Montana - Geothermal energy state?

Geothermal energy projects, as well as the renewable energy projects in general, are lately getting lot more attention that they used to do, and many areas across the U.S. want to fully utilize their natural advantages by developing different renewable energy projects to not only satisfy ever-growing energy demand but also to work on ecologically acceptable fuels, especially now when climate...

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Glacier Hills Wind Park hearing, Nov. 4

The Public Service Commission will take public testimony on We Energies' proposed Glacier Hills Wind Park.Wednesday, November 43 p.m. and 7 p.m.Randolph Town Hall109 S. Madison St. – FrieslandThose opposed to wind projects will likely make arguments like the one below from letter-to-the-editor of the Manitowoc Times Herald. The writere offered this outrageous explanation for why the Legislature passed and the govenor signed the bill on wind siting reform:Blinded by a feel-good solution for a problem that never existed [global warming], legislators are being misled into a belief that something like wind turbines will not have a negative effect on those who are left to live around them . . .To understand the problem you needed to be at the hearing in Mandison on May 12, held by the Senate and...

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Milwaukee, Madison awarded $1 million for solar expansion

From a blog post by Tom Content on JSonline:Milwaukee will receive $650,000 and Madison will receive $370,000 from the federal stimulus package to advance their programs to develop solar energy. Milwaukee established the Milwaukee Shines program several years ago after it won funding forThe city will use the grant to establish a Solar Hot Water Business Council, with an eye toward linking its own solar initiative with the work of the Milwaukee 7 Water Council.The Milwaukee Shines’ goal is to increase the number of solar installers and install more than 100 solar-electric and 50 solar thermal systems by 2012.“What’s going to happen is we are going to be able to use less energy, at a time that that’s very, very important,” said Barrett during a news conference at the Milwaukee Public Library....

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Planners seek input on Racine County transit needs

From the Southeastern Wisconsin Regionial Planning Commission:The public is invited to attend one of three upcoming public informational meetings for the Racine County Public Transit Plan. At the meetings, you can learn more about the plan, discuss it with Commission staff, and comment on the work performed to date. The meetings will be in an “open house” format, allowing you to attend at any time during the two-hour timeframe:+ Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 4:30-6:30 p.m.Racine Railroad Depot1409 State StreetRacine +Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 4:30-6:30 p.m.Burlington Town Hall32288 Bushnell RoadBurlington +Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 5:00-7:00 p.m.Auditorium, Ives Grove Office Complex14200 Washington AvenueSturtevant More details he...

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Experts rip anti-wind claims

Even though the quotes below from pre-filed statements take the form of rebuttal testimony in the PSC proceedings on We Energies' Glacier Hills Wind Park, they can stand on their own. You need not read the filings they rebut in order to make sense out of what they're saying.The pre-filed testimony stands among the strongest redupiation of anti-wind arguments. These filings will be formally entered into the record when the technical hearings begin on November 2nd, but they (and all other filings) are available online at the Web site of the Public Service Commission and link directlyi to case 6630-CE-302.Richard Larkin, a state certified real estate appraiser, rebuts a “study” of property values paid for by the Coaliton for Wisconsin Environmental Stewardship (CWESt), a group opposing the Glacier...

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Solar outlook set to dim in 2010

A news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:Utilities’ voluntary incentives hit limits(Madison, WI – October 23, 2009) In contrast to the rapid growth experienced in the last three years, a leading state renewable energy advocacy group expects a sharp decline in installed solar electric capacity in 2010. In statements directed to the Public Service Commission (PSC), three utilities – Wisconsin Electric Power (WE), Wisconsin Power and Light (WPL), and Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) – acknowledged yesterday that their voluntary solar incentive programs will be discontinued for new customers. All three had offered, on a limited basis, a special buyback rate for the generated electricity, which effectively cut in half the payback period for the systems. “These three incentive programs spurred homeowners...

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Magnetek receives order for large wind power inverters

From a news release issued by Magnetek:Menomonee Falls, Wis. - Magnetek, Inc. (NYSE: MAG) today announced that it has received a follow-on production order for wind power inverters valued at $11 million. Magnetek's modular utility-scale wind power inverters regulate and transform DC power generated by wind turbines into utility-grade AC power, which is distributed to the power transmission grid. Magnetek’s E-Force Wind Inverters are to be delivered to its customer beginning in December 2009 through November 2010. Wind power has been one of the fastest growing sources of power generation globally. In the United States, which has surpassed Germany as the largest wind power market, the five-year average (2004-2008) annual growth rate for wind power installations was 32%, according to the American...

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Team Germany tops Solar Decathlon competition; UW-M lags

Visitors stand in line to learn about Team Germany's solar-powered house, which won the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009. (Photo by Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)From a news release issued by the U.S. Department of Energy:WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman today announced the winners of the 2009 Department of Energy Solar Competition on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Team Germany, the student team from Darmstadt, Germany, won top honors by designing, building, and operating the most attractive and efficient solar-powered home. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took second place followed...

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We Energies public hearing rescheduled

A news release from the Public Service Commission:MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) has rescheduled a 2nd public hearing for Wednesday, October 21 in Milwaukee on We Energies’ (Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) and Wisconsin Gas, LLC) request to adjust electric, steam and natural gas rates.Administrative Law Judge Michael Newmark will be present to receive comments from the public at the hearing site in Serb Hall, Wisconsin South Hall, 5101 West Oklahoma Avenue in Milwaukee beginning at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.When a utility requests a change in rates, the PSC conducts a thorough audit of the utility’s expenses and revenues. The agency will look at the amount We Energies needs to provide a reliable source of energy to customers, which includes costs of fuel, maintenance,...

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Michigan school to test Lake Michigan's wind

From an article by Dave Alexander in the Meskegon Chronicle:Grand Valley State University’s wind turbine testing project for Muskegon Lake is shifting in a new direction.Instead of a wind turbine at the east end of Muskegon Lake, GVSU’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center now is planning to move a wind test platform to Lake Michigan, where data can be collected on the pros and cons of turbines on a major lake.The university has received $1.4 million in an “earmark” from U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, to advance wind turbine generation on the Great Lakes.The idea of testing a turbine on Muskegon Lake is cost prohibitive with the federal dollars available, according to Arn Boezaart, interim director of the Muskegon-based MAREC. Efforts to partner with L-3 Communications in...

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North America - 40,000 new wind turbines by 2015

North America, particularly U.S. desperately needs much stronger renewable energy sector, and the most promising look to be solar energy and wind energy. The latter one could looks to be soon experiencing new boom with the deployment of 40,000 new wind turbines across North America, and in the period of only 6 years, by the year 2015. Well, this is at least what report from Pike Research has to...

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Closed duck farm may reopen as renewable energy site in Racine

From an article by Rick Barrett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:A group of local businessmen have proposed using a waste treatment facility at the former Maple Leaf Farms in Yorkville to process food waste into electricity.Maple Leaf was one of the nation's largest duck farms. It closed in 2008, resulting in the shutdown of its manure-to-energy methane digester.DF-1 Associates is a group of Racine-area businessmen involved in restaurant grease recycling. They're hoping to reopen the methane digester and fuel it with restaurant garbage and waste from food-processing plants. The company would make money by hauling away the waste from restaurants and food processors and selling electricity generated from the digest...

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Rumors fly about offline wind turbines

From an article by Colleen Kottke in the Fond du Lac Reporter:BROWNSVILLE — As the blades of the 86 turbines on the Forward Wind Energy Center remain still, rumors have been circulating faster than the wind as to why the wind farm has been offline since Sept. 29.Invenergy LLC officials attributed the shutdown to scheduled maintenance of the wind farm's substation. However, the latest buzz that a major utility pulled out of its power purchase contract and has left Invenergy without a new customer to fill the void simply isn't true, said Laura Miner, asset manager for Invenergy."There was a delay in getting parts for the transformer at the plant, and now we have completed testing of the equipment and will begin bringing the unit back online," Miner said. "This is a very time-consuming process...

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UW-M team slipping; U. of Minn still in solar decathlon competition

From an article by Jim Dawson and Devin Powell on MinnPost.com:WASHINGTON, D.C. — Team members from the University of Minnesota were tense as they prepared their 565 square foot solar home for a visit by jurors from the engineering and lighting judging panels. Experts in their respective fields, the jurors' visit would determine the team's score for the aesthetics and functionality aspects of their design that cannot be properly evaluated by measurements alone.The judges would also be taking comfort zone and appliance measurements, and the students were worried about every operational detail inside their $501,000 house.The Minnesota team was in 7th place out of the 20 teams that built entirely solar-powered homes on the National Mall in downtown Washington as part of the Department of Energy's...

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Two excellent films about the importance of water

From an announcement by the Waukesha County Environmental Action League:Water is on its way to becoming the oil of the 21st century. World water shortages brought about by increasing demand of growing populations and the results of mis-use and overuse of water, in conjunction with globalization, and the privatization of government roles and responsibilities, are adding up to what may be a world water crisis. While improved technology and new and alternate sources may provide answers to the energy crunch, no scientists have discovered how to make more water yet. Two award-winning documentary films begin to address this issue: "Thirst" and "FLOW" (For Love of Water). Beginning on Sept. 23, WEAL (Waukesha County Environmental Action League) will show these films around the County. Think...

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UW-M students break ground at solar village

Students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee assemble their solar-powered house in preparation for the start of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Oct. 06, 2009.From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee architecture and engineering students have erected one of 20 buildings in a solar village that has risen on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.Over the past two years, the students designed a small, energy-efficient solar home on campus, as part of the Solar Decathlon competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.After being built on campus, the home was taken down in pieces and shipped to Washington,...

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Pilot project captures 90% of CO2

From a news release issued by We Energies:PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- We Energies, Alstom and The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) announced today that a pilot project testing an advanced chilled ammonia process has demonstrated more than 90 percent capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue stream of at a coal-fueled power plant in Wisconsin.At a press conference at We Energies' Pleasant Prairie Power Plant, which hosted the project, We Energies Chairman, President and CEO Gale Klappa, Alstom U.S. President Pierre Gauthier, and EPRI Senior Vice President Hank Courtright discussed the demonstration of Alstom's patented chilled ammonia process for carbon capture. Testing at the pilot facility, using a 1.7-megawatt (electric) slipstream from the plant, began in...

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Time for regional transit is now, say Racine advocates

From an article by Christine Won in the Racine Journal Times:RACINE - Bernie Hoff, 59, of Racine, said she and her family enjoyed the comforts of commuter rail when they were living in a Chicago suburb 24 years ago before they moved to Racine."We saw commuter rail is such an asset to the area," said Hoff, who was at a transit forum Wednesday night. "We can't understand why they don't have it here."More than 130 people attended the community forum "Tapping into Transit as a Game-Changer" Wednesday night at the DeKoven Center, 600 21st St. The forum, hosted by Racine Transit Task Force and Transit NOW, highlighted the benefits of public transit and specifics of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project. The Task Force is a group working to improve transit for Racine.Different community...

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Solar PV Installation, Permitting and Code Seminar, Nov. 18, Milwaukee

We Energies welcomes nationally recognized solar-electric code expert John Wiles to Milwaukee on Nov. 18. Wiles, a program manager at the Southwest Technology Development Institute at New Mexico State University, has many years of experience assisting the PV industry, electrical contractors and electrical inspectors in understanding the PV requirements of the National Electrical Code (NEC). For more information, contact Connie Lindho...

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Panel discusses future of green jobs in Milwaukee

From an article by Tony DiZinno in the Marquette Tribune:Two major points came out of Tuesday’s business forum on future green job growth in Wisconsin.A panel of experts said more money needs to arrive as expected from part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — commonly known as the stimulus package — and potential candidates to fill the new jobs require higher levels of education and skill sets.Before the panel spoke, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett gave a speech on his blueprint of the green job movement.“Green jobs are a continuum of what jobs are now,” Barrett said. “Since work is done at the local levels, it is important to us to be involved in this. We have such a need for business development.”Money appropriated as a part of the stimulus package, the panelists said, has been slow...

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Milwaukee area seen as hybrid hub

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:It's August. The forecast calls for weather in the 90s. You pull into a parking ramp downtown and plug your hybrid-electric car into a charging station.By midafternoon, with air conditioners all over town running full tilt, the local electric utility can't keep up with the demand. So instead of charging up, your car's battery begins feeding power back to the grid - saving the city from a brownout.That night, an app on your cell phone confirms how much money you saved on your electric bill by helping out.This scenario may have seemed far-fetched just a few years ago. But today, more and more utilities are working with transportation researchers on developing the infrastructure for an advanced way for Americans to fuel their cars...

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Wisconsin Rapids company mulls Great Lakes wind farms

From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wausau Daily Herald:As leaders of a Wisconsin Rapids company finalize logistics of a planned local manufacturing plant, they have their sights set on an even larger project.Officials with Energy Composites Corp. are developing a group to build wind farms on the Great Lakes, said Sam Fairchild, chief executive officer."There have been a lot of groups trying to align some interest in the Great Lakes in terms of energy," Fairchild said Friday. "The problem is no one is trying to build wind farms in the Great Lakes. That's what we're trying to do."Two weeks after announcing plans to form what it's calling a Great Lakes Consortium, Energy Composites already has attracted the attention of state and federal officials, outside energy companies and power utilities...

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MATC to run state's largest solar electric system

From an article in the Business Journal of Milwaukee:The Wisconsin Technical College System board has unanimously approved a $6.9 million solar education farm, the largest in the state of Wisconsin, to be built on Milwaukee Area Technical College land in Milwaukee.The farm, a collaborative project between MATC and Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI), was approved Wednesday at a meeting in Rhinelander.The farm will be located on MATC-owned property at 810 E. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee. The farm will serve as a training center for technicians, designers, site assessors, electricians, sales personnel and other professionals in the fields of renewable energy.The 32-acre property is located along the west bank of the Milwaukee River. Construction on the farm is pending receipt of a...

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