Central Waters becomes Wisconsin's first green-powered brewery

From the Web site of Central Waters:

2009 has already brought about many changes and improvements for Central Waters Brewing Company. The biggest step has been the addition of roughly 1,000 square feet of solar collectors; 24 panels, in all. Solar collectors use energy emitted by the sun, and convert it into a more usable and/or storable form of power. The energy production of our new solar collectors is estimated to reach around 2500 therms per year. A payback from the system will be seen in about seven years, with an estimated savings of $1.4 to $1.5 million over the life of the system.

In addition to the new solar panels, Central Waters Brewing Company uses a radiant floor heating system, and more energy efficient lighting systems, motors in the equipment, and brewhouse. All of the materials used in the newly remodeled tap room are from recycled resources. Also, with the implementation of the new grain silo outside of the brewery, we are able to reduce the amount of packaging materials that come into the facility, therefore the amount of packaging that needs to be disposed of. In addition to the sustainability practices currently in use at the brewery, Central Waters works with local farmers to recycle the grain used in the brewing process. The spent grain is taken by these farmers and used as feed for livestock, and also used as compost.

The addition of the solar collectors, coupled with other sustainability practices, allows Central Waters Brewing Company to drastically reduce the consumption of natural gas, therefore greatly reduce our carbon footprint.

Central Waters Brewing Company…truly "making the world a better place, one beer at a time."

Keynote speakers set for Energy Fair, June 19-21

From details of the Energy Fair, sponsored by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, in Custer, Wisconsin:

Friday, June 19 at 1 pm
Antonia Juhasz
Antonia Juhasz is an author and political activist. She was the author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the World One Economy at a Time in 2006, Alternatives to Economic Globalization for which she received the 2004 Project Censored award. In 2008, she published The Tyranny of Oil.

Saturday, June 20 at 1 pm
Alan Weisman
Alan Weisman spoke at the 10th Anniversary Energy Fair, and we’re happy to have him join us another ten years later to celebrate our progress and help us look forward to another 20 years.

Alan Weisman is an author and journalist whose reports from around the world have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Orion, Wilson Quarterly, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, Discover, and more.

His most recent book, The World Without Us, (a staff favorite) is a bestseller, and was named the Best Nonfiction Book of 2007 by both Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly.

Sunday, June 21 at 1 pm
Wendy Williams
Wendy Williams, an is the author of Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound. The Wall Street Journal called Cape Wind "a ripe subject, populated with the sort of people who would be among the first to count themselves as friends of the Earth but the last to accept an environmentally friendly energy source if it meant the slightest cloud on their ocean views."

Williams has written for many major publications, including Scientific American, The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, The Providence Journal and The Baltimore Sun. She has been journalist-in-residence at Duke University and at the Hasting Center. The author of several books, she lives on Cape Cod.

Students build garden house to promote sustainability

From an article in the Stevens Point Journal by Nicole Strittmater:

Students in P.J. Jacobs Junior High School construction class are doing their part for the environment.

On Tuesday, 18 ninth-graders spent the day building a 10-foot-by-20-foot garden house behind the vacant Jackson Elementary School. The garden house is meant to supplement a new organic vegetable garden established by the Sustainable Communities Committee, a group of citizens promoting efficient practices.

Stevens Point residents can set up a 12-foot-by-4-foot garden box for free, and once the students are finished, the building will be used for storage and garden prep work.

"We think it's going to help the neighborhood. We're in the heavily forested area, so we don't have sunlight in our backyards for our gardens at home," said committee member Wes Halverson, 68, adding the land near the school is exposed to sunlight. "We want to get a lot of things planted this spring."

Construction teacher Dave Rasmussen said he hopes to have the structure done before May 27, but the $5,000 floor plan is short on funds.

Halverson, a retired University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point environmental management professor, donated $2,000, but the students are looking for the extra cash.
"The economy is killing us. We need somebody else in the community (to help us)," Rasmussen said.

Andrea Stafford, one of Rasmussen's former students who is now an architect in the Chicago area, has teamed up with the class to design the facility, and Kulp's of Stratford LLC in Wausau is donating a steel roof.
The students' work will help with rooftop rain collection and storage for tools.

"There's no electricity and therefore, there's no water. So, we have to be sustainable," Halverson said. "We have to put in rainwater collection and the hand pump to pump up water from high ground water. We'd like to put in a solar water pump eventually once we pay for the building."

Mid-State Technical College will offer wind-energy training

From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in The Marshfield News-Herald:

A Wisconsin Rapids-based manufacturer is leading the charge to create standardized training for the growing wind energy industry.

Energy Composites Corp., the parent company of Wisconsin Rapids-based Advanced Fiberglass Technologies, is working with the U.S. Department of Energy and a Norway-based company to develop a universal standard of training that would include an internationally accredited curriculum.

"The idea is in the industry we don't have a way of assuring we have trained individuals ... (who) have some way of proving their capabilities," said Sam Fairchild, Energy Composites' chief executive officer.

Det Norske Veritas, a global certification company, began developing wind energy standards when the industry first started in the early 1980s, but those standards were limited to equipment and building techniques -- not training, according to the company's Web site.

Energy Composites signed a letter of intent with Mid-State Technical College last week to establish a 12-credit certification program that will be the first of its kind and set the precedence for other wind energy companies.

"We're pretty confident that we can get that done by spring semester next year with the first course load," Fairchild said. "The guys at Mid-State have been great. The retraining of people is something that is precisely up their alley."

Alliant Energy offers free, online business efficiency check up

From the site for Alliant's Business Efficiency Check Up:

Have you ever wondered how energy-efficient your business is? Alliant Energy's Business Efficiency Check Up can help!

This free interactive, online tool will help you find where your energy is going and how you can cut energy costs throughout your facility.

- Efficiency Fast Track: Identify energy-saving opportunities and get started on them - fast!
- Detailed Analysis: Make an in-depth energy assessment to get detailed recommendations and project assistance specifically for your business.
- My Benchmark: Compare your energy use to see how you stack up against the competition.
- Case Studies: View quick tips and examples of how similar businesses save energy.

After you've completed your check up, you can return at any time to review, track and evaluate the projects you've selected for your facility.

MSTC to host summer Renewable Energy Academy for high schoolers

From Mid-State Technical College:

Get a solid foundation in the fundamental design, operation, maintenance and installation techniques to work with renewable technologies. Workshops and a visit to the energy fair will keep you engaged and on the cutting-edge of technology.

Take advantage of this FREE hands-on opportunity to learn about renewable energy!

Renewable Energy Workshops
• Growing Biofuels - Biorefinery. Find out how crops and waste products turn into ethanol and biodiesel. Learn how these fuels are used and what the limitations are. Discover how to make your very own batch of biodisel from oil!
• Personal Energy - Energy Efficiency. Explore your energy use patterns at school or home. Discover ways to reduce your personal energy use.
• Solar Car - Renewable Electricity. Students will examine solar cells by building a solar powered model car. Test out the performance of the model car under various conditions.
• Cookies - Renewable Thermal. Learn to construct a solar water heating system and enhance your experience by baking cookies from the sun!

MREA Energy Fair
The Energy Fair features hundreds of workshops and exhibits all emphasizing clean energy & sustainable living.

Register early! Space is limited.
Registration deadline is Friday, June 12.
For more information or to register contact:
Kris Buss, Administrative Assistant
Phone: 715.422.5375
Email: kris.buss@mstc.edu

All hand-on workshops, the energy fair, transportation, lunch & snacks are at no cost to high school students. Student’s will receive one MSTC college credit for participating all three days.

RENEW Wisconsin testifies for reform of wind project permitting

Michael Vickerman (left), RENEW Wisconsin's executive director, listens to Curt Pawlisch, repesenting Wind for Wisconsin, during their testimony on May 12 in support of identical companion bills (Senate Bill 185 and Assembly Bill 256) to begin a process to create state-wide standards for wind siting in Wisconsin. Brian Rude of Dairyland Power looks on from the background.

From Vickerman's testimony:

By 2010, more than one-half of the wind energy serving Wisconsin utilities will come from neighboring states.

+ Crane Creek, a 99 MW project located in Iowa that Green Bay-based WPS will own, was permitted in 2008 and will be operating by 12/31/09.

+ Twin Creeks, a 98 MW project located in Manitowoc County in WPS territory, received a permit in 2005. Due to a combination of litigation and ordinance changes, ground was never broken. Under the current ordinance, it is highly unlikely that the Twin Creeks project will be built, even though it has a permit.

If Twin Creeks is not built:
+ Local governments lose $392,000/year in future revenues.
+ Local landowners lose $294,000/year in future rents.
+ A local component manufacturer loses a 98 MW order to build towers
+ Construction jobs are outsourced to Iowa.

If we don’t initiate a process to establish uniform permitting standards, it will be difficult for utilities to comply with an increased Renewable Energy Standard at any level above current law.

Solar Olympics scheduled for UW-Stevens Point, May 13

From a news release issued by WPS Community Foundation:

Green Bay, WI – Twenty-seven high school teams are set to take part in the 13th Annual Solar Olympics on Wednesday, May 13, on the campus of UW-Stevens Point. The event is free and open to the public.

The event, sponsored by WPS Community Foundation and UWSP, begins at 9 a.m. and continues until 2:30 p.m. in and around the Dreyfus University Center and Learning Resource Center. For the seventh consecutive year, a record number of schools will participate. Twelve different activities, which range from building solar devices to creating art with a solar theme, test students' knowledge of solar energy in events ranging from solar cookers and model cars to sculptures and building design. Schools attending this year include:

Participating Schools:

Antigo High School
Ashwaubenon High School
Bay Port High School
Beecher Dunbar Pembine High School
Chilton High School
Crivitz High School
D.C. Everest High School
De Pere High School
Denmark High School
Gibraltar High School
Green Bay Southwest
Green Bay West High School
Lourdes High School, Oshkosh
Marathon High School Marinette High School
Merrill High School
Oconto High School
Oshkosh West High School
Pacelli High School
Pulaski High School
Tomahawk High School
Valders High School
Wausau High School
Wausaukee High School
West De Pere High School
Wrightstown High School
Lena High School (Observing)

"The schools' energy and creativity really shine at Solar Olympics," said Chip Bircher, Renewable Energy Product Manager for WPS. "These high school students are really enthused about making a difference with renewable energy. Many of our customers are investigating "green" options to benefit the environment, and Solar Olympics is a great event for everyone to learn more."

Green-certified house takes shape in Marshfield

From an article by Liz Welter in The Stevens Point Journal:

MARSHFIELD -- A ranch-style home under construction in Marshfield's Prairie Run subdivision will be central Wisconsin's first verified "green-built" home.

"That means it meets the national standards for green building and it will be certified" during different steps in the construction process, said Jeff Redetzke, owner of JR Builders of Marshfield, which is constructing the house.

"A green-built home is a good value for a home buyer," Redetzke said. Using geothermal energy cuts a natural gas bill by 50 percent to 70 percent, he said.
There are a multitude of components considered and used in building a home that maximizes energy efficiency while diminishing its carbon impact on the Earth, Redetzke said.

"We try to use materials that will last for 50 years and are recyclable afterwards. Like a metal roof is very green. It lasts for the life of the house and later can be recycled," he said.

Geothermal energy and other energy efficiency building standards are practices embraced by the developers and owners of Prairie Run, said Dan Helwig, one of the development's owners.

"We're just totally excited. This is the kind of home that hasn't been seen in this marketplace," Helwig said.

Prairie Run was conceived to utilize green or sustainable concepts in developing the site and in building a variety of homes and businesses, Helwig said.

"I've wanted to do something like this, and Prairie Run is the right place," Redetzke said.

Bipartisan group of legislators introduce wind siting bill

Terry McGowan of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 speaks at the press conference for the introduction of a bill to set uniform siting standards for wind projects in Wisconsin.

From a news release issued by Sen. Jeff Plale, Rep. Jim Soletski, Sen. Randy Hopper, and Rep. Phil Montgomery:

MADISON – A bipartisan coalition of Wisconsin legislators announced that they are introducing legislation that calls for the creation of uniform siting standards for wind energy projects. Senate Bill 185 (SB 185), and its Assembly companion, directs the Public Service Commission (PSC), after public input, including a stakeholder committee, to establish by rule, permitting standards to be applied by local or state government to wind energy installations, regardless of size and location.

“Too many wind projects are victims of delay tactics and other obstructions,” Senator Jeff Plale, Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Utilities, Energy, and Rail said. “SB 185 will enhance Wisconsin’s economy by protecting and creating “green-collar” jobs; it will attract new investment to our state and support state energy policy. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that we can make Wisconsin more attractive to wind energy and achieve the resulting economic and environmental benefits.”

“A sensible wind energy policy will help Wisconsin harness the jobs and growth opportunities that green power provides,” stated Representative Jim Soletski, Chair of the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee. “I am excited to be working with a bipartisan group of legislators from diverse regions of the state to remove the obstacles to more development of wind power in Wisconsin. By advancing this legislation, Wisconsin utilities can move toward meeting their obligation to generate clean energy and much needed jobs can be created for our workers.”

"We can't build a 21st century energy infrastructure by digging in our heels,” Senator Randy Hopper said. “This legislation will ensure that interested parties from all over our state can take part in developing the Public Service Commission's guidelines."

"Wind power is job-creating power," according to Representative Phil Montgomery. "A fair and uniform state standard for siting wind developments will create an environment of investment in our state while moving us closer to our green energy goals."

In addition to RENEW, the following organizations issued statements of support for Senate Bill 185: CREWE, Clean Wisconsin, Citizens Utility Board, Customers First!, Renewegy, Wind Capital Group, WPPI/Municipal Electric Utilities.

RENEW Wisconsin's spring newsletter now online

The spring edition of RENEW's newsletter includes the following articles:

Legislature to Tackle Wind Permitting
The Importance of Doing the Math
Stimulus Package 101
Policy Drives Solar Hot Water Market
PSC Investigates Renewable Tariffs
Open Letter from RENEW President
Calendar