Wisconsin utilities continue progress toward renewable energy standar
December 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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 Compliance
Wisconsiin’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 their progress in meeting thee renewable milestones. Today the PSC released the 2009 RPS compliance Report which indicates:
+ All 118 Wisconsin electric providers met their RPS requirement for 2009;
+ 113 providers exceeded their requirements for the year, creating excess renewable resource credits that can be banked and used for compliance in future years; and,
+ In 2009, 6.29 percent of the electricity sold by the state’s utilities and cooperatives was generated from renewable resources, up from 4.90 percent in 2008.
Distributed Renewable Generation
PSC also released a status report on its investigation into “advanced a term renewable tariffs,” a term used to describe long-term contracts whereby utilities and cooperatives offer to purchase electricity at premium prices from customers who generate electricity from small, renewable systems such as solar panels. Highlights of the status report include:
+ More than 300 of Wisconssin’s electric providers, representing about 90% of the state’ s electricity market, have voluntarily offered this kind of incentive;
+ Customers have responded by installing more than 10 MW of small, distributed capacity utilizing biogas (from manure digesters on farms), solar panels, and wind turbines; and,
+ An additional 8.2 MW off generation capacity, mostly from biogas projects, is under construction and will soon be generating electricity.
Grant program passed, thousands of renewable energy jobs saved
December 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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 has opened up new sources of capital for project developers. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the grant program spurred over 1,100 solar projects and $18 billion dollars of investment in 2010.
“This program has successfully created thousands of jobs and opportunity in all 50 states for construction workers, electricians, plumbers, contractors that have struggled in this harsh economic climate,” said SEIA President Rhone Resch in a statement.
While the wind industry saw a significant drop in installations compared to 2009, the grant program helped keep thousands of MW on the table for 2010 and 2011. American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode projected a loss of tens of thousands of wind jobs in 2011 without an extension of the TGP.
Port of Milwaukee expects boost from wind-energy shipments in 2011
December 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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 from 191 at this time last year.
“The good news is that anything related to the overall economic cycle did fairly well,” Reinelt said. “Purchases of specialty steel products through the port, mostly from Europe, are up a whopping 50% over last year. . . .”
The port has made room for storage of wind-turbine blades, hoping to get more of that cargo business.
Earlier, Milwaukee’s port and terminal operators lost millions in revenue and about 25 jobs because of state rules that clamped down on the shipment of wind-turbine components on Wisconsin highways.
Caravans of the huge turbine parts were shipped through Duluth, Minn., and Beaumont, Texas, rather than Milwaukee.
But Wisconsin’s highway rules have been relaxed, Reinelt said.
“Next year, our big marketing effort is going to be in wind-power products. I think next year, and in 2012, we should see that business come back,” he said.
Also, the entrance ramp to Interstate-794 was widened this year so that trucks could get on the highway easier and not have to use city streets. That move was a huge improvement for the port and its terminal operators, Reinelt said.
Wisconsin Conservation Farmer of the Year Harvests Wind Energy
December 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
For immediate release
November 30, 2010
More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
Wisconsin Conservation Farmer of the Year Harvests Wind Energy
Fall River, WI – John Priske and his wife Dorothy, the owners and operators of Fountain Prairie Farm, a 280-acre beef farm powered by a 50-kilowatt wind turbine earlier this year, will be honored as Wisconsin Conservation Farmer of the Year.
Since acquiring their Columbia County property more than 20 years ago, the Priskes replaced a row-crop farm with a grass-based, organic beef operation, restored a 61-acre wetland, and erected a 140-foot wind turbine that will produce about 50 percent more energy than is needed to power the farm.
“We congratulate the Priskes for integrating renewable energy with sustainable agriculture,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide, nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization. “To farmers who are conservation minded and value energy self-sufficiency, Fountain Prairie demonstrates how all of the elements of sustainability can be put together on one farm.”
Since the Endurance turbine became operational in the fall, it has produced more than 14,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, which is enough to supply the energy needs of two households for one year.
This is the second organic farm in Wisconsin hosting a turbine installed by Madison-based Seventh Generation Energy Systems. The other turbine has been serving Full Circle Farm, a grass-based dairy operation, near Seymour in Shawano County, since February 2009. Both installations were supported with grants from Focus on Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Renewable Energy in American Program (REAP).
The Priskes will receive the award at the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association’s annual conference to be held on December 9th and 10th in Wisconsin Dells.
–END—
The mysterious minds of wind-energy opponents
November 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment
How can a homeowner protest wind turbines (in the distance) and seem to have no problem with the communication tower only a few feet away?
Menasha Corp. will add Renewegy turbine as power source
November 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment
From an article by Kathleen Gallagher in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A little more than two years after it was founded, and a month after starting full-scale production, an Oshkosh manufacturing company expects to have as many as 30 of its wind turbines up and running for customers by the end of the year.
Renewegy LLC’s most recently-announced sale was to Menasha Corp.
Privately held Menasha plans to install five wind turbines to generate electricity for its offices in Neenah, along Highway 41. The five 20-kilowatt turbines stand 115 tall, about the height of a stadium light pole. The cost of the plan was not disclosed.
The project will be the largest wind installation at a business in northeastern Wisconsin, said Nancy Whitton, Menasha’s corporate communications director.
Other Wisconsin organizations that have turned to Renewegy for turbines include Orion Energy Systems Inc. in Manitowoc, SCA Tissue in the town of Menasha, Bergstrom Corp.’s new Mini Cooper dealership, Kaukauna High School and Neenah-based J. J. Keller.
Renewegy, which has 17 employees, also recently signed agreements with distributors in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska and is looking for more in other states, said Jeff Ehlers, the company’s president.
WPL is penalized for unclear information about wind-farm project
November 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment
From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Wisconsin Power & Light got a slap on the wrist from state regulators for not making it clear that there will be problems getting electricity out to consumers from a major wind farm the Madison utility company is building in Minnesota.
Last April, WPL requested a $35.4 million rate boost for 2011, primarily to help pay for the Bent Tree wind farm near Albert Lea, Minn., which is expected to cost more than $450 million. The rate request was later reduced to $16 million in an agreement between the utility and regulators.
On Thursday, the state Public Service Commission, in a preliminary decision, agreed to an increase of about $12 million, then penalized WPL $3 million, reducing the amount the utility could charge ratepayers to $9 million.
“The PSC said the utility was not keeping the commission adequately informed of developments on transmission constraints,” said Bob Norcross, administrator of the PSC’s gas and electric division. The problem involves over-burdened high-voltage lines to carry electricity from the wind farm to the power grid, Norcross said. The PSC voted 2-1 for the penalty, with commissioner Mark Meyer opposed.
State’s tallest wind turbines to begin operating near Green Bay
November 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Project has only 8 turbines, but height adds to energy output
Glenmore — Towering above farm fields on the Niagara Escarpment south of Green Bay are some of the tallest wind turbines in the nation – rising nearly 500 feet from the ground to the tip of a blade, only about 100 feet shorter than Wisconsin’s highest skyscraper, the U.S. Bank building in Milwaukee.
The Shirley Wind project is small by another measure, numbering only eight turbines, compared with the 90 turbines We Energies is building at the Glacier Hills Wind Park north of Madison. But the turbines that will start producing power this month in Glenmore can each generate more power than any other wind turbine erected so far in the state.
The Shirley Wind turbines are 100 feet taller than the turbines We Energies is building at Glacier Hills.
Shirley Wind’s project developers, though, are quick to point out that their turbines are less than half the size of some nearby cell phone towers, which rise up to 1,200 feet.
The turbines are being tested this week and will soon start producing electricity, said Bill Rakocy, of project developer Emerging Energies in Hubertus.
Several Wisconsin companies contributed to the effort, including Tower Tech of Manitowoc and Michels Wind Energy of Brownsville. Tower Tech said the towers, made in Manitowoc, are the largest it has ever built. A large crane from Manitowoc Cranes helped erect the towers.
“I can’t tell you how exciting it has been to watch this go up, and to feel and touch the turbines, and know that it’s Wisconsin through and through,” Rakocy said. “Our whole focus has been to do something that is good for Wisconsin and to focus on Wisconsin jobs.”
The project will supply power to Wisconsin Public Service Corp. of Green Bay, which in turn will sell energy credits to the state government to help it reach its goal of getting 20% of its electricity from renewable sources. Dave Helbach of the state Department of Administration said it will help increase the state government’s renewable-power purchases to 16% of the electricity it buys.
Each turbine generates about 2.5 megawatts of electricity. That is about four times as much as the first two utility-scale turbines that opened in Glenmore 12 years ago at an Earth Day ceremony presided over by then-Gov. Tommy Thompson.
Shirley Wind: An Auspicious Debut for Emerging Energies
November 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
November 10, 2010
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of attending a celebration of Shirley Wind, Wisconsin’s newest commercial wind installation. Located in the Brown County township of Glenmore, a mere 15 miles southeast of Lambeau Field, the project consists of eight Nordex N100 turbines rated at 2.5 megawatts (MW) apiece. All eight turbines are fully erected and will be turned on individually as part of the commissioning process. Commercial operation should begin in a few weeks.
There are many features of this project that stand out. The most obvious one is the turbines themselves, which are the tallest in Wisconsin and are among the tallest in North America. The nacelle is perched on a 100-meter tower (330 feet). Attached to the rotor are three blades extending 50 meters (165 feet). For comparison purposes, the tower is more than 60 feet taller than the next largest turbine in Wisconsin, the Vestas V82, and the blades are about 30 feet longer. According to Michels Wind, the general contractor for Shirley Wind, the spread foundations supporting these turbines are the largest in North America. Read more
Turbines coming by train to tract near Randolph, WI
November 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment
From an article by Lyn Jerde in the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen:
Ninety wind turbines will rise in the skyline in Columbia County’s towns of Scott and Randolph next spring, but not before their components make a stop in the neighboring down of Courtland.
The County Board’s planning and zoning committee Tuesday granted a conditional use permit to allow 12 acres of a 40-acre land tract (with multiple owners) to be utilized as a staging area for the construction of We Energies’ Glacier Hills Energy Park.
Planning and Zoning Director John Bluemke said the land is being used for agriculture and must be restored to that use once construction of the wind farm is finished – but no later than Nov. 30, 2011.
In January, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which oversees the state’s utilities, granted We Energies permission to build Glacier Hills, which is likely to be the state’s largest wind farm. Another We Energies wind farm, Blue Skies Green Fields in Fond du Lac County, has 88 turbines.
We Energies is building the wind park to increase the amount of energy it generates through renewable resources. It is expected to generate up to 207 megawatts of electricity.
Art Ondrejka, operations manager for Vestas American Wind, which will build Glacier Hills Energy Park for We Energies, said plans call for the segments of the turbines’ towers to arrive by truck from Manitowoc. Other components, including the blades and housing, will come by train from Colorado – which is why Vestas wanted a siting area with easy access to railroad tracks.