Groups urge passage of new version of Clean Energy Jobs Act legislation

Diverse groups lined up to support passage of the rewritten version of Clean Energy Jobs Act legislation when the new provisions were announced on Tuesday. Group already releasing statements of support include:

+ Clean Wisconsin.
+ AFL-CIO
+ Wisconsin Business Council
+ Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE)
+ Wisconsin Environment
+ WPPI Energy.

According to the bill's co-authors the highlights of the bill include:

+ Increases the use of renewable resources to meet the state’s future energy needs, requiring 25 percent of Wisconsin’s energy needs are met by renewable sources by 2025, creates new opportunities for Wisconsin.
+ Establishes graduated statewide electricity savings goals that lead up to a 2 percent reduction by 2015 and annual reductions of 2 percent thereafter, this will help reduce energy costs to businesses and homes across the state.
+ Large conservation and efficiency projects that meet workforce standards could count toward a portion of the RPS, which accelerates savings and provides options for utilities to create jobs.
+ Supports the development of small scale renewables such as solar, wind and manure digesters through expanded Focus on Energy grants and loans that will now total $25 million per year each year for a four year period. This will allow Wisconsin Companies to grow their business and create more jobs.
+ Modifies, but not repeal, Wisconsin’s moratorium on nuclear power plants. The language has been tightened to remove the threat of constitutional challenge by tying those changes to the state’s traditional regulatory authority over the need and siting of any plant.
+ Adjusts several transportation provisions, including the elimination of the California vehicle emissions standard; the proposed low carbon fuel standard tied to decisions in other states; and boiler efficiency standards that could cause conflict with EPA regulations.

The co-authors also asked the Public Service Commission to update its cost analysis of the legislation, taking into account the changes made in the substitute amendment.

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Wisconsin's scaled-back global warming bill unveiled

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

A revised state clean energy and global warming bill unveiled Tuesday scales back the scope of the bill but retains a commitment to expand use of renewable energy and open the door to construction of nuclear reactors in Wisconsin.

The revisions, obtained by the Journal Sentinel, were drafted in response to concerns raised by business groups and politicians that the original bill was too unwieldy, too controversial and potentially too costly.

Jettisoned from the package were mandates concerning transportation fuels, including a requirement that Wisconsin require greater use of low-carbon transportation fuels such as biofuels.

To reduce the overall cost of the package, the bill allows energy efficiency gains to count toward a portion of a mandate that 25% of Wisconsin's electricity come from renewable power sources by 2025.

A combined energy efficiency and renewable energy standard is also part of federal legislation that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last year.

The state bill would allow one-fifth of the mandate to come through energy savings, most likely from major energy saving initiatives by factories and other big energy users.

Another change responds to concerns raised by utilities concerning a mandate that had been in the earlier bill concerning small renewable energy projects around the state. The mandate has been replaced with expanded funding for small renewable energy projects. The new proposal states a preference that much of that money be allocated toward manure digesters on Wisconsin dairy farms.

The latest version also underscores the consequences of the weak economy and declining sentiment for taking action on global warming.

Doyle signed an executive order creating the task force in April 2007 - well before the collapse in the economy. In December 2009, after details were known, many business groups attacked it and said the recommendations would harm the energy-intensive manufacturing sector.

But some other industries and companies, notably Johnson Controls, the state's largest public company, said the bill would create jobs and align the state to take advantage of emerging trends in sustainability.

At the same time, the public appears less concerned about climate change. A national Gallup Poll in March showed that the percentage of respondents who believe the seriousness of global warming is "generally exaggerated" has increased from 35% to 48% in two years.

"As introduced, the Clean Energy Jobs Act would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and help keep rising energy bills in check," said Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, said in a statement. "The substitute amendment represents a compromise that will still accomplish all of these goals, but to a lesser degree than the original bill."

Clean Wisconsin is still reviewing the details of the changes.

"As we understand them, the changes in the substitute amendment will result in even more jobs and lower energy bills in the next few years by increasing short-term commitments to energy efficiency," Reopelle said. "However, paring back the renewable energy standard will likely result in less rate relief in the long term, because renewable energy helps hedge against the rising cost of fossil fuels."

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RTA bill a step forward for area transportation

From an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The Legislature should approve the legislation to set up interim regional transit authorities in seven southeastern Wisconsin counties.

Republican legislators who support business growth need to pay attention to what business leaders are saying about transit in southeastern Wisconsin. And Democratic legislators who support jobs for families in their districts need to pay attention to what union leaders and those families are saying about the issue.

On this issue, many business and union leaders are united in their support for a regional transit system that can link workers to jobs. And they're hardly alone. Local officials who have publicly supported improved transit on these pages or elsewhere in recent months include Milwaukee Common Council President Willie L. Hines Jr., Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Wauwatosa Ald. Dennis McBride and even County Executive Scott Walker (although he opposes an increase in the sales tax to fund transit).

Nurses have written about the public health aspects of a diverse transportation system that includes reliable transit. Supporters of the arts have argued that transit is important to a healthy arts community.

And this is the moment. A bill pending in the Legislature needs to be approved by the end of this legislative session later this month. Failure to do so would be a blow to business and jobs, commuters and families.

This should not be a partisan issue; although they may have different electoral bases, Republicans and Democrats are united in their voiced support for a strong economy, business expansion, job growth and the infrastructure needed to provide the right links.

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State panel OKs interim authorities for county RTAs

From an article by Jason Stein in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Madison - A sales tax of up to 0.5% could be levied in Milwaukee County to fund public transportation under a regional transit authority bill an Assembly committee endorsed Thursday.

By an 8-2 vote, the Assembly Transportation Committee supported the bill, which would allow creation of interim transit authorities in Milwaukee and other counties in southeastern Wisconsin that eventually could merge into the existing Southeastern Regional Transit Authority. But the measure still faces a steep climb to pass both chambers of the Legislature before lawmakers end their regular business on April 22.

Seven Democrats and one Republican on the committee approved a complex, 52-page amendment before recommending the bill. Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville) praised the bipartisan vote as a positive sign for the bill's chances. The amended proposal would . . . allow local governments to create interim regional transit authorities in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Ozaukee, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties. Those authorities could raise money for their public bus systems, including the financially troubled Milwaukee County Transit System, through a sales tax or through membership fees charged to their local government members.

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Nuclear fusion facts

Nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of huge amounts of energy. To say it simply, nuclear fusion is process of joining two or more light atoms into one heavier with release or absorption of energy. The fusion of two nuclei with mass lower than iron generally releases

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Energy efficiency gives win, win, win to Racine

From a letter to the editor of the Racine Journal Times by Mark M. Giese, Racine:

Energy efficiency a great idea here

I applaud the City of Racine for recognizing that energy efficiency is a win-win-win situation ("Stimulus funds used for new energy-saving loan program," March 13).

Homeowners will "win" when the program reduces their energy bills.

Simple improvements, such as increasing insulation or replacing old, inefficient appliances, really have an impact. On average, each dollar invested in efficiency saves three dollars in avoided energy costs.

Our local economy will "win" in two ways. The program will increase the demand for appliances, weatherizing and other efficiency upgrades, which means greater sales for businesses. These jobs can't be outsourced, since they involve work on local homes.

The other economic "win" comes when homeowners start seeing smaller heating and electricity bills. That will leave them more money to spend in local restaurants and shops.

The third "win" is for the environment. Way too much of Wisconsin's electricity still comes from dirty coal plants and the coal from environment-destroying mountaintop removal. Less electricity used means less coal burned and more mountain areas unharmed, which means cleaner air and water.

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High-speed rail will boost Wisconsin’s economy

From an entry by Tom Still on Milwaukee Biz Blog:

The Marquette interchange in Milwaukee cost more than $800 million to rebuild between 2004 and 2008, and few people seriously questioned whether that “subsidy” of Wisconsin’s highway transportation system would pay for itself many times over.

Milwaukee’s Zoo interchange, the mix-master for I-94, I-894 and Highway 45, could cost $2.3 billion to rebuild once work begins in 2012. Again, most people familiar with the volume of statewide commerce passing through that intersection can agree reconstruction is a much-needed investment.

But suggest a relatively tiny $7.5 million per year subsidy for a high-speed rail line that could redefine Wisconsin’s connections to Chicago and the Twin Cities, and the same folks who barely blink at billion-dollar concrete projects turn into raging fiscal hawks.

That penny-wise, pound-foolish approach should be questioned. Wisconsin has a chance to build a high-speed rail line, with hard-to-get federal money, that will change the economic destiny of its largest cities and many of its smallest communities. Yet this promising track for economic development is being opposed by those who claim a small state subsidy will somehow break the bank.

Before the political debate gets too overwrought, let’s examine the economic reasons why Wisconsin should embrace building a Milwaukee-to-Madison rail line and improving the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago connection.

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