New Video on Energy Programs of Brown County & The Oneida Tribe
See for yourself how two Wisconsin local governments are moving toward energy independence in the new short video,
Power Through Partnerships. The video explores Brown County and the Oneida Tribe’s visions, planning, funding and evaluation of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Through case studies you will learn the amazing return on investment these local governments are realizing. Local governments can find inspiration and a source of ideas for energy projects and funding sources by watching
Power Through Partnerships. The video is on the
UW-Extension YouTube site.
State Receives Federal Grant to Drive Energy Savings
The US Energy Department awarded nearly $4 million to 13 states to increase statewide energy savings and boost the energy efficiency of public institutions, local governments and industrial sectors. The Wisconsin State Energy Office received a $400,000 grant as part of that with an $80,000 match for Driving Demand for Public Facility Retrofits with the Municipal Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance Pilot Program (MEETAP). The project will focus on planning for and preparing to execute a statewide municipal technical assistance program as a way to drive demand for performance contracting, and improve and deepen energy usage data collection through annual reporting of energy use baselines by various municipal partners and schools. It will fund the continuation of the quarterly regional Energy Independent Communities meetings (commonly referred to as: Energy On Wisconsin) as well.
In addition, Wisconsin will receive $75,000 out of $751,000 to address specific policy, regulatory or market barriers to greater investment in energy efficiency and combined heat and power (CHP) technologies. CHP technology captures and reuses heat created during electricity production and other industrial processes-boosting overall building efficiency.
Cheese Power: Wisconsin Company Finds a New ‘Whey’ to Produce Energy
GreenWhey Energy has opened up a $30 million facility to create energy from cheese waste. Located in Turtle Lake, WI, home of several cheese manufacturers, the facility uses two anaerobic digesters to create a biogas from 500,000 gallons of wastewater from these area cheese manufacturers.
Electricity from the plant’s two 2.2-million-gallon digesters will be sold to Xcel Energy. Their two 20-cylinder generators can produce enough electricity for about 3,000 homes. They are exploring innovative uses for both the waste heat and the excess biogas that their digesters produce.
The GreenWhey facility is the only privately owned digester facility in the U.S. to utilize wastewater from multiple food processors, and is the largest operational digester in the world. The facility received a $3.4 million grant through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s clean-energy loan program.
Click here to read more.
Sheboygan Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Closes in on Energy Independence
The Sheboygan Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) produces 75-80% of its energy needs on site from renewable energy, reports Sharon Thieszen, Plant Superintendent. The plant utilizes the biogas produced from its anaerobic digestion of municipal sludge generated in the wastewater treatment process in a combined heat and power generation process. With over 700 KW of generating capacity and the ability to produce approximately 2.4 million BTU of heat per hour, the Sheboygan Regional WWTP can produce 75-80% of its electrical energy and 85% of its heat requirements annually. At peak gas production, the plant can actually generate more energy than it uses, and is able to sell the additional electricity back to the grid.
Dane County’s Second Biodigester Comes Online
A new 3-million-gallon digester in the town of Springfield, WI is scheduled to start generating electricity this December. In partnership with Gundersen Lutheran System of La Crosse, WI, and U.S. Biogas, the new Dane County facility is designed to produce electricity and reduce the nutrient level and volume of cow manure, which will eventually be used on nearby farms for fertilizer. The reduced nutrient content of the fertilizer is expected to mitigate runoff from farms that are a major source of smelly overgrowths of weeds and algae in area lakes. The facility is equipped with a 15-million-gallon storage structure that is built partly below and above ground, and incorporates other safety precautions to avoid spills as well.
Biomass Power Plant in Northern Wisconsin Burns Wood, Sawdust
A partnership between Milwaukee-based utility We Energies and paper mill owner Domtar Corporation has resulted in the successful operation of a biomass power plant in Rothschild in north-central Wisconsin. The renewable energy project burns wood, waste wood, and sawdust to generate 50 MW of electricity, and also provides steam for use by the paper mill. Domtar Corp. will be in charge of day-to-day operations starting December 2013.
The $268 million project is more expensive than a wind farm, but was ultimately approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission due to the biomass plant’s ability to generate power on demand.
The new power plant qualifies for a federal tax credit that reduces the amount paid by utility customers for the project. It also allows We Energies to meet Wisconsin’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires the utility to generate 8.2% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015. The utility now expects it will be in compliance with Wisconsin’s RPS through 2022.
Property Tax Exemption for Biofuels in Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker recently included a property tax exemption for manure digesters and other biofuel systems in his 2013-2015 budget. The rationale is to encourage local bioenergy systems. In June, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue estimated that 20 to 25 biodigesters in the state would qualify for the exemption. The exemption is controversial due to its impact on reducing local property values with some municipalities likely to have substantial impacts. Since a number of facilities are either municipally-owned and operated, or tax assessors have been undervaluing or not assessing these facilities, they were not contributing to tax values. An estimate by the Department of Revenue two years ago suggested that this exemption would reduce property values statewide by $25 to $50 million. State Senator Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, estimated that this exemption may reduce property values statewide by $800 million or more, shifting $16 million in taxes on biofuel system owners to other property owners.
Solar Lights Up Fitchburg Trails
A quarter-mile portion of the Capital City State Trail in Fitchburg, WI is a test site for solar-powered LED lights embedded in the trail. The pilot project is a partnership between the Fitchburg Public Works Department, Dane County Parks, and the Saris Cycling Group, a Madison-based cycling transportation and infrastructure company. There will be 30 solar-powered lights embedded down the middle of the path every 50 feet. They have a battery-life of 4,000 hours when fully charged and are highly efficient: they have the ability to collect power in even low-level light areas. These lights are the first of their kind in Wisconsin and only the second to be completed in the country.
