Wisconisn Solar Tour

A reminder from the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA):

Wisconsin - - Home and business owners around the state are sharing their secret: renewable energy is technology for today! The public is invited to see renewable energy up close during the 2008 Wisconsin Solar Tour, October 3 and 4.

The tour features over 150 sites around the state that are open to the public for free tours. Sites will showcase advances in energy efficient construction, new products, sustainable landscaping and renewable energy technologies.

“The tour demonstrates that renewable energy is practical, reliable and affordable in today’s economy,” said Amy Heart, Programs Director for the Midwest Renewable energy Association (MREA). The MREA organizes the yearly tour. “You have the chance to talk with those who live and work with renewable energy and green building features,” said Heart.

Business tour sites will be open Friday, October 3 from 10 am – 4 pm. Home tour sites are open Saturday, October 4 from 10 am – 4 pm. For a complete list of sites visit www.the-mrea.org or call 715-592-6595 to have a guide mailed to you.

The best way to see these homes and businesses is through a guided bus tour. Guided bus tours will take place in Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, Stevens Point and Ashland. Sign up online at www.the-mrea.org or call 715-592-6595.

The Wisconsin Solar Tour is sponsored by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association and Focus on Energy (focusonenergy.com). The Midwest Renewable Energy Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a sustainable future through renewable energy. For a complete listing of tour sites or to sign up for a guided bus tour please contact MREA: info@the-mrea.org, 715-592-6595, or visit www.the-mrea.org.

 

Solar Valley grows under cloudy German skies

RENEW Wisconsin supports and the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force has before it the concept of fixed above-market prices (called feed-in tariffs) for electricity produced from renewable resources, as described in an article by Mark Landler in The New York Times:

THALHEIM, Germany — This sad stretch of eastern Germany, with its deserted coal mines and corroded factories, epitomizes post-industrial gloom. It is a place where even the clouds rarely seem to part.

Yet the sun was shining here the other day — and nowhere more brightly than at Q-Cells, a German company that surpassed Sharp last year to become the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic solar cells. Q-Cells is the main tenant among a flowering cluster of solar start-ups here in an area known as Solar Valley.

Thanks to its aggressive push into renewable energies, cloud-wreathed Germany has become an unlikely leader in the race to harness the sun’s energy. It has by far the largest market for photovoltaic systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, with roughly half of the world’s total installations. And it is the third-largest producer of solar cells and modules, after China and Japan. . . .

At the heart of the debate is the Renewable Energy Sources Act. It requires power companies to buy all the alternative energy produced by these systems, at a fixed above-market price, for 20 years.

This mechanism, known as a feed-in tariff, gives entrepreneurs a powerful incentive to install solar panels. With a locked-in customer base for their electricity, they can earn a reliable return on their investment. It has worked: homeowners rushed to clamp solar panels on their roofs and farmers planted them in fields where sheep once grazed.

The amount of electricity generated by these installations rose 60 percent in 2007 compared with 2006, faster than any other renewable energy (solar still generates just 0.6 percent of Germany’s total electricity, compared with 6.4 percent for wind). . . .

 

State to start issuing energy grants, loans

From an article by Rick Barrett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Businesses and researchers may soon apply for state grants and loans aimed at developing renewable energy, Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday.The state expects to award about $15 million per year for 10 years from the newly created Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund, Doyle said at a news conference at Johnson Controls Inc.The money will be used to support research and development of renewable fuels and encourage businesses to adopt new technologies that save energy and use renewable energy.

Typical grants are expected to range from $100,000 to $500,000. Matching funds of at least 50% of total project costs must come from other sources, according to the state Department of Commerce.

Doyle laid out a long-term strategy that he hopes will make Wisconsin a leader in renewable energy. He repeated his call for the state to generate 25% of its electricity and motor fuels from renewable resources by 2025.

 

Study: Wood heat would save schools money

From an article by Robert Imrie in The Capital Times:

A new study by a group trying to save energy concludes that up to 300 schools in Wisconsin could switch to wood heat and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs.

The study, financed by Focus on Energy, found that the change, based on current natural gas prices, would save schools up to $75,000 each year, paying for the investments perhaps within five years.

“We have been pushing this concept for quite awhile. Maybe now it is getting more attention because prices are going up,” said Don Wichert, director for Focus on Energy’s renewable energy program. “There is this whole green movement. I think school boards are much more receptive to looking at environmental and renewable technologies.”

 

Xcel plans call for more wood to be burned

From an article in The Daily Press (Ashland, WI):

MADISON — Xcel Energy’s plans to keep its Bayfront power plant in Ashland compliant with stricter pollution control standards should result in buying more locally grown wood products, according to a company spokesman.

Changes in the federal clean air regulations will require a significant reduction by January 2009 in nitrous oxide (NOX) and other pollutants emitted by power plants. Xcel’s plans to spend $7.7 million this year on equipment will cut Bayfront’s NOX emission from .5 pounds per million BTUs to .1 pound, said Tina Bell, an Xcel environmental engineer.

“That’s a dramatic reduction,” she said.

Waste tires, wood, natural gas and coal are burned in two of Bayfront’s five boilers, and since wood produces less NOX emissions than coal, Xcel plans to buy more waste wood after the new pollution control equipment is installed by November, said David Donovan, Xcel’s manager of regulatory policy.

“We plan to burn as much biomass as we can, as much as the control technology allows us to do that,” Donovan said.

The decision to use more waste wood at Bayfront was made after Xcel commissioned a study two years ago that showed there was sufficient waste wood within 60 miles of Ashland to operate the 92-year-old plant on wood at a higher level. Locally grown wood is as cost-effective as coal and emits far less sulfur dioxide, which is also targeted by federal regulations for reductions next year.

 

Midwest Ag Energy Network Summit, February 5-6, 2008

From the Midwest Ag Energy Network:

Next Generation Ag Energy: Policies to Advance Regional Growth
Monona Terrace Community and
Convention Center
Madison, WI

Join other Midwestern ag leaders at the 2nd Annual Midwest Ag Energy Network Summit to learn how to maximize the ability of agricultural producers and local communities to retain the wealth generated by the convergence of renewable energy and agriculture.

Next Generation Ag Energy: Policies to Advance Regional Growth is an opportunity to network and become aware of how farm policy and various Midwest regional networks are propelling Midwest agriculture forward as the prime driver in the next generation of ag energy.

For additional information, call Amanda Bilek at 651-645-6159, x5.

 

Office issues biofuels construction guide

From the new Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence:

APRIL 24, 2007 – MADISON – Judy Ziewacz, Director of the Office of Energy Independence, announced the publication of the state’s first biofuels production guide. The Wisconsin Guide to Building Biofuels Facilities outlines the regulations, permits, and contacts necessary to produce biofuels in Wisconsin.

“If we want renewable fuels in the marketplace, we have to produce the fuel here in Wisconsin. If an oilfield in Mideast is competing against a farm field from the Midwest, that’s a very good thing for the environment, for our economy, and for the state,” Governor Jim Doyle said.

The Office of Energy Independence was created to advance Governor Doyle’s vision on energy policy and to promote the state’s bioindustry.

Governor Doyle’s Declaration of Energy Independence challenges the state to utilize 25 percent electricity and 25 percent transportation fuel from renewable sources by 2025. The Office of Energy Independence is leading Wisconsin toward the goal: Achieving 25 x 25.

The Wisconsin Guide to Building Biofuels Facilities is a tool for prospective producers and is available on line at:
http://power.wisconsin.gov/biofuels.html It provides information on permits, regulations, and agency contacts that are critical for construction and operation of a biofuels facility.

 

Wood pellet heating for residential & commercial

Focus on Energy provides a fact sheet on heating with wood pellets:

Pellet fuel is a biomass energy product made of wood residue or other plant materials. Most pellets are made of hardwood sawdust originating from wood waste products such as pallets and wooden packing materials, or from the waste produced by manufacturers of furniture and other wood products. Pellets can also be made of crop waste such as corn stalks or straw, or even waste paper. The wood waste or other biomass is pulverized, dried and compressed into pellets.

Pellet fuel has several advantages over cordwood, woodchips or other forms of wood as heating fuel because the consistent manufacturing process produces a uniform fuel source. The moisture content of pellet fuel is lower and more uniform, and it produces more heat per unit of weight, making it a more efficient fuel. It also burns leaner, and takes less space to store, about four to five times less than that of cordwood by weight.

 

School Referendum Includes Wood-Powered Heat

Katie Heinz, WEAU-TV (Eau Claire), reports on a school referendum that includes a wood-burning heating system:

Several Western Wisconsin school districts are putting referendums on the ballot this year.

But people living in one area school district will vote on a rather unusual proposal next month.

Voters in the Barron Area School District will check “yes” or “no” for a $3.1 million referendum, for climate control.

But not the kind of climate control you’re probably thinking of.

The district wants to heat the middle school - by burning wood.

For thousands of years, people have burned wood to create heat.

And that’s exactly what heats classrooms in the Barron High School.

 

New Renewable Incentives for New Year

MADISON, Wis. (February 1, 2007) – Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, is helping residents and businesses become more energy independent in 2007 and beyond. The Renewable Energy Program is offering Cash-Back Rewards and grants to help finance the installation of renewable energy systems.

“Wisconsin doesn’t have the coal mines, natural gas reserves or oil fields needed to generate its own electricity,” said Don Wichert, program director for Focus on Energy’s Renewable Energy Program. “However, it does have an abundant supply of renewable energy sources. By helping Wisconsin residents tap those resources, we’re helping ensure state residents and businesses have reliable access to the energy they need. We’re also fostering economic growth by reducing the amount of money that leaves the state to purchase fuel.”