Clean Energy Choice Introduced in Wisconsin Assembly
A Clean Energy Choice bill - LRB 4412, introduced by Representatives Gary Tauchen (R-6, Bonduel) and Chris Taylor (D-76, Madison) on March 21, would allow Wisconsin farms, businesses, and citizens additional financing options for sourcing renewable energy produced on their property. 

The bipartisan legislation would clear up a “gray area” of Wisconsin’s public utility law (PSC 119), which is unclear about customer access to renewable energy. If adopted, the law would affirm that no matter how the project is financed, homeowners, farmers, businesses, and local governments can use renewable energy produced on their own property.  The Wisconsin legislature ended the session without taking up the bill.  

See the Energy On Wisconsin Newsletter (Feb/March 2014) article ‘Third-Party Solar in Wisconsin - Monona Case Study’ for more information. 

To see a list of organizations supporting the bill go to RENEW’s clean energy choice web page.


Wisconsin’s First Community Solar Project Under Way
The Vernon Electric Cooperative (VEC) is partnering with Clean Energy Collective (CEC), a national community solar developer, on the first community-owned utility-scale solar project in Wisconsin. Located at their headquarters in Westby, WI any member in VECs territory will have the opportunity to own individual panels in the PV array and credit for the power produced will be provided directly on their monthly utility bills.   The 305 kW solar farm will consist of 1001 panels.  The project will break ground this month and is expected to be operational by early summer.

Read more about the VEC community solar project here.


Shining a Light on ENERGY STAR in Wisconsin
Between 2000 and 2013, the number of Wisconsin ENERGY STAR certified buildings has increased from 43 to 582, according to a new report titled Leaders in Efficiency: Energy Star Buildings in Wisconsin.  The report, released by Cool Choices—a Madison-based nonprofit organization—in partnership with the Great Plains Institute and the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council, found that 91 percent of all ENERGY STAR certified commercial buildings in the state are k-12 schools, retail stores and office buildings.
 
Improving energy efficiency saves money and reduces the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel use. Buildings that measure and track their building’s energy and water usage with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool use an average of 35 percent less energy, saving building owners money. An EPA study found a 7 percent savings over 3 years in 35,000 buildings that benchmarked their buildings using Portfolio Manager.
 
Nationally, more than 40 percent of the commercial market uses ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.  More than 20,000 buildings performing in the top 25% of buildings of their type nationally have achieved certification. Portfolio Manager is used in more than 5200 Wisconsin buildings.
 
Milwaukee and Madison areas have the most volume of buildings with ratings and Sun Prairie, Appleton, and Sheboygan have the most Energy Star buildings per capita.  While Wisconsin Energy Star certified buildings represent nearly 72 million square feet of floor space, this is less than 5 percent of commercial building floor space in the state. The study found that buildings 100,000 square feet and smaller account for 65 percent of the certified buildings. Notably, 56 percent of schools in Wisconsin are Energy Star certified, representing more than half of the certified buildings, 44 of which are Milwaukee Public Schools. Menomonee Falls, WI-based Kohl’s Corporation, Target, Sears and J.C. Penney are the leading retailers achieving ENERGY STAR certifications for their stores.


Clean Energy Sector Remains Strong in IL
The Clean Jobs Illinois report found that 96,785 workers statewide spend some portion of their day supporting clean energy.  Energy efficiency accounts for almost two-third (62 percent) of the jobs, while renewable energy accounts for 28 percent. 
 
The report shows that federal, state, and local policies have a major impact on clean energy jobs.  The expiration of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy has hurt job growth nationwide, and is partly responsible for the contraction of renewable energy employment in Illinois by 0.2 percent.  Other policies, such as a state law demanding utilities reduce energy demand by two percent per year, have helped increase employment in the clean energy sector.   The report also highlights areas in which policymakers could help the clean energy sector, primarily by incentivizing clean energy investment by providing rebates, removing various taxes, and generally providing support for clean energy policies, such as strengthening renewable energy portfolio standards.
 
Read more about this report here.


Growth in Wind Energy Reduces U.S. Carbon Emissions
The wind energy industry growth in the U.S. in 2013 has reduced carbon emissions by 96 million metric tons, or 4.4% of total U.S. power sector emissions – the largest contributor to climate change, according to a forthcoming American Wind Energy Association Annual Market Report.  This is largely because electricity produced by a wind project results in an equivalent decrease in electricity production at the most expensive currently operating power plant, which is almost always the least efficient fossil fuel power plant.  In addition to the emissions reductions, wind energy saved 36.5 billion gallons of water that would have otherwise been used by traditional thermal power plants in steam turbines.  The report will be released April 10, 2014.
 
Read more about the report here.

EPA’s Guide to On-Site Renewable Energy Generation
EPA’s On-Site Renewable Energy Generation guide describes a variety of approaches that local governments can use to advance climate and energy goals by meeting some or all of their electricity needs through on-site renewable energy generation. As a part of EPA’s Local Government and Climate and Energy Strategy Series, it this guide is designed to be used by municipal energy coordinators, local energy and environmental agency staff, environmental and energy advisors to elected officials, utility staff, and community groups.

EPA Guide to Combined Heat and Power
The EPA’s Combined Heat and Power guide was also recently released by their Local Government and Climate and Energy Strategy Series.  This guide describes how local governments can utilize combined heat and power to achieve more efficient uses of existing, local energy sources and provides an overview of the benefits, costs, sources of funding, and case studies.  

NREL Solar PV Project Financing Study
The National Renewable Energy Labratory (NREL) released a study, titled Solar PV Project Financing: Regulatory and Legislative Challenges for Third-Party PPA System Owners, which details five challenges that Third-Party PPA system owners are facing: (1) definition of electric utility as seller of electricity; (2) power generation equipment included in definition of electric utility; (3) defintion of provider of electric services; (4) municpal utilities and rural cooperatives concerns over opting into deregulation of electricity generation, and; (5) determining whether third-party owned systems may net meter.

RENEW Wisconsin Clean Energy Choice Fact Sheet
RENEW Wisconsin's Clean Energy Choice factsheet provides an overview of the status of power purchase agreements (PPA) nationally and the potential benefits of third-party renewable energy generation for consumers, businesses, schools, local governments, and non-profit organizations.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Solar PPA Fact Sheet
The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) has created a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) factsheet, which describes what a PPA is, how they benefit consumers, and key points interested consumers should consider before entering into a PPA.

Cool Choices Wisconsin ENERGY STAR Report
Leaders in Efficiency: ENERGY STAR Buildings in Wisconsin analyzes the growth of Wisconsin's ENERGY STAR certified buildings between 2000 and 2013.