Business Journal:The Wisconsin State Fair Park has received state approval to install a solar panel system on the roof of the Wisconsin Products Pavilion.State Fair Park will use the $306,000 demonstration project to promote renewable energy. The 30-kilowatt solar panel system is expected to be in place for the 2009 Wisconsin State Fair Aug. 6-16. The project received the approval of the State of Wisconsin Building Commission.The electricity created by the solar panel system will be integrated into the Fair Park’s power grid to help reduce energy consumption. The new system will reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by more than 31 tons per year, according to the State Fair Park board.The state Building Commission approved $128,400 of state funding from Conserve...

Read more »

State, cities, schools, businesses await energy dollars

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Wisconsin businesses and governments should receive at least $276 million, and possibly much more, in energy-related funds from the economic stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday, according to the state agency in charge of the recovery.Energy provisions in the stimulus package include funding for efforts to make buildings more efficient and to boost the use of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels.Also included are tax credits for manufacturers of energy technologies and for consumers who improve the energy efficiency of their homes or buy plug-in hybrid cars. For instance, homeowners will get credits of up to $1,500 for energy upgrades, such as purchases of qualified furnaces and...

Read more »

We Energies seeks proposals for renewable energy R&D grants

From the solicitation announcement from We Energies: We Energies offers grants under its Renewable Energy Research and Development (R&D) Grant Program to its business and not-for-profit electric customers as well as to organizations teamed with We Energies business and not-for-profit electric customers. This program offers financial assistance in the form of a grant to conduct research on renewable energy technologies, or to help demonstrate a renewable energy product or technology. Areas of research that will receive the highest funding priority include work in the following areas:1. Improving existing renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar, and biomass.2. Expanding renewable distributed-generation technologies and related technologies, such as energy storage and smart grid...

Read more »

"Green" means business survival

From an article by Tom Content on JSOnline.com:About 175 people gathered this morning in the auditorium at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center to talk about ways to green their company’s environmental footprint and save some money at the same time.Companies are looking to reduce their energy and water bill costs by taking steps to make their processes more efficient.It’s all about applying the quality-improvement techniques that companies are by now long familiar with – lean manufacturing, Six Sigma – and adapting them to their use of resources such as energy and water, said Joseph Jacobsen, associate dean at Milwaukee Area Technical College.What’s causing the shift to thinking green? Business owners can sense that carbon regulations are coming and want to get ready, while others are realizing...

Read more »

More companies going green in effort to save on utility bills

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:More companies are looking to reduce their energy and water utility bills by taking steps to make their processes more efficient.It's all about adapting the quality-improvement techniques that many companies are already using, said Joseph Jacobsen, associate dean at Milwaukee Area Technical College.What's making people turn to green? Businesses know that carbon regulations are coming and want to get ready, and they are realizing that saving energy and water helps save - or stem the rise - in utility bills."Green is not just environmental sustainability. Green is business sustainability too," said Jon Dommissee, director of new product development and marketing at Bradley Corp.Jacobsen and Dommissee spoke during a Green Manufacturing...

Read more »

Racine County board delays vote on transit authority

From an article by David Steinkraus in The Journal Times (Racine):YORKVILLE — The County Board decided Tuesday to delay its vote on a regional transit authority until its next meeting on Feb. 24, but many citizens showed up in the board chambers to voice their opinions.Although Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail has been the focus of most comments, the proposal sent to Gov. Jim Doyle is broader than that.It suggests that the state create a permanent regional transit authority which could be joined by municipalities in southeastern Wisconsin. This permanent RTA would oversee not only a commuter rail project but also integration of the various bus systems, and it would have the authority to replace local property tax support of mass transit with a sales tax of up to 0.5 percent.The board...

Read more »

Wisconsin Electric freezes hiring, executive pay

From an article by in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Anticipating a decline in electricity sales in 2009, Wisconsin Energy Corp. has frozen the salaries of top executives and implemented a limited hiring freeze."We have frozen hiring, except for critical operating positions," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gale Klappa said.The cost-containment moves were made at the end of the year and announced Tuesday, after the Milwaukee energy holding company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations of Wall Street analysts.Colder-than-projected weather that drove higher use of natural gas and electricity; declining fuel prices; and income from the new Port Washington natural gas-fired power plant helped the company report better-than-expected earnings in the quarter, Chief Financial...

Read more »

WisDOT slaps Obama

From a post on Milwaukee Rising:It’s hard to figure: a governor who endorsed Barack Obama for president when it was a semi-risky thing to do is letting his transportation department show total disrespect for the man now that he holds the highest office in the land.President Obama had made a few priorities absolutely clear: this country must reduce both greenhouse gases and dependency on foreign oil.Gov. Jim Doyle’s WisDOT, in planning for a new Zoo Interchange, is taking a real slap at the president by totally ignoring those priorities. There will be no planning for any transit to be incorporated into the new design, nor will there be a freeway / transit alternatives analysis done, despite the city’s request.It’s a road-only study — more greenhouse gases, more dependency on foreign oil. Guess...

Read more »

Businesses with possible products or services for the wind industry could find new opportunities by attending the Wisconsin Wind Energy Supply Chain Seminar, March 31, 2009, Appleton, WI, produced by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA):The wind energy industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, which is bringing major supply chain challenges to the industry while it aggressively “ramps up” domestic manufacturing of wind turbines and their components. As a result, there is significant opportunity for state and local governments, manufacturers and component suppliers across all industries to help feed the supply chain and grow their business. This state-level seminar will focus on supply chain challenges and opportunities in the state...

Read more »

Online registration opens for Renewable Energy Summit, Milwaukee, March 25-28

The Renewable Energy Summit opened online registration for the event at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, March 25 - 28, 2009.Fifteen program themes highlight bio industry energy; business technologies and practices; curriculum programs and course design; energy efficiency, energy management and renewable, sustainable and green practices; energy policy, legal issues, drivers of the energy revolution, and opportunities for funding; green career pathways; green manufacturing; greening practices for colleges; green transportation; solar electric energy; solar thermal and geothermal energy; utility issues; water technologies; and wind energy. March 25 and 26 focus on the renewable energy industry with presentations on all sectors of the industry....

Read more »

We Energies coal dust silo explosion injures 6 workers

From an article by Tom Kertscher in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Oak Creek - An explosion Tuesday morning inside a We Energies coal dust silo rained flames down on a group of contract employees who were making preparations for repair work to begin.Four employees were inside the 65-foot-tall structure and two outside when the explosion occurred, said a We Energies spokesman. A doctor said a 43-year-old man pulled his son, 22, and at least one other co-worker to safety.The 22-year-old was the most severely injured, suffering burns to more than half his body, according to Tom Schneider, medical director of the Columbia St. Mary's Regional Burn Center in Milwaukee. The cause of the blast, reported at 10:53 a.m., has not been determined. Federal and local authorities will be investigating, officials...

Read more »

Johnson Controls gets Ford hybrid deal

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. plans to make batteries for a Ford Motor Co. plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that is to be introduced in 2012.Ford has selected the hybrid battery joint venture between Johnson Controls, the world's largest battery supplier, and French battery developer Saft to supply lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrids."This is a great day for the automotive industry in America," Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions, said in a statement prepared for release at the Washington Auto Show, where the Ford partnership is to be announced today."Today, nearly all batteries for hybrid electric vehicles are manufactured offshore. As the United States works to build a manufacturing infrastructure...

Read more »

Eco Racine sets fair for April 18

From Eco Racine's Fair blog:4/18/09Holy Communion Lutheran ChurchFellowship Hall2000 West Sixth StreetRacine, Wisconsin 5340510:00 AM to 2:00 PM (maybe longer)Cost Free!More info: wclingman@wi.rr.comVendors, please contact Eco Racine for informat...

Read more »