Wisconsin utilities continue progress toward renewable energy standard

From a news release issued by the Public Service Commissiion of Wisconsin:

MADISON – Two reports released today by the Public Service commission of Wisconsin (PSC) indicate that Wisconsin’s electric utilities and cooperatives continue to make steady progress in adding renewable energy to the state’s energy supplies. All of the electric providers meet or exceed state requirements and many offer incentives to customers who want to generate their own renewable electricity.

Renewable Portfolio Standard Compliance
Wisconsiin’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) law requires retail electric providers to produce 66 percent of the state’s eelectricity from renewable resources by the year 2010, and 110 percent by 2015. each year, Wisconsin utilities and cooperatives are required to report to the PSC their progress in meeting thee renewable milestones. Today the PSC released the 2009 RPS compliance Report which indicates:

• All 118 Wisconsin electric providers met their RPS requirement for 2009;
• 113 providers exceeded their requirements for the year, creating excess renewable resource credits that can be banked and used for compliance in future years; and,
• In 2009, 6.29 percent of the electricity sold by the state’s utilities and cooperatives was generated from renewable resources, up from 4.90 percent in 2008.

Distributed Renewable Generation
PSC also released a status report on its investigation into “advanced a term renewable tariffs,” a term used to describe long-term contracts whereby utilities and cooperatives offer to purchase electricity at premium prices from customers who generate electricity from small, renewable systems such as solar panels. Highlights of the status report include:

• More than 300 of Wisconssin’s electric providers, representing about 90% of the state’ s electricity market, have voluntarily offered this kind of incentive;
• Customers have responded by installing more than 10 MW of small, distributed capacity utilizing biogas (from manure digesters on farms), solar panels, and wind turbines; and,
• An additional 8.2 MW off generation capacity, mostly from biogas projects, is under construction and will soon be generating electricity.

State grant to fund green training for workers

From an article by Nathaniel Shuda and Nick Paulson in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:

A Wisconsin Rapids manufacturer will serve as a pilot site for a statewide clean-energy training center, the state's top workforce official said this week.

Energy Composites will host the Pre-Engineering Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Innovation Academy, supported by a nearly $95,000 state grant, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development announced Monday.

"We hope to see these kinds of investments get the right kinds of skills to Wisconsin workers, so our businesses can thrive here as they have access to skilled workers," DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman said.

The academy will provide about 15 workers with entry-level skills training and career exploration in the engineering field for potential employment in the bio-refining industry, as well as a certificate program that recognizes math, science and technology skills, including project management, she said.

Distributed through the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, the grant is one of several statewide, totaling $430,385, to help train workers in central Wisconsin for careers in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, health care and information technology.

Though officials announced the grants less than a week after NewPage Corp. announced it will close its Whiting mill, the timing is a coincidence, Gassman said. The program has been in the works for a while.

But the training, especially in advanced manufacturing, could benefit workers who lose their jobs at NewPage.

PSC approves final wind siting rule; improves clean energy outlook

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2010

MORE INFORMATION
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Final Wind Siting Rule Improves Clean Energy Outlook

With the changes made at the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) open meeting today, wind developers in Wisconsin can look forward to a set of workable statewide permitting standards that will facilitate the development of well-designed wind projects.

At the meeting, the Commission adjusted the requirements on two issues of critical importance to the wind industry: set back distances and compensation to neighboring residents.

“Today’s decisions culminate a four-year effort to set Wisconsin’s permitting house in order,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy organization.

“The final rules strike a reasonable balance between protecting public health and safety and advancing wind energy generation, a proven pathway for creating well-paying jobs and increasing revenues to local governments,” Vickerman said.

Initially, the rule did not specify a definite setback distance between turbines and residences and community buildings neighboring the host property.

“By setting a maximum setback distance of 1,250 feet, the rule would not impose economic burdens on wind developers seeking to install newer and larger wind turbines now available in the market, such as the 2.5 megawatt turbines being erected at the Shirley Wind Farm in Brown County,” according to Vickerman.

Regarding compensation to non-participating residences, the commission decided to uncouple the annual compensation level instead of linking the size of the payments to the payment received by the host landowner. The commission’s move resolved the most problematic feature that had been in the rule.

“We thank the Commissioners for their hard work and their willingness to work through a number of very complicated and thorny issues that do not lend themselves to easy resolution,” Vickerman added.

The rules promulgated by the PSC are a product of landmark legislation adopted in 2009 to establish statewide siting standards for wind energy siting. Legislative committees will have 10 days to review the rules after formally receiving them. If they take no action, the rules take effect on January 1, 2011.

No evidence of health impacts from wind energy

From a column by Robert J. McCunney, Robert Dobie and David M. Lipscomb in The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon:

While opponents of wind energy have attempted to use self-published reports to block projects, the science is clear. Independent studies conducted around the world consistently find that wind farms have no direct impact on physical health. In fact, with no air or water pollution emissions, wind energy is essential to reducing public health impacts from the energy sector.

A minority of residents living near wind projects may sometimes find the turbine sounds annoying and the same is true with any environmental sound. Annoyance is a subjective effect that varies among people and circumstances. Many residents in Oregon and across the United States find wind turbines to be a non-intrusive neighbor.

In 2009, we participated in an international multidisciplinary scientific advisory panel to review current literature on the perceived health effects of wind turbines. The panel found no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects. It is important to note that while this effort was funded by the American and Canadian Wind Energy Associations, we are independent scientists who had no involvement with the wind industry prior to this engagement.

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council also conducted peer-reviewed research on the issue: Its findings: "There is currently no published scientific evidence to positively link wind turbines with adverse health effects."

Robert J. McCunney is a research scientist in occupational and environmental medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Biological Engineering. Robert Dobie is a clinical professor of otolaryngology at both the University of Texas-San Antonio and the University of California, Davis. David M. Lipscomb is president of Correct Service Inc. in Stanwood, Wash.

300 years of fossil fuel addiction explained in just FIVE MINUTES!

Wisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal Prices

For immediate release

More information
RENEW Wisconsin
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Wisconsin Cannot Afford to Ignore Rising Coal Prices

Long-considered an inexpensive and reliable fuel source, coal has become subject to market and regulatory pressures that threaten to make it an expensive and risky way to generate electricity, according to national news reports and pertinent utility filings with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC).

“The expectation of continued increases in coal prices reinforces the value of relying on Wisconsin’s own energy resources. If there’s an effort to find savings for utility customers, the logical move would be to shutter antiquated coal plants before they become more of a liability,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide, nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization.

A key driver behind coal’s rising cost is China, which has moved from an exporter to an importer of coal. The New York Times (NYT) reported last week that Chinese coal imports will hit all-time highs for November and December of this year. Some of this coal is coming from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the coal field that also supplies many Wisconsin power plants.¹

In the New York Times story, an executive from Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company, predicted that his company will send larger and larger quantities of coal to China in the coming years.

Further adding to the upward price pressure on coal is the rising cost of diesel fuel. The PSC has estimated that half of the delivered cost of coal in Wisconsin is attributable to rail shipment, that is highly sensitive to the price of diesel fuel, which sells for 38 cents more per gallon than it did a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.² Tom Whipple, editor of the Peak Oil Review, expects diesel fuel supplies to tighten in 2011 as a consequence of flat production volumes and increasing demand from Asia.³ This phenomenon could affect Wisconsin electric utility rates as early as January 2011, according to Vickerman.

We Energies’ coal costs have escalated by $57 million, of which transportation costs account for almost $33 million, according to the utility’s most recent rate filing with the PSC. On top of that, We Energies expects to pay an additional $8 million in oil surcharge costs.4

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Most at hearing support biomass; those opposed to facility continue to voice opinions, too

From an article by Jake Miller in the Wausau Daily Herald:

ROTHSCHILD -- Union leaders, village officials and small business owners were among the overwhelming majority who spoke Tuesday in favor of a proposed -- and highly debated -- biomass plant.

Only four of the 43 speakers opposed the plant during the first of two public hearings held by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which will assess the comments when deciding whether it will approve the project in mid-January, said Administrative Law Judge Michael Newmark.

We Energies and Domtar first proposed the plant, which will burn a woody biomass as fuel, in September 2009. It has been at the center of public debate for nearly as long.

At the afternoon hearing attended by about 200 people -- another hearing was held Tuesday evening -- supporters continued to argue that the biomass plant is critical to keep Domtar competitive and that it will create both temporary and permanent jobs.

Opponents stood strong, saying the plant, which is expected to burn 500,000 tons of biomass each year, will adversely affect air quality despite We Energies data that say emissions would be cut by 30 percent.

Jeff Morzenti, an employee at the Domtar Mill in Rothschild for more than 25 years, said he is one of those responsible for monitoring what exits the mill's smoke stacks.

Not just as an employee, but as a longtime resident of Weston, the 51-year-old Morzenti said he wouldn't support the plant if he didn't believe it was safe.