Archive for July, 2008
Alliant picks biomass suppliers for Cassville plant
From an article by Paul Snyder in The Daily Reporter: Wisconsin Power & Light Co. is lining up candidates to deliver biomass fuel to a plant expansion it doesn’t yet have approval to build. The company, a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp., announced it selected five Wisconsin companies as candidates for a supply chain for [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Solar tax incentive extension looking doomed for this year
From a statement released by the Solar Energy Industry Association on the Senate’s 8th failure to extend solar tax credit: Solar Energy Industries Association president Rhone Resch released the following statement after the Senate failed to pass a cloture motion on S. 3335, the Jobs, Energy, Families and Disaster Relief Act, which included provisions to [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )From Cows to Crops Thursday, July 31st 10:30 am – 11:30 am Room 300 SE, Wisconsin State Capitol and 1 – 2:30 pm, Room 411, DATCP, Madison, Wisconsin Summary: High food and crop prices are straining farmer and consumers. But this briefing will explore an innovative approach to use dairy manure as a resource to [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Checking in on manure digesters
In front of the Five Star Dairy’s biodigester near Eau Claire, Michael Vickerman holds the digestion’s fiberous residue that can be spread on fields for fetilizer or used for bedding and other products. From an article by John Oncken in The Capital Times: Almost 14,000 individual family-owned dairy farms are the foundation for Wisconsin’s $20 [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )All 50 governors urge extension of federal renewable energy tax incentives
Just as RENEW and numerous individuals signed an open letter to Congress, the National Governors Association also wrote: The nation’s governors urge Congress to extend for at least five years tax provisions that encourage the development of renewable energy sources and promote energy efficiency. Last February, leadership of the National Governors Association wrote the leaders [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Sock maker steps up to solar hot water
From left to right, Michael Vickerman (RENEW), Paul Milbrath (Wigwam), and Dave Drapac (Seventh Generation Energy) check the solar thermal collectors on the roof the Wigwam’s plant. From a solar hot water profile written by RENEW’s Michael Vickerman and Ed Blume for Focus on Energy: “We wanted to do something genuine, not phony,” said Bob [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Clean energy needs transmission
An editorial from the Wisconsin State Journal: High-powered transmission lines don’t produce energy. They simply move it around to help keep people’s lights on. Big transmission lines also can transfer clean energy just as easily as they can carry power from the dirtiest coal-fired generators. Those are points many opponents of a 32-mile to 55-mile, [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Wind turbine part plant to employ 355 in Elgin
From a story by Harry Hitzeman in the Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL): A producer of wind turbine gear drivers is planning to build a new plant in Elgin, creating 355 new jobs. City leaders and officials at Georgia-based Siemens Energy and Automation announced Monday plans for a $20 million, 170,000-square-foot plant on Elgin’s far [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Road trip report on Blue Sky Green Field (Johnsburg) and Forward Energy Center (Brownsville) by Michael Vickerman
Last Tuesday (July 15) was a particularly good day to visit Wisconsin’s two newest windpower installations. A steady 20 mph wind from the south provided plenty of fuel for the 154 turbines installed at We Energies’ Blue Sky Green Field installation and Invenergy’s Forward Energy Center. I counted only three turbines off-line out of the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )RENEW board member recognized for education work
From an article on WisInfo: Jenny Heinzen, Lakeshore Technical College’s renewable energy instructor, recently received the first-ever educator award at the Fourth Annual Small Wind Conference in Stevens Point. The award was one of two Small Wind Awards given for “enthusiasm, dedication, advocacy and contributions to the small wind industry.” Besides teaching LTC’s renewable energy [...]
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