Plan would transform Monroe County landfill waste to energy

From an article in the Tomah Journal:

Solid Waste Manager Gail Frie offered a plan to generate energy and extend the life of Monroe County’s Ridgeville landfill at Monday’s meeting of the Solid Waste Management Committee. The committee approved $14,000 to begin the initial planning for the gas to energy project.

Frie, who was Vernon County’s solid waste manager for 18 years, said he had put a lot of study into the project. He said, “Every citizen of Monroe County should have a direct benefit from this project.”

The solid waste manager told the committee that he had “...done a lot of thinking...” on the plan so that the county had no cost. He did not want to tie up county bonding for a landfill project. He added that his focus was on saving money and extending the life of the landfill.

The gas to energy project is a $6 million proposal funded with United States Department of Agriculture grants and loans and funds from partners including Alliant Energy, Focus on Energy and Gundersen-Lutheran. Food waste would be the principal source of energy. The county would save over $500,000 in landfill operation costs. Gundersen-Lutheran would buy the electricity generated by the plan.

Initiative to demonstrate praire power in southwest Wisconsin

From a news release issued by Alliant Energy:

Grasslands Will Be Preserved and Restored to Benefit Farmers and Provide Renewable Energy

MADISON, Wis. — A new initiative announced today will demonstrate how diverse native prairies in southwest Wisconsin have the potential to provide income to farmers, better habitat for wildlife and homegrown and renewable energy to businesses.

The Alliant Energy Foundation is providing $100,000 per year over the next three years to The Nature Conservancy to establish demonstration projects that harvest biomass from native and restored prairies in the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area in southwest Wisconsin.

“This is the first project of its kind in the region and one that will explore how we can create new economic opportunities for area farmers,” said Barbara Swan, Alliant Energy Foundation President. “It’s a great way to preserve some of our best grasslands for future generations.”

Mary Jean Huston, director of The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin, said new strategies are needed to protect the state’s grasslands, which are at risk even though they provide excellent wildlife habitat and help preserve water quality.

Military Ridge is one of the state’s best opportunities for grassland conservation because it includes more than 60 native prairie remnants and pasture land within a 50,000-acre grassland landscape located in Dane and Iowa counties.

“The best way to keep Military Ridge’s lands and waters in good natural condition is to demonstrate good conservation practices,” Huston said. “This generous gift from the Alliant Energy Foundation will help us protect this incredible landscape for nature and people alike.”

Southwest Wisconsin plans for energy independence

From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:

Largest collaboration in state to commit to 25% renewable energy production by 2025
VIROQUA, WI – Over the next year, two counties and eight local communities in Southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Region will become the largest collaboration in state history to plan their energy independence.

Vernon and Crawford counties, along with the communities of Fennimore, Prairie du Chien, Viroqua, Ferryville, Gays Mills, La Farge, Soldiers Grove and Viola, plus Viroqua-based energy planners and consultants E3 Coalition, just won a $65,000 grant from the state’s Office of Energy Independence. The final plan will outline how the group can get 25 percent of their electricity, heating and transportation fuels from renewable resources by 2025, or a 25x25 plan. In addition to the state grant, the communities raised $46,400 in monetary and in-kind support.

"The Driftless Region has a long tradition of self-sufficiency and sustainability, and those are the goals of our planning efforts," said Todd Osman of E3 Coalition. "At the same time, it’s difficult for small communities to tackle energy issues on their own. We’re very pleased to be working together with two counties, three cities and five villages."

In the late 1970s, Soldiers Grove responded to repeated flooding by recreating itself as the nation’s first solar village. Today, Gays Mills is integrating sustainability measures into its reconstruction process, following recent floods. La Farge is home to Organic Valley, the largest member-owned organic food cooperative in the country and a leader in biomass and biodiesel initiatives.

The first step in the planning process is documenting local governments’ current energy and fuel use. Then, the communities will identify potential energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy projects. Throughout the planning process, E3 will work with local communities to hold educational workshops and events for government staff and members of the public.

Doyle says renewable energy standard key to bill

An Associated Press story posted on WKBT-TV (La Crosse):

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Doyle says he's open to approving a scaled-back clean energy bill as long as a key provision setting new renewable energy standards remains in tact.

Doyle says the crux of the sweeping measure being debated in the Legislature would require 25 percent of Wisconsin's energy to come from renewable sources by 2025. He says that provision is what's critical to creating new jobs in fields like solar and wind energy.

Doyle told reporters he is open to changes on other details that he didn't specify and that he expects "significant changes" as it moves through both houses.

The bill would lift Wisconsin's ban on new nuclear power plants and tighten auto emission standards, among many other things.

Creating Regenerative Community - a free public talk, Mar. 9

An announcement Regenerative Culture:

In this time of economic recession, climate change, resource depletion and social isolation, it is clear our current systems aren’t working. Our world is changing and our leaders aren’t leading.

Ariane Burgess, founder of Regenerative Culture, will offer an interactive presentation that outlines the new community leadership training course she may offer here if there's enough interest.

She will overview our current crises and highlight the course's approach to helping us re-skill and lead our communities toward a resilient and regenerative future.

The holistic and in-depth approach Ms. Burgess will present focuses on 5 key dimensions of community design:
Economic, Ecological, Social, Worldview and Leadership. These five elements are woven to create a springboard to help us move from talk and theory into action. She will describe how the course will help us prepare, communicate and implement action plans to develop our community's resilience.

The free talks will be held:
• Tues, March 9 at 7:00 p.m. - Western Technical College, 220 South Main Street, Viroqua

Clearing up Wisconsin’s lakes with clean digester energy

From a commentary by Michael Vickerman, RENEW's executive director:

In the next six weeks the Legislature will make a truly momentous decision on the state’s energy future. Either it can embrace an ambitious 15-year commitment to invigorate the state’s economy through sustained investments in clean energy or decide to coast along on current energy policies until they lapse and lose their force and effect.

Arguably the most innovative feature in the Clean Energy Jobs Act, as it’s now called, is a proposed requirement on larger electric providers to acquire locally produced renewable electricity with Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ARTs). These are technology-specific buyback rates that provide a fixed purchase price for the electricity produced over a period of 10 to 20 years, set at levels sufficient to recover installation costs along with a modest profit. Now available in more than a dozen nations in Europe as well as the Province of Ontario, ARTs have proven to be singularly effective in stimulating considerable growth in small-scale production of distributed renewable electricity. . . .

Consider the much-vaunted Dane County Cow Power Project, which should be operational before the end of the year. Using anaerobic digestion technology, this Waunakee-area installation will treat manure from three nearby dairy farms and produce biogas that will fuel a two-megawatt generator. This community digester project, the first of its kind in Wisconsin, will be built with private capital and a State of Wisconsin award to support a technology that reduces the flow of phosphorus into the Yahara Lakes. A second digester project is also planned for Dane County.

The key element that makes the financing of this project work is the special biogas buyback rate that Alliant Energy, the local utility, voluntarily put in place a year ago. With the higher rate, the project’s return on investment was sufficient to interest outside investors. . . .

If we are serious about neutralizing the algae blooms that turn the Yahara lakes green each year, we’ll need to adopt a clean energy policy, including ARTs, that facilitates the development of biodigesters in farm country.

Clean Energy Jobs Act would boost economy and employment

From a news release issued by the Center for Climate Strategies:

Implementation of the recently introduced Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) would expand the state’s economy and create thousands of additional new jobs for Wisconsin. These impacts are reported in a recent Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) analysis of the macroeconomic effects of the proposed law, conducted by Michigan State University and the University of Southern California in association with the State of Wisconsin. The analysis focuses on nine proposed policy actions that address clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, industrial processes, transportation and agriculture.

Based on a state-of-the-art macroeconomic analysis, implementation of these CEJA actions would result in the following outcomes for Wisconsin:
 Create a net increase of more than 16,200 new jobs in the state by 2025;
 Boost the state’s economy (Gross State Product) by
o $254 million in the near term (2015),
o more than $700 million in 2020,
o $1.41 billion by 2025, and
o $4.9 billion total over the 2011-2025 period.

Reactions to the study: Governor Doyle and CREWE.

Study projects minimal impact from renewable buyback rates

From a letter to State Rep. Spencer Black and State Sen. Mark Miller from RENEW Wisconsin:

RENEW is pleased to provide the enclosed copy of the narrative and appendix of tables from an economic analysis that we commissioned.

The analysis concludes that special buyback rates (sometimes called Advanced Renewable Tariffs) designed to stimulate small-scale renewable energy installations would have negligible impact on residential utility bills, averaging about $10 a year. That’s less a dollar a month for the typical customer. And it’s less than a household’s cost of purchasing the smallest block of green power from Madison Gas and Electric, for instance.

Compared with other forms of economic stimulus, promoting small-scale renewables through utility buyback rates would deliver a substantial and long-lasting economic punch with minimal impact on the Wisconsin citizen’s pocketbook.

Prepared by Spring Green-based L&S Technical Associates, the study modeled rate impacts from the legislation’s provisions for ARTs on the state’s five largest utilities. The modeling predicts cost impacts ranging from a low of $8.12 a year for a residential customer of Wisconsin Public Service to as high as $11.07 for a Wisconsin Power and Light (Alliant) customer. The projected impact would amount to $8.81 a year for a We Energies customer, $9.71 for a Madison Gas and Electric customer, and $10.11 for an Xcel Energy customer.

The projections assume that when each utility reaches its maximum threshold of 1.5 percent of total retail sales. In the aggregate, this percentage equates to 1/70th of total annual sales. That’s one billion kilowatt-hours a year, out of total annual sales of 70 billion kilowatt-hour.

Though the principals of L&S Technical Associates serve on RENEW’s board of directors, they have prepared numerous renewable energy studies for other clients, including the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Center of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. L&S has also co-authored renewable energy potential studies in response to requests from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

The bill’s renewable energy buyback provisions would unleash a steady flow of investment that would lead to new economic activity and jobs while moving us toward energy independence – exactly what we all hope to accomplish by passage of the Clean Energy Jobs Act legislation.

Anaerobic digester could turn manure into methane at UWP

From an article by in the Wisconsin Ag Connection:

As the University of Wisconsin-Platteville continues to explore renewable and sustainable energy sources on campus, one opportunity has more to do with the local bovine community than anything else. Tim Zauche, UWP professor and chair of the chemistry and engineering physics department, along with Chris Baxter, UWP assistant professor of agronomy, are leading a project team exploring the possibility of having an anaerobic digester on campus and another in the Platteville community.

An anaerobic digester uses bacteria to break down organic waste to produce methane, much like a cow's stomach. One by-product of the bacteria digesting this waste is methane, also known as natural gas, which is used to heat homes and generate electricity.

"We need to mix the waste because, like our bodies, the bacteria can't survive on sugar alone. We need to provide them with a balanced diet, so to speak," said Zauche. "By using the same bacteria that produces gas in a cow's stomach, we can turn waste into energy that can provide electricity or heat for homes. The material from four cows can provide the electricity for one home for a year and one digester could provide seven percent of UWP's annual power consumption."

Once used, the waste from the digester will be filtered into liquid and solid forms of fertilizer ready for direct field application and other forms of fertilizer use.

State seeks info from biomass suppliers for UW-Madison heating plant

From a news release issued by the UW-Madison:

Wide-ranging efforts to nurture a Wisconsin biomass market supplying fuel to the soon-to-be-renovated Charter Street Heating Plant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are under way, as officials begin identifying potential suppliers for the cutting-edge facility.

State and UW-Madison officials are asking interested Wisconsin farmers, businesses and landowners to respond to a simple "request for information" that will help pinpoint likely suppliers of the 250,000 tons of biomass that the plant will consume each year.

"We want to build reliable partnerships, help foster an emerging industry and meet the environmental goals of powering a cleaner, coal-free facility," says Troy Runge, director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, a UW-Madison-based coalition that helps Wisconsin create, commercialize and promote bioenergy solutions.

Runge, who chairs a multiagency panel charged with creating a biomass market to serve the plant, says the request was designed to be simple to encourage broad participation. It will be followed in coming months by a request for more detailed information and proposals from potential biomass fuel suppliers and aggregators.

"We want to cast the broadest possible net to eventually develop a network of suppliers who are capable of providing long-term, sustainable and environmentally responsible fuel supplies," says Runge.

The request seeks information on the type of fuel being offered, location, pricing, capacity, storage and transportation. It can be found at http://www.wbi.wisc.edu/charter-street-biomass-heating-plant.

In Mazo, Cardinal Solar has an eye on the sun — and on high-tech manufacturing

From an article by Barry Adams in the Wisconsin State Journal:

MAZOMANIE — The furnace at Cardinal Solar Technologies on this village's west side is far from ordinary.

Yes, it heats the 180,000-square-foot building. But the primary purpose of the $5.5 million, 120-foot-long apparatus, which took six months to install, is to harden 2-by-4-foot sheets of quarter-inch-thick glass used to make solar photovoltaic panels.

If projections bear out, it may be a while before the 1,200-degree, gas-fired convection furnace is allowed to cool, as more solar energy installations are built around the world.

"They're mostly in Europe right now," said Bob Bond, president of Cardinal ST. "But the United States is coming. I visited one near Las Vegas that will have a million panels sitting in the desert. And that will all be our glass."

Very little of the energy used in the U.S. comes from the sun. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, petroleum, natural gas and coal accounted for 93 percent of the total in 2008. Renewable energy, which includes hydropower, biomass, geothermal, wind and solar, combined to make up the remainder. Solar energy accounted for just 1 percent.

But that sliver of the market, combined with state and federal incentives, has Cardinal ST officials enthusiastic about the future.

Companies show support for clean energy jobs

From the home page of Governor Doyle:

Doyle announces $500,000 in stimulus grants for energy independence planning

From a news release issued by Governor Doyle:

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today awarded $500,000 in Recovery Act funds to communities moving toward a clean energy future. The Governor announced 11 grants totaling $500,000 to help 24 communities develop plans to reach his “25 by 25” energy independence goals.

“These grants will help Wisconsin communities across the state seize the opportunity to save money through energy efficiency and grow a strong new part of our economy in clean energy,” Governor Doyle said. “Through the Recovery Act, our communities will lead as the world moves rapidly in the direction of clean energy and energy efficiency. We spend $16 billion on fossil fuel energy every year in Wisconsin, and all those dollars are lost to our economy. By working toward these ambitious renewable energy goals, we will create good jobs and continue our state’s clean energy leadership.”

The grant program is funded through the Recovery Act’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. The 24 communities will create “25x25” plans to meet the Governor’s goal of generating 25 percent of the state’s electricity and transportation fuels from renewable resources by the year 2025.

The 2010 Wisconsin Energy Independent Community Partnership Pilots are: City of Altoona, Crawford County, City of Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, City of Fennimore, Village of Ferryville, Green Lake County, City of Gays Mills, City of Jefferson, City of Kaukauna, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Village of La Farge, City of Monona, Polk County, City of Prairie du Chien, Shawano County, Village of Soldiers Grove, Vernon County, Village of Viola, City of Viroqua, Waukesha County, and City of Whitewater.

The 25x25 plan process begins this month and will be completed by December 2010. During the process, opportunities will be available for other communities to learn from the experiences of the pilot communities. Open meetings on the topic will be held by the Office of Energy Independence during the months of April, August and December.

The program builds on Governor Doyle’s work to make Wisconsin a clean energy leader. Last month, Governor Doyle launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state’s green economy and create jobs.

Organic farming conference, La Crosse, Feb. 25-27

From a description of the MOSES Organic Farming Conference:

The MOSES Organic Farming Conference is the largest organic farming conference in the U.S. Organized by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), and held annually in La Crosse, WI, the OFC is an extraordinary, farmer-centered event.

With over 60 informative workshops, 140+ exhibitors, locally-sourced organic food, live entertainment and inspirational keynote speakers, the OFC is celebrated as the foremost educational and networking event in the organic farming community.

From its humble beginning with 90 attendees twenty years ago, our most recent conference in February attracted over 2,600 farmers, advocates, educators, and community members!

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION DEADLINES
Mail-in Registration Deadline: This Friday, February 12, 2010
Download a REGISTRATION FORM to mail in. (Mailed registrations must be post-marked by Feb. 12th to be accepted)

Online Registration Deadline: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - Midnight. Go to ONLINE REGISTRATION now!

Wisconsin is a leader in renewable energy

From a story by Kristen Elicerio on WKBT-TV (La Crosse):

$16 billion dollars leaves the state of Wisconsin each year in fuel costs. In an effort to get a portion of that money back, the state has set a goal to have 25 percent of the state's fuel come from renewable sources by the year 2025.

Monday members of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and Wisconsin Department of Commerce toured renewable energy projects in La Crosse.

One of their stops was the City Brewery to tour the project that converts brewery waste into electricity for Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center.

"Some people do these projects because they feel it's the right thing to do, and I think that's an appropriate way to approach it. Others are going to do it because it makes economic sense and that's going to drive a lot of these projects," said Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Chairperson, Eric Callisto.

Policy leaders say that by adding more projects like this it's estimated nearly 15,000 jobs will be created in the sate, something that makes Wisconsin a leader.

Compost program gives new life to food scraps at UW-L

From an article by KJ Lang in the La Crosse Tribune:

People don’t often think of food as recyclable, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student Jessica Kotnour noted.

“It’s really easy to recycle the nutrients in our foods, but oftentimes food waste just gets discarded,” she said.

Food waste makes up about 10 percent of material in landfills in Wisconsin, according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-commissioned study in 2002.

But UW-L students no longer contribute to that waste. Student this semester now dump fruit and vegetable scraps into compost buckets to later be used for landscaping on university grounds.

Students started the program in the university’s dining hall with a $3,000 grant from the UW System’s Solid Waste Research Program, which is funded by a state tipping fee on landfilled waste. These grants funded nine other student solid waste research projects in 2009-10, including another at UW-L to cut down plastic water bottle usage, said Eileen Norby, UW System Solid Waste Research Program manager. . . .

UW-L started a program about a year ago to have cooks compost scraps from food preparation. Combined with the food waste collected after meals, UW-L generates nearly 1,000 pounds of food waste a week for composting.

Students visit wind farm

Students visit a Madison Gas and Electric wind farm near Green Bay:



This farm field trip has nothing to do with cows or horses. Each year, Kewaunee County students visit a very different kind of farm... the Rosiere Wind Farm.

In this story, see how students react to the giant structures and hear why teachers think the visit is full of important lessons.

Gov. Doyle pushes for creating and retaining jobs in Wisconsin

From a story on WXOW-TV (La Crosse):

LA CROSSE, WI (WXOW) - Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle spoke about jobs and energy efficiency during a stop in La Crosse on Tuesday.

"My number one priority is helping our businesses create jobs and giving our workers the opportunities to get those jobs," said Doyle.

He spoke at Fowler & Hammer General Contractors recognizing the company's energy efficiency and business growth.

The Governor recently awarded $106,000 dollars in state assistance for the company's $2.3 million dollar expansion project.

Fowler & Hammer built an energy efficient office building.

Fowler and Hammer must create 16 new jobs and retain 41 positions in La Crosse since they received state assistance.

Minnesota may drive high-speed rail route

From an article by Richard Mial in the La Crosse Tribune:

Minnesota could be a major factor in deciding whether a high-speed rail route between Chicago and the Twin Cities goes through La Crosse or Eau Claire, Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday.

Doyle told the Tribune Editorial Board he believes Minnesota is not nearly as organized on its rail plans as Wisconsin.

If Minnesota “is not a very strong participant,” most of the high-speed line likely would go through Wisconsin, improving Eau Claire’s chances of landing the route, Doyle said.

But from an economic point of view, Doyle added, “we’re better off having it to go La Crosse and up the Minnesota side, because then Minnesota is paying the operating costs of the whole trip from La Crosse up to the Twin Cities.”

The state and federal governments last week announced that Wisconsin will receive $823 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to help establish high-speed passenger rail service.

The money primarily will be used to upgrade service between Chicago to Milwaukee and extend it to Madison, using an existing Amtrak line.

Included in the $823 million is $1 million to study extending the line to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Doyle said.

Clean Energy Jobs Act bill includes low carbon fuel standard

From a question-and-answer summary of the Low Carbon Fuels Standard included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill written by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, for Clean Wisconsin:

The Clean Energy Jobs Act (SB 450 and AB 649), announced recently by Governor Doyle, has been introduced by both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by the governor's Climate Change Task Force. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, if adopted, will increase Wisconsin's use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fuels and cleaner cars. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in the bill would be established based on recommendations currently under development by a broad stakeholder group of the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA).

Below are a series of answers to frequently asked question about how an LCFS will impact biofuels and oil sands (compiled by Pete Taglia of Clean Wisconsin and member of the Midwestern Governors Association’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Advisory Group). If you have questions about the LCFS you can contact Pete Taglia at ptaglia@cleanwisconsin.org.

Question: What is a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)?

A LCFS is a fuel policy that will help break our dependence on foreign sources of oil and promote energy independence by gradually moving Wisconsin toward the cleanest and most efficient sources of transportation fuels. A LCFS rates different types of transportation fuels by their efficiency and carbon footprint and allows fuel providers to choose what mix of fuels will be used to meet the requirement.

Question: What types of fuels qualify for an LCFS?

An LCFS policy is unique in that all transportation fuels are able to compete in the fuel market, including the following resources:
• Ethanol: Alcohol fuel made from corn or cellulose (wood, plant stalks, harvest residues, etc.). Wisconsin has 8 corn ethanol plants producing almost 500 million gallons per year.
• Biodiesel: A diesel substitute (mono alkl ester) made from vegetable and animal oils that is then mixed with petroleum diesel (e.g., B20 is 20% biodiesel). Wisconsin has 8 biodiesel plants that use soybean oil, waste animal fats, and waste grease feedstocks.
• Renewable diesel: A fuel chemically similar to petroleum diesel (a hydrocarbon fuel) but made with renewable resources such as wood waste. Flambeau River Biofuels in Park Falls and New Page in Wisconsin Rapids both received Department of Energy grants to produce renewable diesel from wood waste.
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): Wisconsin has approximately 20 CNG fueling stations and two school district bus systems that use natural gas. ANGI Energy Systems of Milton is a leading manufacturer of CNG fueling systems and Wisconsin leads the nation in the production of biogas from dairy manure and food wastes.
• Electricity: Wisconsin has numerous electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of state, utility and private car fleets. Wisconsin’s largest corporation, Johnson Controls, is a leading battery manufacturer that won a recent contract to supply batteries to Ford’s new electric van and Columbia Parcar of Reedsburg manufacturers a line of electric utility vehicles in WI.