Solar farm lets investors buy panels

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Delavan - Welcome to the field where sun power and the sunflower meet.Well, not just one sunflower. More like thousands. And not just one solar panel, either. Thousands there, too.Convergence Energy of Lake Geneva is building one of the largest solar projects in the state, and the first that allows individual investors to buy a stake in the project.The Convergence Energy Solar Farm began construction last year on 14 acres near Dan Osborn's wholesale nursery.The idea, said Steve Johnson, vice president of business development, is to provide a green-power investment opportunity for people who live in a condo or have too much shade to make solar power workable on their own home's roof.By the time it's finished this year, it will...

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Great news from Clean Technica

How is this for a headline: Responding to a Trillion-Dollar Call to Retrofit BuildingsHere is some great and positive reading, including a report on reducing energy use in the Empire State Building by 40 %, and seeing a trillion dollar investment in retrofitting buildings into similar savings of money and carbon, while, hopefully, creating a 1000's of new jobs for the green economy.Read more here:  : http://cleantechnica.com/2011/09/28/responding-to-a-trillion-dollar-call-to-retrofit-buildings/"The serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson brought to life an international need and business opportunity centered on thermally upgrading existing buildings, the world’s biggest users of energy. NYC’s Empire State Building was able to...

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Listen to Positive Energy Moving Forward WARL - 1320 AM Providence, RI

Listen to Positive Energy Moving Forward WARL - 1320 AM Providence, RIAnd you will hear our show, Renewable Now.Also, coming in November, a new, one-hour live, call-in Renewable Now show weekly on 1320 WARL/Providen...

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New show tomorrow streaming live at 10a and 4p, EST

Enjoy the sh...

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Milwaukee Electric Vehicle Meeting - Sunday, Oct. 9th in Milwaukee

I'm sending this out to you as an invite to the first ever official meeting of the Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Association! (WiEVA)The meeting will be held at:Milwaukee Makerspace3073 S. Chase Ave, Bldg 34Milwaukee, WI 53207On Sunday, October 9th at 1:00 PM.The Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Association is a chapter of the Electric Auto Association, whose goal is to promote electric vehicles through education, and help owners and drivers of electric cars connect with each other. We are just starting up, and want to become THE state-wide organization for those interested in electric vehicles and clean transportation. If you are interested in a Chevy Volt, NIssan Leaf, or are already DRIVING your own electric car, we want to hear from you!The Milwaukee Electric Car Club is an informal group of guys...

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Thanks, again, to Sipa in DC

For sending us more material for the blog.  Keep up the good work, Sipa, and we encourage everyone to contribute, as you contribute, we hope, to a cleaner, more efficient world:First story and link:  Carbon War Room-Brokered Consortium Set to Unlock Multi-Billion Dollar Global Commercial Property Retrofit MarketYgrene Energy Fund-led PACE Commercial Consortium launches first $650 million retrofit package for commercial property in Miami-Dade County, Florida and Sacramento, CaliforniaSept. 19, 2011, 7:00 p.m. EDTMarketWatchhttp://www.marketwatch.com/story/carbon-war-room-brokered-consortium-set-to-unlock-multi-billion-dollar-global-commercial-property-retrofit-market-2011-09-19Part of the story:"NEW YORK, Sep 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Carbon War Room, an independent non-profit,...

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New 100kW Turbine Dedicated Sunday near Random Lake

from an article in The Sounder, September 22, 2011 An open house and dedication will be part of Sunday’s program to dedicate the 100-kilowatt wind turbine on the Preder farm west of Random Lake. The wind turbine was erected jointly by the Jeff and Kathy Preder family, and the Ed and Stephenie Ritger family, who are neighbors living on County Rd. I.Sunday’s open house from 1-4 p.m. will have exhibits about renewable energy, tower inspections, farm tours and light refreshments. Among the exhibitors will be the Lakeshore Technical College wind energy program and the Random Lake High School Science Club. The 2 p.m. dedication ceremony will include a talk about the theology of environmental stewardship by Fr. Ed Eschweiler. Among his writings is the prayer, “Beatitudes for Stewards...

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Thanks to Sipa in Washington DC

For alerting us to this story, which clearly falls squarely on the  business side of green:The link:  http://www.prisonplanet.com/ba-faces-e50m-bill-for-carbon-emissions.htmlPart of the article:BA faces €50m bill for carbon emissionsPilita ClarkFinancial TimesSept 19, 2011"British Airways faces a bill of nearly €50m, the highest of any airline, when carriers around the world are brought into the European Union’s carbon emissions trading scheme next year, a new study estimates.But BA and other large European carriers will face a relatively smaller burden than their rivals in the US and China, because they should get an average of 81 per cent of the carbon allowances needed under the scheme for free. The Chinese and American carriers...

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An easy, positive change for the environment anyone can do/Weekend Edition

How is this for a very simple step on combing saving money and energy:  From Environmental Leader:P&G to Advocate Coldwater Washing to 100m US Homes"Procter & Gamble Company has pledged to launch an information blitz on 100 million U.S. homes aimed at promoting coldwater clothes washing.In partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy, and through its Tide brand and Future Friendly conservation education campaign, P&G wants to provide the households with the information needed to convert from warm and hot water laundry habits to cold water washing by Earth Day 2013.This campaign, launched at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York, is part of P&G’s corporate sustainability goal of converting 70 percent of...

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Germantown company erects 100 ft Wisconsin-built wind turbine

From an article on ControlDesign.com:It was like the Egyptian obelisk going up in “The 10 Commandments,” only it was a lot faster, and the slaves were replaced by portable hydraulics. Oh, and there was a 32 ft diameter fan at the top.This was the scene on a sunny, early-September afternoon as Wago installed a 100 ft tall wind turbine next to its U.S. headquarters in Germantown, Wis. And, as if the gleaming white tower wasn’t impressive enough, it was “tipped up” in an amazing 8-10 minutes by a portable hydraulic unit hooked up right next to the tower. After that, it took only another 15 minutes to bolt down the tower, hook up its electronics, and get it spinning in the breeze of Wisconsin’s famous “dairy air.”Capable of generating 20 kW for Wago’s multi-function facility, the small-scale,...

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From Eco Geek: Computer Energy Efficiency Doubles Every 18 Months

Good news on the computer front:  Not only is their weight, capability and versatility improving at a rapid rate, they are also using half the power, saving us all significant money on energy, as new models get introduced.  How is that for a great ROI?The link to the story: http://www.ecogeek.org/efficiency/3590.Part of the story: " A new study done by an engineering professor at Stanford University has found that the energy efficiency of computers doubles roughly every 18 months, and has done so since the very first general purpose computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) that was built in 1956.With help from Intel and Microsoft, Professor Jonathan Koomey was able to gather information...

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Natural Gas: Energy, Economics and the Envronment

Thank you to Jack Gregg, of EVUIS, who has helped us track the on-going story of gas leaks from pipes buried under cities around the world.  Here is a great update from Boston:Lost and Unaccounted Natural Gas: Energy, Economics, and Environment"University researchers and partners have found hundreds of natural gas leaks in Greater Boston having conducted a mobile greenhouse gas audit earlier this year. At the same time, environmental and economic costs of lost and unaccounted gas from extraction in rural areas are coming under increasing scrutiny. Such gas leaks contribute to greenhouse warming potential; amounts to about $2 billion per year in US lost revenue; and have been implicated in damage and mortality of the urban and suburban...

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Sorry we did not get this posted sooner

We broadcast live a new show today, with Joe Loberti, which ran live at 10a and 4p.  Sorry for the late notice on this, but it will now move to on-demand and you can, and should view the show anytime.Joe is a former executive with APC, a phenomenal tech success story, and is hard at work finding and nurturing the next great tech company.  Who will that be?  Tune in and found o...

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From RI Eco News

Some disturbing news today from a very good, on-line newspaper: Dead Zones are Killing Ocean EcosystemsHere's part of the story and the link: http://www.ecori.org/front-page-journal/2011/9/19/dead-zones-are-killing-ocean-ecosystems.htmlBy JESSICA WURZBACHER/special to ecoRI News"A dead zone is an area of an ocean that has too little oxygen to support marine life; it’s hypoxic. This is a natural phenomenon that has been increasing in shallow coastal and estuarine areas as a result of human activities.Eutrophication is an increase in nutrients in the water, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen. Human activities have resulted in the near doubling of nitrogen and tripling of phosphorus flows to the environment when compared to natural...

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Lake Country Moving to Solar, Saturday, Sept. 24

We are having a "Lake Country Moving to Solar" bash at Lake Country Unitarian Universalist Church, W299N5595 Grace Drive in Hartland from noon to 4 this Saturday, celebrating our 19.68 kW solar PV system which came on-line last month. We are having speakers INCLUCING MICHAEL VICKERMAN, musicians, tours of the solar installation and community garden on the premises, solar tea and other snacks, informational tables including a petition to Obama, Kohl, and Johnson to Move Away from Fossil Fuels, and children's activities. We will have preferred parking for bikes and hi-mpg vehicles! Hope you all can make it to this. Call me (Gerry Flakas) at 262-646-2703 if you have any questio...

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Great e-waste event coming up at Arpin in Oct

We are happy to share news on great events that help the environment and the local economy.  Take a look at this:"We are happy to announce our newest, biggest event to collect e-waste and approved hazardous waste material, batteries and lots of shredding to protect people identity.  Whether you or someone you know helps sponsor this fun, heavily promoted event, everyone can come that day and bring us electronics, batteries and lots of other materials to properly dispose of and keep out of our landfill, while helping to raise lots of money to keep people warm this winter.One valuable element of the company-sponsored e-waste event, is that those businesses can bring their e-waste, shredding and approved hazardous waste, no charge, but also get their employees to do the same....

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Veterans and farming Sierra Club Magazine/Weekend Edition

Great article in the Sierra Club magazine (http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/201109/act.aspx) on veterans coming home, even those injured in the war, and becoming local farmers.Ironically, the Providence Journal covered the same story today.  We will be doing a show on this, and invite anyone out there, a veteran, organization or farmer who is part of this movement to please get in touch and be part of this heart-warming story.Here's part of it: "A young veteran called us up last week from North Carolina. He had just bought 50 acres of land. He told us both of his legs had been ripped off in the war, but they'd been reattached, and now he was ready to farm. He's a perfect candidate for our program."I've worked in the organic-farming...

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Dunkin Donuts' 4-Step Solution to Brewing Energy Efficiency

Coffee lovers rejoice:  One of the big players, very popular in Eastern US, is taking a step towards a sustainable future by reducing its use of energy to brew its coffee.  Interesting, as you read their story, they became very motivated "After observing the success of EDF Climate Corps fellows at other companies, executives at Dunkin' Donuts believed energy efficiency could mean potential savings for their own company as well."We love this statement as it is our goal to motivate you through sharing other success stories.  Whether you are an individual, non-profit or business, there is, in our view, plenty of room to make a good economic decision that will benefit the environment as well, and you can see and hear that through...

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Port of Milwaukee Gets "OK" for Wind Turbine Project

From an article by Tom Held and Thomas Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:A project to build a wind turbine adjacent to the Port of Milwaukee's administration building will move forward after a contractor agreed to increase its use of businesses owned by minorities or women.The Board of Harbor Commissioners gave the project a go-ahead at a meeting Wednesday morning. The board had delayed action on the contract last month because of concerns about participation levels of minority and female-owned businesses."We're excited to see this project move forward and we're glad that the issues the board raised were able to be resolved successfully," said Matt Howard, the city's environmental sustainability director.The low bidder on the project, Kettle View Renewable Energy of Random Lake, offered...

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Carbon Day

We are heading to Boston today for this event at Copley Square.  Please join us if you can.We are shooting interviews with many of the organizers and exhibitors who will be showing products and ideas for reducing carbon output.  We will be editing into a great, one-hour show that we will release later this year.Our major goal, though, is to bring this event to as many cities as possible and, ultimately, have Carbon Day celebrated (right now, to our knowledge, it is Chicago and Boston only) in every state.  Then we can help coordinate a moment of carbon reduction that can be synced across America and, ideally, across the world.Can you help us do this?  Again, this is not a belief/non-belief in global warming.  We'll leave that to others.  Our mantra is simply let's...

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UW Milwaukee Receives Top Dollar Gov. Grant for Energy Program

The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee was awarded 1.5 million dollars from the DOE (Department of Energy) in order to continue to train under-graduate and graduate level engineering students to become future leaders in industrial energy efficiency. The award is part of a larger 30 million dollar DOE grant given to 24 universities across the county, who currently are leaders in this field. The money will be used to set up an assessment center where students will be able to learn, though working with larger corporations and smaller businesses, how to reduce energy waste and save money through energy efficiency. The money will be given to UW Milwaukee in installments over the next 5 years. Energy Secretary Steven Chu thinks this will open the door to new jobs in this ever growing industry.Other...

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We look forward to having you as part of the show today

Having trouble viewing this email?Click hereDear Peter,Tomorrow is the date for ReNewable Now's first LIVE event, and you can be a part of it by going to ReNewable Now. PLEASE BE AWARE the show is from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m EST. This is an interactive show where you, our audience, are encouraged to participate by not only asking questions, but also providing ideas. Our goal for ReNewable Now is to help increase awareness of the business side of green and to hopefully see our country engage this new economy. It is through effective group forums such as this, that we hope to enlighten people to the potential that exists. We also encourage you to tell others about this forum and invite them to participate live, online by visiting "www.renewablenow.tv."...

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