Renewables hot, but not new
A story by Carlos Gieseken in The Wausau Daily Herald reports on the current interest in renewables:
Although fears about global warming and rising energy costs have spawned a national discussion about renewable energy sources, the technology is not new.
“It’s recently become sexy, but it’s been around for years,” said Kelly Zagrzebski, spokeswoman for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. “It was a hot topic in the early ’70s when there was the energy crisis with vehicles. Now it’s being driven by global warming fears and concerns about carbon-based fuels.”
The latest WPSC customer to opt for its NatureWise program is the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which signed an agreement last month to receive 10 percent of its energy in the form of renewable energy.
More than 2,200 customers in Wisconsin are part of the program, which generates electricity through wind turbines or from the methane gas produced at bio-mass farms from cow manure.
The cost of the renewable energy is about 10 percent more, or about a one penny increase of the 10 cents per kilowatt hour WPSC charges residential customers. And although businesses or large organizations like UWSP get a better rate because of the amount of power they use, it still means more money.
“It’s said, you put your money where your mouth is,” said Gary Oudenhoven, an engineer and senior account executive with WPSC.
Last month, Gov. Jim Doyle signed an executive order requiring all state buildings to conform to high environmental and energy efficiency standards.
The state, through its Division of Energy within the Department of Administration, offers incentives to individuals, businesses and organizations that invest in renewable or efficient energy sources. Value added to a property by solar or wind energy systems, for example, is exempt from general property taxes. The Focus on Energy program offers zero-interest loans to finance renewable-energy products.
Ross Cohen, the new president of the Student Government Association at UWSP, hopes to continue UWSP’s participation in renewable energy products. The increased cost of green energy will be picked up by a $3 increase in student fees, which the student body overwhelmingly supported in a referendum.
