Next generation wind farms

Next Generation contest 2009 with its very prestigious prize is over and the winner is so called "Wind-it" project created by French team. A French team of one engineer along with two architects has won this year’s prestigious part thanks to some really innovative ideas that could be used in installation of future wind farms.The biggest problem many people connect with wind farms is their size,

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Wind siting bill passes major legislative hurdle with strong bipartisan support

From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:

Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin could soon see greater growth in the promising wind energy industry after the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities passed Assembly Bill 256 today, a bipartisan bill that would encourage growth in the clean energy industry by replacing a chaotic patchwork of local regulations with sensible statewide standards for permitting safe wind farms.

“Wind energy holds the potential to address many of the greatest problems facing our state –it can clean our environment and reduce global warming pollution while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and creating jobs for hard working Wisconsinites,” said Amber Meyer Smith, program director at Clean Wisconsin the state’s largest environmental advocacy organization. “With so much to gain, we’re extremely encouraged that the legislature seems poised to eliminate administrative barriers holding up the development of this promising infant industry.”

As other industries struggled in poor economic times and cut workers, the wind energy industry grew immensely in 2008 – increasing its national workforce by 70 percent to over 85,000 workers. Unfortunately, while wind developers stand ready to invest in Wisconsin’s economy and put Wisconsinites to work building safe wind farms, a complicated system of over-stringent local regulations currently puts our state at a disadvantage to neighboring states, holding up more than an estimated 500 megawatts of wind farm development in the state.

Assembly bill 256 would charge the Wisconsin Public Service Commission with studying and determining safe permitting standards for wind farms, then replacing the current disorganized system that discourages the growth of the wind energy industry with sensible statewide standards.

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World's largest energy fair this weekend, Custer, WI

From the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:

The world’s largest and longest-running energy fair is being held in central Wisconsin.

Midwest Renewable Energy Association is holding its 20th annual Energy Fair next Friday through Sunday at the ReNew the Earth Institute in Custer.

It feature hundreds of workshops and exhibits emphasizing clean energy and sustainable living.

General admission for the fair is $15 each day or $35 for all three days.

A major sponsor is Madison-based Focus on Energy. It works with eligible Wisconsin residents and businesses to install cost-effective energy efficiency projects.

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Milwaukee program wins green jobs grant

From an article by Joel Dresang in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The United States Conference of Mayors has recognized the Milwaukee Conservation Leadership Corps as a good example of training young workers for green jobs.

The group cited the job training program Friday with a $550,000 check from the Wal-Mart Foundation, which Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said will be used for expansion. Barrett said the corps shows what private, public and nonprofit sectors can do together to develop workers while improving the environment.

The program involves Johnson Controls Inc. and the Student Conservation Association and trains disadvantaged high school students in conservation practices, putting them to work in Milwaukee-area parks. About 80 students will participate in the Milwaukee Conservation Leadership Corps this summer.

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Jefferson business turns to sun

From an article by Steve Sharp in the Watertown Daily Times:

JEFFERSON - Area dignitaries turned out by the dozens Thursday afternoon to salute and support Jefferson business leader Steve Lewis as he embarks on his quest to generate clean, solar energy. Part of Lewis' goal is to serve as an inspiration to others to undertake solar energy-capturing projects of their own.

Ninety-nine solar panels now sit atop the north roof of Lewis' Jefferson Area Business Center (JABC) and provide emission-free, sustainable energy by converting sunlight into electricity. The photovoltaic, renewable energy system is the largest commercial project of its kind in the county.

Thursday's reception at the JABC on Wisconsin Drive, just steps south of Highway 18, brought out a cross-section of community leaders, including Jefferson School District Superintendent Michael Swartz, Jefferson Mayor Gary Myers, city Administrator Tim Freitag, Jefferson County Board Chairwoman Sharon Schmeling and Watertown Daily Times Publisher Jim Clifford. Also in attendance were WPPI Energy President and CEO Roy Thilly, Emily Hickey from Focus on Energy and Al Dittmar of Carroll Electric.

“In making preparations for the project, my first analysis wasn't how much the system would produce but how much I could cut my electrical consumption, because the best electron is the electron that is not used,” Lewis told the crowd. He added the unique project is another example of his propensity to undertake business projects using his heart as a guide.

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End unnecessary obstacles to wind power

From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The single biggest constraint on increasing wind generation of electricity in Wisconsin is the permitting process, according to Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin's Economy, a group working on implementing the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Global Warming. And one of the biggest problems in the permitting process is local opposition to wind farms.

CREWE has said that over 600 megawatts of planned wind developments are stalled across Wisconsin "due to midstream changes in regulations and procedures." The Journal Sentinel's Thomas Content pointed out in an article on Monday that more than a dozen wind projects around the state have been slowed by local opposition.

That can't continue. What's needed, as CREWE officials argue, is regulatory reform and, specifically, uniform siting standards for all wind farms that would be built in the state. Such legislation has been introduced. It deserves adoption by the Legislature.

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Lake Erie likely to get wind turbines first

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

The first wind turbine development on the Great Lakes could be built within three years or so, experts on offshore wind power said during a conference Wednesday in Milwaukee.

The first project is expected to consist of three to five turbines just off the shore of Cleveland in Lake Erie.

The project is being pushed by the Cuyahoga County government as an economic development strategy to help boost the development of a wind-power manufacturing industry in a state that's been hit hard by cutbacks in the auto industry, said Steve Dever of the Ohio Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force.

During the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative meeting at We Energies, experts on offshore wind in Wisconsin said they expect development to start slowly over the next few years. But the industry could grow rapidly from there, the experts said.

"In 2010-2013 you'll see pilot projects get started. Then I think we'll see incredible growth - really, really rapid growth," said Tom Stanton of the Michigan Public Service Commission. . . .

Experts believe wind speeds are much faster over large bodies of water than over land, with parts of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior having stronger winds than Iowa and Minnesota, two of the leading states in generation of wind power.

Wisconsin is looking into Great Lakes wind power as one option for the state to generate more renewable energy that would help reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions, said Deborah Erwin of the state Public Service Commission.

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