Business group asks senator to end "unsubstantiated attacks on wind"

From a news release issued by the Wisconsin Energy Business Association:

Wisconsin Businesses Call on Sen. Lasee to End His War on Wind 

Unsubstantiated attacks on wind industry are preventing economic growth across Wisconsin 

In another attempt to hinder wind development and economic growth in Wisconsin, state Senator Frank Lasee (R-De Pere) is demanding that the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin revisit the state’s uniform wind siting rule, PSC 128—a rule that is the product of years of work by the Commission, a citizen advisory council, and industry experts. His most recent attacks are based on the demonstrably false claim that wind energy facilities cause adverse health impacts.

“Senator Lasee’s ongoing hostility towards Wisconsin’s wind industry is preventing real economic growth,” said Chris Kunkle of the Wisconsin Energy Business Association. “National companies looking to invest in Wisconsin’s economy see these unwarranted and baseless attacks and continue to stay out of Wisconsin.”

Medical professionals are unwavering in their repeated analysis that there is no discernible correlation between wind energy generation and negative health impacts. This was stated most recently in a report to the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health that definitively concluded there is “no foundation for a set of symptoms that is called Wind Turbine Syndrome” and was also recently affirmed by Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services (DHS). . . .

Biomass plant construction going full steam ahead

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

ROTHSCHILD -- A $255 million biomass power plant under construction in Rothschild already has put more than 75 people to work full time, providing them with family-sustaining wages, officials said.

The workers -- mostly general laborers, iron workers and carpenters -- have spent recent months pouring concrete and erecting the 11-story steel frame for a building that ultimately will house the plant's boiler, said Randy DeMeuse, vice president of operations for The Boldt Co., the Appleton-based firm overseeing construction.

The plant, a We Energies and Domtar Corp. project, remains on schedule after crews began to build the facility this summer, We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said. The plant at Domtar's Rothschild paper mill will generate steam for the papermaker and electricity for We Energies and is expected to be complete by late summer of 2013.

The state Public Service Commission approved the project this past summer after neighbors of the site waged a fierce battle to block its construction. Opponents cited pollution and visual concerns, while supporters argued the much-needed jobs outweighed those issues.

The number of people working on-site during construction is expected to climb to 250 by summer. If the project hits any delays, that number could grow to 400 because project managers would need to add a second shift of workers, DeMeuse said.

The number of people working on-site during construction is expected to climb to 250 by summer. If the project hits any delays, that number could grow to 400 because project managers would need to add a second shift of workers, DeMeuse said.

"That's just staff on site; it doesn't include truck drivers at all," he said. "Chances are we may peak out higher than (250)."

State urged to beef up clean energy policies to create jobs

From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Two reports show Wisconsin has a significant renewable power industry, but with a stronger state commitment, it could be saving more energy and creating more jobs.

Wisconsin has more than 300 businesses involved in wind or solar energy, providing more than 12,000 jobs, according to a study by the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago.

It found 171 Wisconsin companies that either produce, sell or install wind power equipment or plan wind development.

Another 135 companies are part of the solar energy industry. For example, Cardinal Glass makes solar panels in Mazomanie; Helios recently opened a solar panel factory in Milwaukee.

"These are real jobs; these are real businesses. Many are existing businesses that are branching out into new product lines," said Howard Learner, the center's executive director.

Ten years ago, Wisconsin was considered a leader on renewal energy policy, so companies located here, Learner said. "That policy support has now been eroding, and neighboring states —Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan — now have much stronger renewable standards than Wisconsin does and are exceeding Wisconsin in terms of jobs," he added.

Meanwhile, at a news conference Tuesday, representatives of clean energy businesses made a pitch for more money for Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program, saying it will save energy, cut consumers' costs and create jobs.

In the 10 years since it was created, Focus programs have saved utility customers 6.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 6.8 months of the total residential power use in the state, says the report by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance in Chicago. It says the programs also have saved 278 therms of natural gas, or 1.8 years of statewide residential consumption.

Editorial: Wausau is the best choice for W Solar Group location

From an editorial in the Wausau Daily Herald:

Mr. Chris Hamrin, president and CEO,
W Solar Group, Inc.
Chatsworth, CA

Dear Mr. Hamrin:

We here in Wausau are eager to learn where your company will build a manufacturing plant that will employ as many as 600 people making your high-tech solar panels. We were ecstatic to learn back in January that Wausau was one of the few Wisconsin cities -- along with Eau Claire and perhaps others that have shown interest since then -- being considered for the facility.

We won't disparage Eau Claire or any other city in this great state. We don't have to. We think what we have to offer in Wausau speaks for itself.

You already know some of our key assets. Your company spokesman, Evan Zeppos, was on target when he said this about Wausau in January: "It's a very good spot as it relates to a supply chain, geography, transportation. It has a well-known reputation for having a good workforce, and it's certainly very high on the quality-of-life scale."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

National Study Vindicates Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Policies

Immediate release
July 18, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

National Study Vindicates Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Policies

Nearly a decade of forward-looking strategies propelled investments in Wisconsin’s clean jobs economy above other Midwest states, according to an economic study issued by The Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

Reviewing data gathered between 2003 and 2010, the Brookings analysis pegged the number of clean economy jobs in the state at 76,858, a net increase of nearly 4,000. Measured as a percentage, Wisconsin’s clean economy accounted for 2.7% of all jobs in the state, compared with 2.5% for Iowa, 2.1% for Minnesota, 1.9 % for both Indiana and Michigan, and 1.8% for Illinois. Overall, Wisconsin ranked 8th among all states and the District of Columbia in the relative size of its clean economy.

The report categorizes clean economy jobs as those in energy efficiency and renewable energy; sustainable forestry products; recycling and reuse; waste management and treatment; organic food and farming; energy efficient appliance and building manufacturing; and more.

“Clearly, Wisconsin’s commitment to clean energy has paid dividends, attracting new businesses and creating high-paying jobs that could have easily gone elsewhere,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization advocating for public policies and private initiatives that advance renewable energy.

These policies and initiatives include the establishment of Focus on Energy, the region’s first ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and renewable energy program, attractive buyback rates offered by utilities for renewable energy, and innovative incentives to encourage customer installation of renewables.

In addition, Wisconsin’s adoption of a 10% renewable energy standard back in 2006 spurred new utility-scale installations built by skilled tradesmen employed by local contractors. During the study period, the number of wind-related jobs in Wisconsin doubled from less than 450 to 900.

As documented in the Brookings report, the wages for these clean economy jobs run higher than the statewide average ($37,931 vs. $35,906).

“Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s clean economy is in danger of losing a good deal of its steam as a result of policy rollbacks and funding cutbacks in the renewable energy arena,” Vickerman said. “The short-sighted attacks we’ve seen in 2011 could throw the state’s clean economy into reverse next year.”

So far this year, the Legislature has reduced funding for Focus on Energy, suspended the statewide rule regulating the permitting of wind turbines, and weakened the state’s renewable energy standard by allowing utilities to count Canadian hydropower toward their requirements.

“On top of that, We Energies, the state’s largest utility, announced that it will discontinue what had been an effective renewable energy initiative,” Vickerman said. “Among other accomplishments, it was instrumental in enabling Helios USA to build a solar-electric manufacturing facility in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley.” The plant now employs 50 workers.

END

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

Wisconsin’s Widening War on Renewable Energy

From a commentary by Michael Vickerman, Executive Director, RENEW Wisconsin:

Dramatic Slowdown in Market Activity Anticipated
What started out as an opening salvo from the Walker Administration to shackle large-scale wind projects has in six months turned into a systematic campaign to dismantle the state policies that support renewable energy development. Joining the executive and legislative branches in pursuing policy rollbacks and/or funding cutbacks against renewables are various utilities and, surprisingly, Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and renewable programs.

Since January 1st, Wisconsin has seen a series of assaults against utility-scale projects and smaller renewable systems serving both residences and businesses. These include the following actions:

• The Legislature suspended PSC 128, the statewide rule developed by the Public Service Commission last year in response to a law passed by the Legislature in 2009 ordering the agency to establish uniform standards for permitting wind energy systems. Since the March 1 suspension vote, wind development in Wisconsin has slowed to a standstill.
• The Legislature adopted SB 81, a bill that RENEW Wisconsin describes as the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act.” SB 81 allows Wisconsin utilities to meet their renewable energy requirements beginning in 2015 with electricity generated from large hydropower plants in other states and Canada. By allowing Wisconsin utilities to become even more dependent on energy imports than they are today, SB 81 turns Wisconsin’s Renewable Energy Standard on its head. Importing large-scale hydropower exports the very dollars that could have been used to harness Wisconsin’s renewable energy resources. 
• We Energies, the state’s largest electric utility, abruptly decided in May to walk away from an agreement with RENEW to dedicate $60 million over a 10-year period in support of renewable energy development in its territory. The decision came in the sixth year of this program. We Energies plans to reallocate the unspent dollars (totaling about $27 million) to general operations. 
• Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) instituted in April a new net energy policy designed to discourage new customer-sited renewable energy systems. Until recently WPS had been paying its customers the full retail rate for electricity that flows back on the wires, which is now about 12 cents/kWh. But under the new rate, WPS only pays three cents/kWh for electricity exported to the grid. Moreover, the utility calculates the net each month, which penalizes customers whose loads vary significantly depending on seasonal factors. Right now, the new policy only covers systems installed after March 2011, but WPS has said that it plans to apply that rate to older systems effective January 2013.
• In its deliberations on the biennial state budget passed in June, the Legislature appended a rider to tie Focus on Energy’s annual budget to a percentage (1.2% of gross utility revenues). This action will mean a cut of $20 million in the program’s 2012 budget relative to this year’s allocation of $120 million. The Focus on Energy program provides grants and cash-back awards supporting customer investments in solar electric, solar thermal systems, small wind, biogas and biomass energy systems. 
• Last, but certainly not least, as of July 1, Focus on Energy stopped accepting applications for business program incentives to help customers install renewable energy systems. These incentives, which average about $7 million per year, had been available since 2002 to businesses, farms, schools, local governments and other nonprofit customers. It is not clear when these incentives will be resumed and in what quantity. 

State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates; “Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support

Two articles from Catching Wind, a newsletter published by RENEW Wisconsin with funding from a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy:

State’s Hostility Toward Renewables Escalates
At the urging of Wisconsin utilities, several lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow a renewable energy credit (REC) to be banked indefinitely. If adopted, this measure (AB146) would constitute the most devastating legislative assault yet on the state’s renewable energy marketplace, which is already reeling from the suspension of the statewide wind siting rule this March and the loosening of renewable energy definitions to allow Wisconsin utilities to count electricity generated from large Canadian hydro projects toward their renewable energy requirements.

“Leaders” Lag Citizenry on Wind Support
Public support for wind energy development has held strong against the attacks launched by Governor Walker and the Legislature’s new Republican majority, according to a poll conducted between April 11 and April 18 by the St. Norbert College Survey Center for Wisconsin Public Radio.

Asked whether Wisconsin should "increase, decrease or continue with the same amount" of energy supply from various sources, 77% favored increasing wind power, the highest of any option (60% favored increasing hydropower, 54% biomass, 39% natural gas, 27% nuclear, and 19% coal).

Energy groups oppose bill to undermine Wisconsin's renewable energy commitment

From statements issued by three groups in opposition to Assembly Bill 146:

"Clearly, this bill is a drastic step in the wrong direction for our state. The Wisconsin Energy Business Association therefore opposes this attack on renewable energy in our state." - Wisconsin Energy Business Association. Full statement.

We strongly recommend that this bill not be approved as it solves no known problem in Wisconsin and seeks only to roll-back policies on renewable energy that have served the state well and are otherwise benefitting Wisconsin residents with cleaner air and lower prices for electricity. - Wind on the Wires. Full statement.

Fresh attack on Wisconsin voters’ desire for a renewable energy standard would kill wind projects and sap state’s economy, say wind energy advocates - American Wind Energy Association. Full statement.

We Energies moves forward on biomass plant

From an article in the Stevens Point Journal:

ROTHSCHILD -- We Energies said Monday it will move forward with the engineering and equipment orders for a planned biomass plant in Rothschild, a company spokesman said.

The decision came several days after state regulators from the Public Service Commission gave final approval to the $255 million project with orders that Milwaukee-based utility We Energies and Domtar Corp. come up with another $10 million either from the utility's shareholders or the paper company.

More from Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

State regulators lend support to biomass project

From an article in the Stevens Point Journal:

ROTHSCHILD -- State regulators indicated support of construction plans for a biomass plant in Rothschild on Friday, a major step in a lengthy and often contentious debate over a $255 million project backed by Milwaukee utility We Energies and Domtar Paper.

Two members of the state's Public Service Commission pushed for and received more concessions from the project's sponsors, concerned that the utility's ratepayers still are taking the biggest risk. We Energies and Domtar either can contribute $10 million more toward operating costs or increase the rate Domtar will pay for steam produced by the plant.

The PSC also will have the authority to review future changes to the rate Domtar pays We Energies for steam, which is used in its paper-making process.

The plant is part of We Energies' effort to meet the state's renewable energy requirements for utilities by 2015, buoyed by federal tax credits available to facilities that are operational by the end of 2013. We Energies has promised the project will create about 400 construction jobs and 150 jobs in Central Wisconsin for industries supporting the plant, and Domtar argues the change will allow them to compete in an increasingly testy paper industry.

Poll finds strong support for wind energy in Wisconsin

From an article in the Chicago Tribune:

MADISON, Wis.— A poll of Wisconsin residents finds strong support for increasing the use of wind energy, even if doing so would raise electricity bills several dollars per month.

The Wisconsin Public Radio poll was released Friday. It shows that 77 percent of respondents want to see the state invest more in wind energy. Reasons included decreasing the nation's reliance on foreign oil and helping the environment.

A majority, 69 percent, wouldn't mind eight to 10 wind-energy machines being placed closed to where they live, and 79 percent favor placing the machines offshore in Lake Michigan.

Click here for poll results.

Poll finds strong support for wind energy in Wisconsin

From an article in the Chicago Tribune:

MADISON, Wis.— A poll of Wisconsin residents finds strong support for increasing the use of wind energy, even if doing so would raise electricity bills several dollars per month.

The Wisconsin Public Radio poll was released Friday. It shows that 77 percent of respondents want to see the state invest more in wind energy. Reasons included decreasing the nation's reliance on foreign oil and helping the environment.

A majority, 69 percent, wouldn't mind eight to 10 wind-energy machines being placed closed to where they live, and 79 percent favor placing the machines offshore in Lake Michigan.

Click here for poll results.

How Wind Helped a Lodgeowner in Maine

Wind energy development and jobs grow in the Midwest, but not Wisconsin

From an article by Dan Piller in the the Des Moises (Iowa) Register:

State grants West Branch wind facility $3 million

The Iowa Power Fund on Thursday awarded Acciona Wind Energy a $3 million grant to help finance a $19.9 million demonstration project near Mechanicsville that will show off Acciona's new three-megawatt wind energy system.

"One tower will be steel and the other concrete. We've had requests for both," said Joe Baker, president of Acciona's plant at West Branch.

The four-year-old West Branch operation makes the nacelles, or the box behind the blade that houses the gears and generation capacity.

Acciona has focused on building 1.5-megawatt wind systems, but the larger units are becoming more standard in the industry, Baker said.

MidAmerican Energy's wind farms in west-central Iowa have three-megawatt turbines.

"Within seven to 10 years most of the wind turbines will be three megawatts," he said. A megawatt of electricity can power 200 to 500 standard-sized homes.

Iowa has 3,675 megawatts of wind generation capacity, ranking second behind Texas in total capacity and first as a percentage of its total electricity generation capacity

Acciona is a century-old Spanish company with roots in construction and water treatment. The West Branch facility, opened in 2007, is its only U.S. wind equipment factory, but Acciona operates five wind farms in Illinois, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.

From an article by Laurenne Ramsdell on Fosters.com:

Goss in Durham (MA) delivers first turbine to Chicago-area

DURHAM — Goss International unveiled its newly developed wind turbine components to area officials and state representatives on Thursday morning.

Goss, primarily a printing press company, has worked throughout the past year with Aeronautica Windpower, a Massachusetts-based licensing company, to cross train employees in order to produce the massive turbines.

According to Greg Norris, marketing communications manager for Goss, the first wind turbine that Goss has manufactured will be ready for shipment to Illinois next week. Norris said the eco-friendly equipment will be delivered to Testa Produce, a Chicago-based wholesale produce distributor.

Norris stressed the turbines are midscale electromechanical pieces of equipment that will be used for warehouses, farms, schools and universities, factories, small housing developments and an array of commercial sites.

Those who attended the update session had the opportunity to tour the area of Goss where the 750 kilowatt and 225 kilowatt machines are being manufactured. Wearing safety goggles, the representatives stood in awe at the size and power of the turbines being created.

As of Thursday, the 750 kilowatt turbine going to Illinois was in pieces for shipping purposes. Once the pieces are assembled, the machine is comparable in size to a small school bus.

Open letter from former supporter rips anti-wind group

A Fox Valley person provided a copy of the following letter to RENEW Wisconsin:

People of Glenmore Township:
PLEASE VOTE RESPONSIBLY!

Dear Fellow Townspeople,

Two months ago, I was a supporter of the BCCRWE [Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy]. I was actively opposing the wind turbines coming into any of the townships in our area, including Glenmore.

But then something happened.

As the March 7th meeting drew closer, I heard disturbing things from members of the BCCRWE. Things that scared me. Even before the meeting took place, there were threats being made towards our town board members if the vote did not go in the favor of the BCCRWE. There were “agendas” being planned, and conspiracies being formed, not only against the project, but against individual people.

On March 7th, I sat quietly through the meeting listening to barbaric accusations, foul language, curses and threats hurled at our town board. Members of the BCCRWE shouted inappropriate and belittling comments and became unruly and disruptive to the point that law enforcement needed to be called. Later, I read accounts of that same meeting, written by the BCCRWE, that were horribly distorted and inaccurate. Actually, they were straight out lies!

On March 16th, I sat through another meeting and watched the same unruly group, once again, disrespect our town leaders. As the members of the BCCRWE were chanting “Shame on you” to the town board, I was the one that was ashamed to have ever been a part of that group.

On April 5th, you have an opportunity to elect new town board members. Many of the candidates are the same people who threatened and disrespected our current board members for following the law. One candidate admitted, her only goal was to terminate wind turbines in the town and then she wants out. Is that the chairperson you want running the entire township? Even for one term?

The recent events of oil spills in the gulf and nuclear plant failures in Japan should make all of us take a second look at wind energy. I realized after the two meetings in March, that the only reason I didn’t want turbines, was because I couldn’t have on of my own. So, I’m a NIMBY.

It’s important, that we have “responsible” leaders in our township. The mob I witnessed at the last two meetings, did not fit that definition. It would be a disaster to have those people who demonstrated irrational, biased and disorderly behavior, become our new leaders. I was embarrassed to have ever been a part of that group.

Since I have seen how threatening and dangerous this group can be, I prefer to sign only as,

A Concerned Townsperson

Wind turbine blade plant on hold

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

Wisconsin Rapids is ready to buy back land it sold to a local company that two years ago announced plans to build a wind-turbine blade manufacturing plant on the property.

Energy Composites Corp. faces a Friday deadline to either reach an agreement with Wisconsin Rapids or sell the nearly 94 acres of land back to the city at the original purchasing price, Mayor Mary Jo Carson said.

Carson said the sale doesn't necessarily mean the project is dead, but it won't happen right now.

"Obviously, ECC doesn't want to hold us up in reference to that land, which we thank them for," she said. "We appreciate their interest in their hometown."

Carson said City Attorney Sue Schill has been working with the company's attorney to reach a buy-back agreement.

On March 31, 2009, the company announced plans to build a 350,000-square-foot plant in the Rapids East Commerce Center that would create at least 400 local jobs. Since then, those plans expanded to 535,000 square feet and more than 600 positions.

To facilitate the project, the city later sold the Wisconsin Rapids-based company 93.7 acres of land in the Rapids East Commerce Center for $500 an acre -- a 90 percent discount from the typical asking price -- plus a $1,000 option fee, for a total price of $47,850.

Under the pending agreement, the city would buy back the land at the same price for which it sold it, Carson said.

Jobs and $1.2 million annually lost due to state's hostile regulatory climate sinks wind project

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Less than a month after a 10-member legislative committee prevented a statewide wind permitting rule from taking effect, Invenergy, LLC, a Chicago-based wind developer that owns and operates the 86-turbine Forward Energy Center installation south of Fond du Lac, has ended efforts to install 100 turbines in southern Brown County.

In a March 21 letter to the Public Service Commission (PSC), Invenergy singled out the recent suspension of the agency’s wind siting rule as a significant factor in its decision to cancel the Ledge Wind Energy Center. “The absence of regulatory stability has made it imprudent for Invenergy to proceed with investments in a project which unknown regulations might make infeasible to construct,” the letter states. Invenergy’s application to build the 150-megawatt Ledge Wind project was filed in October 2009.

“The regulatory environment for permitting wind energy systems in Wisconsin is deteriorating rapidly,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin. “The rollback started with Governor Walker’s proposal to impose onerous and unworkable setback requirements on wind turbines, and continues with the Legislature’s assault on the PSC’s wind siting rule.”

“By all appearances, it seems that Governor Walker and the Legislature intend to close the door on wind development in Wisconsin once We Energies completes its Glacier Hills project later this year,” Vickerman said.

The PSC rule, which was scheduled to take effect March 1st, would have fulfilled the Legislature’s intent to create uniform siting regulations to replace what had become a restrictive and hodgepodge of local requirements. On that very day, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules suspended the rule on a 5-2 vote that tracked along party line votes (Republicans in favor; Democrats against).

Had the 150 MW Ledge Wind Energy Center gone forward, it would have generated $600,000 annually in municipal revenues to Brown County and four host townships, and more than $600,000 annually to host landowners and their neighbors. On average, installing one turbine requires 1,325 hours of craft labor, and a 100-turbine wind project will support a payroll of over $10 million, according to figures provided by Boldt Construction.

“Invenergy’s cancellation of its Ledge Wind project should not come as a surprise,” Vickerman said. “It should be expected with a political leadership that treats windpower as a pariah energy source. Until the day the Governor and the Legislature put aside their ideological blinders and recognize the benefits that come with developing a clean, locally available and inexhaustible energy source, Wisconsin will remain a very unappetizing place to pursue utility- scale wind projects.”

“Wisconsin can ill-afford to export windpower-related jobs and local payments to other states,” Vickerman said.

-- END --

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at http://www.renewwisconsin.org.

Suspension of wind siting rule endangers state’s economic future

For immediate release:
March 1, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

(Madison) - The wind industry in Wisconsin suffered a serious setback when a joint legislative panel voted to suspend the wind siting rule promulgated by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in December, according to RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide renewable energy advocacy group.

The five-to-two vote tracked along party lines, with all five votes to suspend coming from Republican members of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR).

Many companies involved in windpower supported the PSC’s rule as a workable compromise that would have created a stable and predictable permitting environment for all wind energy systems regulated by local governments. The rule, which was scheduled to take effect today, would have fulfilled the Legislature’s intent to create uniform siting regulations to replace what had become a restrictive hodgepodge of local requirements.

“The committee gave the state of Wisconsin a black eye that, in the view of the wind industry, will linger well into the future,” Vickerman said.

“The suspension rolls the wind permitting environment back to the dark days when wind project developers routinely faced arbitrary and ever-shifting local regulations – the kind of chaos that will hasten their departure from Wisconsin to more business-friendly states.”

“As of today, Wisconsin utilities have placed more megawatts of wind capacity in neighboring states than in Wisconsin. As indicated in the following table, importing wind generation from other states deprives Wisconsin of a valuable source of employment, income for rural residents, and property tax relief,” said Vickerman.

The figures compiled by RENEW show that the 219 utility-owned wind turbines that will be operational by January 1, 2012, will yield nearly $2.7 million per year in potential property tax relief for towns and counties hosting wind projects. All told, these projects will be responsible for nearly 300,000 construction-related job-hours.

“We have a hard time foreseeing in-state utility-scale wind development going forward without statewide siting standards.”
“It’s a shame to see the end of bipartisanship that led to the passage of the rule requirement in 2009. What we are seeing here is a breakdown of governance that will rob the state of one of its brightest economic hopes for the future,” Vickerman said.


Click on table to enlarge.

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

Committee sets March 1 to vote on suspension of wind siting rule

From the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA):

The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) has now scheduled a special meeting on March 1st to consider suspending the PSC128 Wind Siting rule that our industry worked on in 2009-2010 that are scheduled to take effect on March 1st. If the JCRAR suspends the PSC128 rule, before it otherwise would take effect that same day, we will be back where we started two years ago on wind siting reform in Wisconsin.

Job openings likely in sustainable industries for executives, trades, scientists, engineers, planners

From an article by Cara Spoto in the Stevens Point Journal:

Two years ago, Stevens Point resident Rob Peck decided to make a career change.

"My kids were grown ... and I thought I would really like to do something different," Peck, 50, said. "I wanted to get into something that would be good for the community and society in general."

So, after years of working in manufacturing and real estate sales, Peck applied to Mid-State Technical College to become a renewable energy specialist and energy-efficiency technician.

Now a design consultant at Northwind Renewable Energy in Stevens Point, which specializes in designing and installing renewable energy systems, Peck helps customers engineer the perfect solar energy system for their home or business.

Hired about a year ago, Peck was one of two MSTC students who interned with Northwind last summer. Josh Stolzenberg, one of Northwind's owners, said the business plans to take on three new interns this summer. If things work out with the interns, Stolzenberg and his partner, Craig Buttke, plan to hire two of them.

Peck is one of many Wisconsinites looking toward sustainable technologies to shape his next career move. According to Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Chief Labor Economist Dennis Winters, sustainable industries and technologies have and will continue to play a key role in current and emerging job markets in Wisconsin.

The DWD projects that by the year 2018 "professional, scientific, and technical services" industry will be among the top 10 employers in the state.

"'Green,' as it were, actually permeates all industries and occupations," Winters said.