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). . . .

Coal Critic Coming to Madison to Speak on Effective Renewable Energy Advocacy, January 13, 2012

For immediate release
December 7, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Leslie Glustrom, research director of Colorado-based Clean Energy Action, and an unwavering critic of utility reliance on coal for electricity generation, will be the featured speaker at RENEW Wisconsin’s Energy Policy Summit.

The Summit will be held on Friday, January 13, 2012, at the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Pyle Center located on the UW-Madison campus. Summit attendees will spend the day discussing and selecting renewable energy strategies that make sense in the current political environment in Wisconsin. More information on the Summit can be found on the RENEW Wisconsin website at http://www.renewwisconsin.org.

As research director, Glustrom authored in 2009 an extensively referenced report on U.S. coal supplies titled, “Coal—Cheap and Abundant—Or Is It? Why Americans Should Stop Assuming that the US has a 200-Year Supply of Coal,” available for free at http://www.cleanenergyaction.org.

Since 2009, Glustrom has traveled to numerous states helping them to understand the likely constraints on their coal supplies.
Glustrom’s on-going research illuminates a future in which coal prices will likely continue to escalate, driven by a combination of less accessible coal supplies, increasing demand from Asian countries, and rising diesel fuel costs for hauling coal to distant markets like Wisconsin.

Clean Energy Action is spearheading a campaign to shut down Colorado’s coal-fired power plants and replace them with locally generated renewable electricity.

“Leslie’s experiences with Clean Energy Action can help Wisconsin renewable energy advocates formulate effective strategies for 2012 and beyond,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison.

“Even though Colorado is a coal-producing state, it has adopted some of the most aggressive policies in the country for advancing renewable energy,” said Vickerman. “Colorado’s commitment to clean energy is driving its economy at a time when its coal output is diminishing. For example, Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines with four plants employing 1,700 people in Colorado, supplied 90 turbines this year to Wisconsin’s largest wind project, the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County.”

“Leslie will inspire us to reverse the retreat from renewables and retake the initiative going forward,” Vickerman said.

In Boulder, Glustrom was part of the team that led the successful 2010 and 2011 ballot initiatives allowing Boulder to move ahead with plans to municipalize and break away from the long term commitment to coal plants made by their incumbent utility, Xcel Energy.

-- END --

Iowa farmers find profits blowing in the wind

From an article by Jim Offner in The Courier:

WATERLOO, Iowa --- Of the 480 acres Tim Hemphill owns and 1,200 he farms near Milford, he sets aside three for two wind-turbine towers.

In exchange for the small plot of land Hemphill would have devoted to his corn and soybean products, he collects $20,000 a year.

"It's worth it, even with high grain prices," Hemphill said. "When we put them up, corn was around $3 a bushel, and it has doubled since then, but it's still worth it."

"The check's always good," he said.

Hemphills's towers have been up for two years, and the checks will flow in quarterly for the run of a 30-year contract, he said.

Hemphill said he is but one of an increasing number of Iowa farmers who have watched wind towers go up on their acreages.

"There's quite a few farmers I know who have them," he said. "My neighbor has six of them and another with seven."

Hemphill said his motivation transcends finances, although he acknowledges the income certainly doesn't hurt.

"I think we need more green energy," he said. "People in California and the cities have brownouts. Besides, it's a good revenue source."

Manitowoc company will fabricate larger towers for larger wind turbines

From an article by Lauren Craig on Earth Techling:

Since 2004, Broadwind Energy has manufactured more than 1,000 towers for wind industry leaders like Clipper Wind Power, Gamesa Wind US, Nordex and Vestas at its factory in Manitowoc, Wis. Lately, the company has moved toward specializing in larger towers for multi-megawatt turbines, and is one of the first U.S. companies to produce 100-meter towers.

The taller towers have been selected by Siemens for the expansion of its MidAmerican Energy wind project in Iowa, and will support Siemens’ large 2.3-megawatt (MW) turbines, which have a rotor diameter of 331 feet – longer than a football field. Broadwind will supply 36 towers for the project, and Siemens has also signed an option for an additional 25 towers. The towers will be the first the company has supplied for Siemens.

Siemens and Mortenson Construction [a Minnesota company with locations in Wisconsin] recently completed the expansion of MidAmerican Energy’s wind-power plant near Pomeroy, the first phase of a larger expansion project that will ultimately add 258 wind turbines to three MidAmerican projects in the state this year. The remaining 245 turbines will be erected at MidAmerican’s Rolling Hills and Laurel wind plants by year-end. After the expansion, the three-plant project will have a combined capacity of 593.4 MW, enough to power about 190,000 homes.

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.

No excuse to stall rules on wind farms

From an editorial in the Racine Journal Times:

The wind turbines have stopped turning in Wisconsin, figuratively speaking. For months, the rewrite of rules governing the siting of wind energy farms has been stalled. New investments and new jobs also have been stalled because of that, and there is no good reason for it.

When Gov. Scott Walker took office in January he worked to short-circuit the rule-making process which was then almost complete after two years. The Public Service Commission had reached a compromise with interest groups which would have placed the wind turbine towers about 450 feet away from the nearest property line but no less than 1,250 feet from the nearest residence. Walker wanted the property line setback increased to 1,800 feet.

Ultimately, a legislative committee didn’t act on a bill containing Walker’s proposed standard and instead ordered the PSC to start over. That’s where the process remains. A member of the agency told the Wisconsin State Journal that talks have made no progress and are stuck over the same old issues: noise, setback distance and effect on the value of neighboring properties.

If there is no progress by March the PSC’s original regulations will take effect anyway, but wind farm opponents have no incentive to negotiate. All they have to do is wait. Either wind energy proponents capitulate and give them what they want, or the Legislature writes a new law which gives them what they want or Walker, with his new power to review regulations first, will give them what they want.

There is a high price for this stalling. Since the rules were becalmed, five major wind energy projects have been suspended or canceled. Those would have infused about $1.6 billion in economic development and created about 1,000 temporary full-time jobs. By contrast, the proposed northern Wisconsin iron mine which the Legislature is looking to accommodate is supposed to bring a $1.5 billion investment and 700 jobs.

Clean energy event draws dozens to Lakeshore Tech College

From an article in the Sheboygan Press:

An event to highlight the potential of using clean energy in Wisconsin drew dozens of people Thursday to Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland.

The event, "Capturing Wisconsin's Clean Energy Potential: Benefits for Homeowners, Jobseekers and Students," included a campus renewal energy tour followed by a panel discussion with educators and area business and labor leaders who discussed the economic and environmental benefits of investing in clean energy.

It was sponsored by the Sierra Club of Wisconsin.

"Wisconsin has an opportunity to create thousands of jobs, clean up our air and catch up with other states and countries by modernizing our energy systems," said Shahla Werner, chapter director, Sierra Club–John Muir Chapter, in a press release issued by the organization on Friday.

"Right now we are sending over $16 billion dollars a year out of state to pay for fossil fuels," Werner said. "Recent decisions to curtail wind development and cut funding for Focus on Energy might be penny smart, but they are pound foolish. Focus on Energy has created over 24,000 small business private sector jobs since its creation just over a decade ago."

Focus on Energy programs save residents and homeowners $300 million per year, and that is money in your pocket that is staying in the state, unlike coal or natural gas that we bring in from out-of state," said Kevin Hogan, Focus on Energy outreach manager.

"Sometimes I wonder what really is considered a "green job." It's not just the people who put up wind turbines and solar panels, but it's also all the people who manufacture clean energy components and the people work at the business offices. But it goes beyond that to include healthcare workers and other service professionals, people who work at grocery stores and gas stations — everyone who economically benefits from interacting with this emerging work force" said Matt Boor, Lakeshore Technical College Wind Energy Instructor. . . .

Walker opposition to wind power shows “open for business” is just hot air

From an editorial in The Northwestern, Oshkosh:

Since taking office in January, Gov. Scott Walker's administration has breathlessly reminded anyone who'd listen that Wisconsin is "Open for Business." That is beginning to sound like little more than hot air. The willingness of the administration to speed job creation appears tied to the willingness of job creators to see to it that the governor's campaign war chest is stocked enough to help him hold onto his job.

New rules for wind farms operating in Wisconsin were supposed to go into effect earlier this year. After the governor submitted a bill to dramatically increase the setback requirement, a legislative committee put the rules on hold and sent them back to the Public Service Commission for reconsideration, where they've sat in limbo since March.

Meanwhile, the state is losing out on millions of dollars in economic investment and hundreds of jobs, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. Midwest Wind Energy, for example, already invested about $1 million on a wind farm project in Calumet County. In all, it expected to spend more than $200 million on the project, and hire 150 to 200 construction workers over 18 months and five to eight permanent workers.

"Right now, we just don't have a path forward in Wisconsin," Tim Polz, vice president of Midwest Wind Energy, told the State Journal. "The uncertainty is just too much now."

According to the newspaper, five utility farm projects have been suspended or canceled since March, costing the state $1.6 billion in lost economic development and almost 1,000 temporary, full-time jobs.

It's a safe rule of thumb that most policy inconsistencies can be traced to campaign donors. The governor's more stringent property setbacks were supported by the real estate industry, which donated more than $598,000 to his campaign.

Walker refuses to break wind siting deadlock

From an article by Clay Barbour in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in potential economic development are stuck in limbo as officials continue to argue over new wind siting rules.

The new rules, more than a year in the making, were suspended earlier this year just before they were to go into effect. A legislative committee sent them back to the Public Service Commission, which was tasked with finding a compromise between both sides.

Now, some seven months later, PSC officials say they are no closer to a deal than when they started. Meanwhile, wind farm developers such as Midwest Wind Energy and Redwind Consulting are sitting on their hands, and their money.

“Right now, we just don’t have a path forward in Wisconsin,”said Tim Polz, vice president of Midwest Wind Energy, a company that suspended work earlier this year on a large wind farm in Calumet County. “The uncertainty is just too much now.”

Polz said Chicago-based Midwest already spent three years and about $1 million on the Calumet County project. In full, the company expected to spend upward of $200 million on the project, employ 150 to 200 construction workers for up to 18 months and five to eight people full time after that. . . .

Walker said he is aware of the stress caused by the delay but feels it is important any rules be fair to both sides, respecting property rights and the future of the wind industry.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Frank Lasee, R-De Pere, plans to introduce a bill Monday to call for a moratorium on wind turbines until the PSC receives a report from the Department of Health Services on possible health effects of wind farms.

“It is more important to fully vet, understand and communicate to the public the potential changes than the specific timing of when they are adopted and enacted.” Walker said. “It is important to note that whatever proposed changes are made, there are effects on a number of different areas of the economy.”

Germantown company erects 100 ft Oshkosh-built wind turbine

From an article on ControlDesign.com:

It was like the Egyptian obelisk going up in “The 10 Commandments,” only it was a lot faster, and the slaves were replaced by portable hydraulics. Oh, and there was a 32 ft diameter fan at the top.

This was the scene on a sunny, early-September afternoon as Wago installed a 100 ft tall wind turbine next to its U.S. headquarters in Germantown, Wis. And, as if the gleaming white tower wasn’t impressive enough, it was “tipped up” in an amazing 8-10 minutes by a portable hydraulic unit hooked up right next to the tower. After that, it took only another 15 minutes to bolt down the tower, hook up its electronics, and get it spinning in the breeze of Wisconsin’s famous “dairy air.”

Capable of generating 20 kW for Wago’s multi-function facility, the small-scale, commercial-grade VP-20 turbine was built by Renewegy in nearby Oshkosh, Wis. The turbine employs Wago’s 787 Series power supplies, 756 Series cables/connectors, 288 Series fuse blocks and backup capacitor module.

The wind turbine’s initial cost was $80,000, but state and federal incentives allow Wago to reduce its bill by about $35,000. Other VP-20s have been installed at SCA Tissue in Neenah, Wis., and at the North Texas Job Corp Center in McKinney, Texas. Renewegy reports that it can install single 20 kW units on farms, 40 kW dual units to serve schools, and 100 kW five-unit systems for small wind farms and commercial applications.

Wind tower sales continue to grow for Manitowoc company

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Sales of wind towers made in Manitowoc and Texas rose 48% in the second quarter for Broadwind Energy Inc., the firm said Friday.

Sales of wind towers totaled $24.5 million in the second quarter, up $8 million, or 48%, from last year. For the first six months of the year, sales were nearly doubled, to $52.7 million from $28.6 million.

Broadwind Energy is based in Naperville, Ill., and operates the tower factory in Manitowoc formerly known as Tower Tech. That factory produced towers now under construction for the We Energies wind farm northeast of Madison, the Glacier Hills Wind Park. It also built the towers for the Shirley Wind farm that opened last year south of Green Bay.

Towers accounted for nearly two-thirds of the sales for Broadwind Energy, which also operates gearing and service businesses that serve the wind market as well as the oil and gas industry. That side of the business is growing with a surge in domestic oil and gas production.

Unique two-bladed turbine makes Wisconsin debut in Winnebago County

Immediate release

July 28, 2011

More information
Randy Faller – rfaller@wi.rr.com
Maureen Faller - maureen.fallergmail.com
Kettle View Renewable Energy
http://www.kettleviewre.com
920.994.9433

Unique Two-bladed Turbine Debuts in Wisconsin

Wind turbines come with three blades, right? Not the unique Scottish-built Gaia turbine installed near Neenah by Kettle View Renewable Energy, LLC of Random Lake.

“You might do a double-take when you first see it,” admits Randy Faller, owner of Kettle View.

The electricity production from the first two-blader installed in Wisconsin and fourth in the United States has been “incredible,” according to Faller, “even during last June, when winds were really light.” And it’s quieter than other small turbines.

At wind speeds between 9 and 14 miles per hour, the 11 kilowatt Gaia in the Town of Clayton, Winnebago County, will out perform a turbine rated at 20 kilowatts. With a little more fine-tuning, Faller expects even better production. “It’s only been up a month and a half,” Faller said.

“No single turbine on the market fills every need at every site. Every brand of turbines has advantages and disadvantages. The Gaia (pronounced GUY-ah) works well in locations with lower wind speeds,” commented Faller, “like we have at many Wisconsin locations.”

Part of the Gaia’s generating power comes from longer blades than those on a three-bladed turbine. With a rotor diameter of 42.6 feet, the two-bladed Gaia can capture up to 80% more energy, according to the U.S. distributors Web site (www.tacoelectronics.com).

“Hundreds of Gaia’s have been installed throughout Europe since the turbine was first developed in Denmark in the 1990s,” explained Faller.

Equipped with a durable gearbox, well-built mechanics, and streamlined design, Faller expects the Gaia to perform reliably during Wisconsin’s winters.

However, Wisconsin’s future for wind energy doesn’t look bright for Gaia or any other turbine, according to Faller, who calls the current situation “scary.”

The Legislature suspended statewide standards for permitting wind energy systems. “The small wind section of those standards was a great thing. Towns and counties could use it as a guide. Now everything’s open to interpretation when a landowner applies for a permit,” Faller said.

He also expects his business to be hurt by budget cuts imposed by the Legislature on Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s ratepayer-funded energy efficiency and renewable programs. Individual utility support for customer-sited renewable systems has also been cut back.

“My wife and I built the business to the point where we employ three other full-time employees, one part-timer, and occasionally subcontract some work. If we don’t have work in Wisconsin, we’ll go out of state. But why should I have to leave my own state to work?”

Prior to starting Kettle View in 2006, Faller “got tired of sitting behind a desk. It’s exciting,” he says, “to make our own power right in your own backyard.”

Burning Questions: Making a case for renewable energy

From an article in the Appleton Post Crescent:

A report released last week by the Union of Concerned Scientists, called "A Bright Future for the Heartland," contends that Wisconsin and other Midwestern states can revitalize their economy and save their consumers money by making the kind of investments recommended by a group of Midwestern governors a few years ago.

The report was the topic of a discussion Wednesday at the Fox Valley Technical College in Grand Chute — and was also the topic of our Newsmakers online interview show at postcrescent.com.

The guests were Jeff Deyette, a renewable energy analyst with the Union, and Jeff Ehlers, the president of Renewegy, an Oshkosh company that makes small-scale wind turbines.

Here's an edited transcript of the interview:

What are the findings of the report?

Deyette: We believe that there's tremendous economic opportunity for Wisconsin and the rest of the Midwest by investing in renewable energy technologies like wind, solar, bioenergy resources such as switchgrass and investing in energy efficiency.

Our analysis looked at, what if Wisconsin and the rest of the Midwestern states significantly increased the policies they have for investing in those technologies?

What we found was, not surprisingly, that these technologies in addition to providing more local, cleaner energy sources for the state would deliver some significant economic benefits — about 11,000 new jobs by 2030, $2.7 billion in new investment paying for renewable energy projects, making our homes and businesses more energy efficient.

Consumers win out in this policy, as well. Because of the investment in energy efficiency, homes, businesses and industrial users can save as much as $6 billion over a 20-year period. The typical household would see savings averaging about $100 per year. It's good for business, it's good for job creation and it's good for consumers.

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.

Wind farm plan gets green light -- in Illinois

While Wisconsin's hostility toward wind generation kills projects in the state, wind generation projects continue to create jobs and energy independence in surrounding states, according to this article in The News Gazzette, Champaign, IL:

DANVILLE — The Vermilion County Board authorized construction of the first wind turbine farm in the county Tuesday night despite objections from several local residents and incomplete information in the developer's application.

The 27-member board voted 21-1, with four members absent and one seat vacant, to grant Chicago-based Invenergy a building permit to construct 104 wind turbines in west central Vermilion County.

Invenergy also submitted on July 1 its application to the Champaign County zoning board for a special-use permit to build 30 wind turbines as part of the same project in east central Champaign County. Invenergy officials said they hope construction in Vermilion County can start by the end of the year.

The lone no vote at Tuesday's Vermilion County Board meeting came from member Terry Stal, D-District 4, who said after the meeting that he voted that way because the county should have all its agreements with Invenergy in place before the permit is issued. He said his vote reflected a procedural objection.

Wisconsin’s Widening War on Renewable Energy

Dramatic Slowdown in Market Activity Anticipated
By Michael Vickerman
July 11, 2011

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. 

Small businesses hit hard by energy program cuts and changes

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

Focus on Energy, a statewide program that promotes energy efficiency, is in the midst of big changes: new management by an out-of-state corporation, suspension of a popular rebate program, and sharp funding cuts in the pending state budget.

Nearly 20 people already have lost their jobs, mostly in Madison, as a result of the management change.

Meanwhile, dozens of small Wisconsin businesses that specialize in setting up solar panels and wind turbines fear for their futures because of the slashed allocation and rebate removal.

“It’s a lot of economic activity and jobs in Wisconsin. It’s a lot of energy efficiency, as well,” said Keith Reopelle, policy director for Clean Wisconsin.

Focus on Energy was created in 2001 to provide education, resources and cash incentives to Wisconsin residents and businesses to increase the use of energy-efficient products and systems, from furnaces to solar panels to vending machines.

In the past 10 years, more than 91,000 businesses and more than 1.7 million residents used the program and saved $2.20 for every dollar spent, according to Focus data. . . .

Since taking over Focus on Energy on May 9, one of Shaw’s first decisions, with PSC support, was to suspend payments to businesses that install renewable-energy systems, as of June 30.

Contractors like Seventh Generation Energy Systems were stunned.“It’s pretty devastating,” said James Yockey, chief executive officer. “It probably took out six to 10 projects that we were looking to close ... for work in the fall and the coming spring.”

Several of the projects were wind turbines for farmers. “I think the incentives are decisive in people saying yes,” Yockey said . . . .

Program supporters have appealed to Gov. Scott Walker to veto the Focus budget cut, including a letter signed by 124 Wisconsin businesses. As of Friday, there was no word on his response. Walker is scheduled to sign the budget today.

“Cutting Focus on Energy will result in higher electricity bills and fewer jobs,” Randy Johnson, president of U.S. Lamp, a Green Bay energy-efficient lighting design company, said in the letter.

Seventh Generation’s Yockey said he hopes to avoid laying off any of his 16 employees by aiming his business at other states, and that could mean moving the company. “We prefer to be located in Madison but the bottom line is: we’ll see where the business takes us,” he said.

Legislators are exporting wind energy jobs and torpedoing all renewables

From a commentary by Jeff Anthony, American Wind Energy Association, on BizTimes.com:

The Wisconsin Assembly recently passed a bill that would enable hydroelectric power from Manitoba, Canada, to be shipped to Wisconsin to meet the state’s 2006 renewable energy law requiring 10 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy by the year 2015.

If enacted into law, the effect of the Manitoba Hydro Bill will be to ship jobs to Canada and reduce Wisconsin’s ability to meet its clean energy requirement by building more homegrown Wisconsin energy projects.

One of the bill’s sponsors, State Sen. Frank Lasee (R-De Pere), was quoted saying, “This new law will keep electric bills from going up by making it more affordable for utilities to meet green energy mandates.”

Unfortunately, he was mistaken in assuming that other forms of “green energy” will raise electricity rates in the state. If he had gotten his facts straight, he would have found that wind energy costs are at near-record lows, and many utilities in the U.S. are reaping the benefits of lower electricity rates as wind energy expands on their systems. But the facts about wind energy costs, like many other facts, apparently weren’t relevant in the rush to pass this ill-conceived bill.

What Sen. Lasee failed to mention is that his bill will also have a significant impact on Wisconsin by sending good-paying jobs that would otherwise have been created in Wisconsin – to Canada instead.

Sen. Lasee and the other state legislators who voted for the bill would have the state import electricity from Canadian energy projects that use Canadian workers. Today, Wisconsin supports 2,000-3,000 workers in the wind energy industry alone, and the Manitoba Hydro Bill now threatens many of those jobs in Wisconsin.

This is just the latest example of legislative activities that are exporting good-paying, clean energy jobs out of Wisconsin. Why?

At the beginning of the year, another onerous bill was proposed to impose extreme requirements on where Wisconsin wind projects can be located. A few weeks, later a joint committee of the legislature voted to suspend Wind Siting Rules that had been developed through a collaborative, open, and fair process. This rule was suspended by the joint legislative committee on the very day that these far better new rules would have taken effect.

Combined, these actions have jeopardized approximately 700 megawatts of wind projects that were proposed in the state, resulting in the potential loss of $1.8 billion investments and 2 million construction job-hours. And guess what – those 2 million job-hours will not show up in Wisconsin, and will likely move to neighboring states.

So what will be the next step in the “Wisconsin Jobs Export Agenda”?

Well, another piece of anti-clean energy job legislation has emerged, Assembly Bill 146, which would significantly reduce the growth of renewable energy in the state. The Wisconsin clean energy law was originally created to incentivize new renewable energy development and increase fuel diversity. AB 146 would effectively remove that incentive.

Bedford Heights, OH, gains wind industry jobs needed to rebuild the Midwestern economy

Wisconsin might pick up more manufacturing if the governor and legislature welcomed, instead of devastated, the wind industry:

Written on the wind: Glacier Hills open house offers up-close look at project

From an article by Lyn Jerde in the Portage Daily Register:

TOWN OF SCOTT - Along with names, dates and shout-outs to favorite sports teams, the writing on the turbine blade included a warning: "Watch out."

Mark Barden wrote it, in permanent black marker.

The warning, he said, is aimed at any birds that might fly near the blade once it's turning, 400 feet in the air.

Wednesday's open house at the Glacier Hills Wind Park was Barden's first up-close look at the components of the 90 electricity-generating wind turbines that have begun to rise in the skyline in northeast Columbia County.

But it won't be his last look. Barden said three of the towers will be on his land in the town of Scott, just outside of Cambria.

He said he doesn't share the health and safety concerns about the wind towers that many of their opponents cited in seeking to block the construction of Glacier Hills - things such as constant low-level noise and shadow flicker.

"I'm more worried," he said, "about the red lights at night," he said. "When I look in the sky and try to find constellations, all I'll see is the red beacons (on the towers).

"But," Barden added, "we'll deal with that."

Barden was one of several hundred people who attended the open house, which included indoor easel and tabletop displays, and a tour - on foot or by school bus - of one of the four towers that, as of Wednesday, had two of its four segments erected.

Mike Strader, site manager for the We Energies project, said that, barring wind or other inclement weather, plans call for adding the top two segments to at least one of the towers today, with the hub, cell and three blades of the turbine to follow soon.

More photos on RENEW's Facebook page.