Business energy bills will increase by 13%

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Household prices will rise less than 5%, still much higher than inflationBy Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel We Energies customers will see their electric bills rise Jan. 1, with double-digit increases projected for the utility's biggest ratepayers.The utility's largest energy-users - factories and other large businesses -can expect their bills to jump about 13% on average, said Brian Manthey, utility spokesman. Most other business customers can expect electric bills to rise 8% to 10%.Residential customers can expect an increase of less than 5%.By comparison, the rate of inflation increased 1.1% from a year ago, according to the latest report from the U.S. Labor Department.The culprit behind the Jan. 1 increase is the loss...

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Illinois forms partnership with Wisconsin's money to develop high-speed rail to St. Louis

From an article in BizTimes Daily:State of Illinois announced today it will use some of the federal funds rejected by Wisconsin Governor-elect Scott Walker to create a public-private partnership that will develop high-speed rail from Chicago to St. Louis, Mo., by 20114.Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the signing of the historic cooperative agreement by the federal government, state government, Union Pacific Railroad, and Amtrak as a crucial advance in the development of a planned high-speed passenger rail network that will serve Illinois and the Midwest region.“ Clearly, the leadership, perseverance and commitment of Governor Quinn, Senator Durbin, and our private sector...

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Wisconsin utilities continue progress toward renewable energy standard

From a news release issued by the Public Service Commissiion of Wisconsin: MADISON – Two reports released today by the Public Service commission of Wisconsin (PSC) indicate that Wisconsin’s electric utilities and cooperatives continue to make steady progress in adding renewable energy to the state’s energy supplies. All of the electric providers meet or exceed state requirements and many offer incentives to customers who want to generate their own renewable electricity.Renewable Portfolio Standard ComplianceWisconsiin’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) law requires retail electric providers to produce 66 percent of the state’s eelectricity from renewable resources by the year 2010, and 110 percent by 2015. each year, Wisconsin utilities and cooperatives are required to report to the PSC...

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Permaculture Rock Star coming to the UEC

Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, which for the past seven years has been the world’s best-selling book on permaculture, will be holding a workshop at the Center on Saturday, Jan. 29th from 1-5:00. Cost is $45 members/$55 nonmembers. To register: 414-964-8505. I am really excited to be able to offer this opportunity, please help me spread the word! DETAILS:Urban Permaculture For a Hopeful FutureWorkshop Description: How can we create resilient, regenerative cities and suburbs? Permaculture, an ecological approach to design, shows us how. Though land may be limited, cities are rich in other resources, especially social capital. This workshop will show how to find, harvest, and integrate the many resources in our cities in sustainable ways, including...

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Workshop: Basic Energy Literacy (and Numeracy), January 22

From Erik Lindberg:What: Basic Energy Literacy (and Numeracy) When: Jan 22nd, 10:30 to 12:30 Where: Urban Ecology Center I have been given the honor of teaching a basic energy literacy and numeracy class at the urban ecology center this January. The class will cover all the basic energy information and assessment tools that inform Transition. We will talk about Peak Oil, current American and world-wide energy usage, world-wide fossil fuel reserves, the capacity of alternative energy to replace fossil fuels, energy and the economyh, and our energy prospects for the future. After the class you will also have the tools to asses government and advertising claims about their programs and products. When you hear of a new oil-field discovery, you will be able to assess how big it really is. When...

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Grant program passed, thousands of renewable energy jobs saved

From an article in Renewable Energy World:Washington, D.C. -- In typical fashion, the U.S. Congress passed a suite of last-minute tax laws last night, including an extension of the Treasury Grant Program (TGP) for renewable energy project developers. Trade groups in Washington have been pushing hard for an extension of the program, which provides a cash payment of up to 30% of equipment costs in place of the Investment Tax Credit. The grant program was responsible for a large portion of the renewable energy projects built throughout the U.S. in 2010. Originally passed as part of the 2009 stimulus package, the TGP was supposed to expire at the end of December.Because there are still a limited number of financial institutions able to finance projects by taking advantage of tax credits, the TGP...

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Port of Milwaukee expects boost from wind-energy shipments in 2011

From an article by Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:The last oceangoing ship of the year steams out of the Port of Milwaukee this week, bound for Morocco with a load of soybeans, ending what's been a good shipping season - with total tonnage down but steel shipments surging from a year ago.The port handled about 1.9 million metric tons of cargo through Nov. 1, compared with 2.4 million a year earlier.Most of the decline was blamed on fewer road-salt shipments, one of the port's largest commodities.About 32% less salt was brought into the port this year, largely because of a surplus from 2009, said Eric Reinelt, Port of Milwaukee director.The port had strong exports of grain and mining equipment and high imports of steel, according to Reinelt.It's had visits from 207 ships, up...

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Energy efficiency, renewables program feels GOP heat

Tom Content wrote and posted the following article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the day before the Joint Committee on Finance voted along party lines (12 Democrats in favor, 4 Republicans against) to approve funding for Focus on Energy:Lawmaker calls for audit; business groups against added fundsWith a decision possible Tuesday on an increase in funding for the state Focus on Energy program, a lawmaker called for an audit of the energy efficiency initiative and several business groups came out against what they criticized as "a $340 million energy tax hike."Business groups including Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, the Wisconsin Paper Council, Midwest Food Processors Association and the Wisconsin chapter of the National Federation of Independent...

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Money disappears for Intermodal train shed work

From an article by Marie Rohde in The Daily Reporter:No money is available to build a train shed at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station even though the project is required to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.The money for the station improvements had been included as part of the $810 million Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail project that was rescinded by the federal government last week in light of opposition by Gov.-elect Scott Walker.The Intermodal Station project was to construct a storage and maintenance building for new trains that run between Chicago and Milwaukee. It also included construction of platforms and an ADA-compliant connection to the station.Steve Kulm, a spokesman for Amtrak in Chicago, said Amtrak has spent more than $109 million to bring some 200 stations...

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Monday rally to declare jobs emergency in aftermath of train decision

Milwaukee: Monday’s rally at City Hall in support of high speed rail will focus on the Milwaukee jobs crisis created by the re-direction of funds to other states. Now that Governor-elect Walker’s decision has apparently cost Wisconsin 13,000 jobs, and risks losing the new Talgo high speed rail plant in Milwaukee, the coalition will demand that Walker include Milwaukee job creation in the upcoming special legislative session. What: High Speed Train and Milwaukee Jobs Crisis Rally Where: Milwaukee City Hall Rotunda When: Monday, December 13, 12 Noon Who: Good Jobs & Livable Neighborhoods project of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, and coalition partners. In addition, on Thursday December 16th at 7 PM there will be a major town hall meeting in the neighborhood that would be directly affected...

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Missed opportunity

From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:The governor-elect's insistence on killing the Milwaukee-to-Madison rail line seems to have paid off for him. But not for the rest of the state.And Wisconsin stands still. Thanks to the opposition of Governor-elect Scott Walker and an apparent majority of state residents, federal transportation officials announced Thursday that the state won't get the money needed to build a fast rail link from Milwaukee to Madison. Walker called the decision a victory, and, in one sense, he's right. Those like Walker who thought the rail line was a waste of money won.But in a larger sense, the state lost. The opposition of Walker and others was shortsighted. The money the Obama administration was willing to invest in Wisconsin would have brought jobs and...

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PSC approves final wind siting rule; improves clean energy outlook

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 9, 2010MORE INFORMATIONRENEW WisconsinMichael Vickerman608.255.4044mvickerman@renewwisconsin.orgFinal Wind Siting Rule Improves Clean Energy OutlookWith the changes made at the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) open meeting today, wind developers in Wisconsin can look forward to a set of workable statewide permitting standards that will facilitate the development of well-designed wind projects.At the meeting, the Commission adjusted the requirements on two issues of critical importance to the wind industry: set back distances and compensation to neighboring residents.“Today’s decisions culminate a four-year effort to set Wisconsin’s permitting house in order,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy...

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Colorado regulators vote for Xcel to shut 6 coal-fired plants

From an article by Mark Jaffe in the Denver Post:The Colorado Public Utilities Commission voted Monday to shut six aging Front Range coal-fired power units and allow Xcel Energy to replace them with a new $530 million gas-fired plant.Pollution controls, with a $340 million price tag, also were approved for the coal-burning Pawnee plant near Brush and the Hayden plant.The commission still must decide what to do with the largest coal-burning plant in the Denver area — the Cherokee 4 unit."Cherokee 4 is the largest source of air pollution in the Denver area, and it needs to be shut," said John Nielson, energy-program director for the environmental-policy group Western Resource Advocates.The closures, which will occur between 2011 and 2017, are part of Xcel's proposal to meet the state Clean Air-...

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No evidence of health impacts from wind energy

From a column by Robert J. McCunney, Robert Dobie and David M. Lipscomb in The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon:While opponents of wind energy have attempted to use self-published reports to block projects, the science is clear. Independent studies conducted around the world consistently find that wind farms have no direct impact on physical health. In fact, with no air or water pollution emissions, wind energy is essential to reducing public health impacts from the energy sector.A minority of residents living near wind projects may sometimes find the turbine sounds annoying and the same is true with any environmental sound. Annoyance is a subjective effect that varies among people and circumstances. Many residents in Oregon and across the United States find wind turbines to be a non-intrusive...

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Benefit for Urgan Agricultre, Dec. 12, Milwaukee

Living Activism Night at The Coffee House631 N. 19th Street Milwaukee, WI 53233Sun. Dec. 12 - Living Activism Night presents a benefit for URBAN AGRICULTURE hosted by Godsil and friends featuring music from the wonderful band EMBEDDED REPORTER. Free-will donation with all door $ going to the benefited org. Be generous! ...

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300 years of fossil fuel addiction explained in just FIVE MINUTES!

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Wisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal Prices

For immediate releaseDecember 1, 2010More informationRENEW WisconsinMichael Vickerman608.255.4044mvickerman@renewwisconsin.orgWisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal PricesLong-considered an inexpensive and reliable fuel source, coal has become subject to market and regulatory pressures that threaten to make it an expensive and risky way to generate electricity, according to national news reports and pertinent utility filings with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC).“The expectation of continued increases in coal prices reinforces the value of relying on Wisconsin’s own energy resources. If there’s an effort to find savings for utility customers, the logical move would be to shutter antiquated coal plants before they become more of a liability,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive...

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