Webinar Series: Accelerating Energy Efficiency

The Energy Center of Wisconsin put the following Webinar recordings online:

Scouting for Residential Electricity Savings
Presented by Scott Pigg, Principal Project Manager and Ingo Bensch, Senior Project Manager, Energy Center of Wisconsin

The Silver Lining in Climate Survey Results: Refining the Design of Energy Efficiency Programs and Climate Policy
Presented by Ingo Bensch, Senior Project Manager, Energy Center of Wisconsin

The Financial Effects of Energy Efficiency on Utilities: A Closer Look at Decoupling
Presented by Steve Kihm, Research Director, Energy Center of Wisconsin

Energy Efficiency's Great Potential
Presented by Susan Stratton, Executive Director and Steve Kihm, Research Director,
Energy Center of Wisconsin

Risk, Uncertainty and Energy Efficiency: A Real Options Analysis
Presented by Steve Kihm, Research Director, Energy Center of Wisconsin

Alliant Energy helps customers be "Power Thinkers"

From a news release issued by Alliant Energy:

New Web site connects customers to interactive tools and information
February 8, 2010 – Did you know that leaving a video game system on when not in use can cost you more than $145 per year in electricity costs? Did you know that turning your heat down five degrees before you go to bed each night could save you about $50 in heating costs this winter? Those that know the answers to these questions and are actively taking actions to reduce their energy costs and live a little greener are “Power Thinkers.” And, Alliant Energy is providing customers with a one-stop link of helpful resources and tools that help more people become Power Thinkers with a new Web site called powerthinkers.com.

Powerthinkers.com is a tool for customers searching for energy-saving ideas and other ways to live green. The site includes sections on saving money, smart living, renewable energy, energy-saving tips and interactive calculators. The interactive calculators are a special feature available to help customers see the impact of the actions they can take to save energy and accomplish real dollar savings. Customers can access the site by going directly to powerthinkers.com or via Alliant Energy’s main Web site at alliantenergy.com.

“A Power Thinker is someone who makes smart choices in how they live their lives; someone who looks for ways to save energy and make a positive impact on their budget and the environment.” says Linda Mattes, Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewables at Alliant Energy. “Power Thinkers want answers, solutions and ideas, and Alliant Energy is pleased to provide a tool that makes those easily accessible to customers and others who are interested in learning more about living green.

Brown County Town of Holland votes for wind-farm ban

From an article by Scott Williams in the Appleton Post-Crescent:

Opponents of a proposed wind farm in southern Brown County hope the Town of Holland is just the first municipality to set a one-year ban on wind farm construction.

Chicago-based Invenergy LLC submitted an application to state regulators in October for permission to develop the Ledge Wind Energy Project within four neighboring towns in southern Brown County. The plan calls for 54 wind turbines in Morrison, 22 in Holland, 20 in Wrightstown and four in Glenmore.

The Holland Town Board voted 3-0 Monday night to impose a one-year moratorium and increase from 1,000 feet to 2,640 feet — equal to a half-mile — how far any wind turbines must be set back from neighboring properties.

Despite the vote, it's unclear whether local moratoriums or other potential obstacles will have any effect.

The state Public Service Commission has authority to approve such developments regardless of what local officials want, PSC spokesman Tim Le Monds said.
"It trumps anything at the local level," he said.

Energy efficiency efforts save state more than $268 million a year

From a news release issued by Focus on Energy:

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today announced that Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, has helped Wisconsin residents and businesses save more than $268 million in annual energy costs. The program is just one of the many efforts Governor Doyle has led to help Wisconsin residents and businesses save money through improved energy efficiency.

“The Focus on Energy Program has worked very hard with Wisconsin residents and businesses to lower energy costs and reduce their environmental impact,” Governor Doyle said. “We all know the cheapest way to lower carbon emissions is through energy conservation and Wisconsin’s efforts have resulted in significant savings for our residents and businesses.”

Governor Doyle recently launched the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a landmark legislative package to accelerate the state’s clean energy economy and create jobs. The package calls for updating renewable portfolio standards to generate 25 percent of Wisconsin’s fuel from renewable sources by 2025 and sets a realistic goal of a 2 percent annual reduction in energy consumption by 2015. A comprehensive economic assessment of the package found that it would directly create at least 15,000 green jobs in Wisconsin by 2025.

NREL sudy shows 20% wind is possible by 2024

From a news release issued by the National Renewable Energy Lab:

[T]he U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024.

“Twenty percent wind is an ambitious goal, but this study shows that there are multiple scenarios through which it can be achieved,” said David Corbus, NREL project manager for the study. “Whether we’re talking about using land-based wind in the Midwest, offshore wind in the East or any combination of wind power resources, any plausible scenario requires transmission infrastructure upgrades and we need to start planning for that immediately.”

The study identified operational best practices and analyzed wind resources, future wind deployment scenarios, and transmission options. Among its key findings are:

•The integration of 20 percent wind energy is technically feasible, but will require significant expansion of the transmission infrastructure and system operational changes in order for it to be realized;
•Without transmission enhancements, substantial curtailment of wind generation would be required for all 20 percent wind scenarios studied;
•The relative cost of aggressively expanding the existing transmission grid represents only a small portion of the total annualized costs in any of the scenarios studied;
•Drawing wind energy from a larger geographic area makes it both less expensive and a more reliable energy source – increasing the geographic diversity of wind power projects in a given operating pool makes the aggregated wind power output more predictable and less variable;
•Wind energy development is a highly cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions – as more wind energy comes online, less energy from fossil-fuel burning plants is required, reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
•Carbon emissions are reduced by similar amounts in all scenarios, indicating that transmission helps to optimize the electrical system and does not result in coal power being shipped from the Midwest to New England States;
•Reduced fossil fuel expenditures more than pay for the increased costs of additional transmission in all high wind scenarios.

Clean Energy Jobs Act bill includes low carbon fuel standard

From a question-and-answer summary of the Low Carbon Fuels Standard included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill written by Peter Taglia, Staff Scientist, for Clean Wisconsin:

The Clean Energy Jobs Act (SB 450 and AB 649), announced recently by Governor Doyle, has been introduced by both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by the governor's Climate Change Task Force. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, if adopted, will increase Wisconsin's use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fuels and cleaner cars. The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in the bill would be established based on recommendations currently under development by a broad stakeholder group of the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA).

Below are a series of answers to frequently asked question about how an LCFS will impact biofuels and oil sands (compiled by Pete Taglia of Clean Wisconsin and member of the Midwestern Governors Association’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Advisory Group). If you have questions about the LCFS you can contact Pete Taglia at ptaglia@cleanwisconsin.org.

Question: What is a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)?

A LCFS is a fuel policy that will help break our dependence on foreign sources of oil and promote energy independence by gradually moving Wisconsin toward the cleanest and most efficient sources of transportation fuels. A LCFS rates different types of transportation fuels by their efficiency and carbon footprint and allows fuel providers to choose what mix of fuels will be used to meet the requirement.

Question: What types of fuels qualify for an LCFS?

An LCFS policy is unique in that all transportation fuels are able to compete in the fuel market, including the following resources:
• Ethanol: Alcohol fuel made from corn or cellulose (wood, plant stalks, harvest residues, etc.). Wisconsin has 8 corn ethanol plants producing almost 500 million gallons per year.
• Biodiesel: A diesel substitute (mono alkl ester) made from vegetable and animal oils that is then mixed with petroleum diesel (e.g., B20 is 20% biodiesel). Wisconsin has 8 biodiesel plants that use soybean oil, waste animal fats, and waste grease feedstocks.
• Renewable diesel: A fuel chemically similar to petroleum diesel (a hydrocarbon fuel) but made with renewable resources such as wood waste. Flambeau River Biofuels in Park Falls and New Page in Wisconsin Rapids both received Department of Energy grants to produce renewable diesel from wood waste.
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): Wisconsin has approximately 20 CNG fueling stations and two school district bus systems that use natural gas. ANGI Energy Systems of Milton is a leading manufacturer of CNG fueling systems and Wisconsin leads the nation in the production of biogas from dairy manure and food wastes.
• Electricity: Wisconsin has numerous electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as part of state, utility and private car fleets. Wisconsin’s largest corporation, Johnson Controls, is a leading battery manufacturer that won a recent contract to supply batteries to Ford’s new electric van and Columbia Parcar of Reedsburg manufacturers a line of electric utility vehicles in WI.

RENEW: Hearing trivialized Advanced Renewable Tariffs

From a letter from RENEW Wisconsin to Senators Jeff Plale and Mark Miller, co-chairs of the Select Senate Committee on Clean Energy, who held a hearing on the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill on January 27:

Dear Senators Miller and Plale:

Thank you for holding a hearing yesterday of the Select Committee on Clean Energy on SB 450 (the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill). You heard a great deal of substantive commentary about much of the bill, particularly the sections dealing with energy efficiency and the expanded Renewable Energy Standard.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the discussion on the proposal to institute Advanced Renewable Tariffs in Wisconsin. Early in the hearing, a speaker framed the issue as “asking a little old lady in Cudahy to subsidize an expensive system in Mequon.” From that point, the discussion devolved into a kind of semi-orchestrated gang-tackling on this issue that continued unabated until I was called upon to speak, some seven hours and forty five minutes after the hearing began. While RENEW members who work for or with solar, wind and biogas energy installation companies were present during the hearing and had registered to speak, none were called prior to myself. All but two (Full Spectrum Solar and Ed Ritger) had to leave before the hearing ended.

Now, I don’t believe the first speaker, a labor leader, had intended to belittle the companies that install customer-sited renewable energy systems or dismiss their contribution to Wisconsin’s economy and environment. Nevertheless, the “little old lady from Cudahy” theme took a life of its own, and as a result, the very important issues of how to support these systems through utility rates and whether these rates should be mandated had become thoroughly trivialized by the end.

Allow me to repeat some of the points I made at yesterday’s hearing:

1. The vast majority of the distributed renewable generating units installed in Wisconsin serve schools, dairy farms and other small businesses, churches and local governments.

2. Utilities are not in the business of installing these systems themselves.

3. In many cases the renewable energy installation went forward because there was a special buyback rate available to accelerate the recovery of the original investment made by the customer. Yesterday, I gave the example of the Dane County community anaerobic digester project that, once operational, will treat manure taken from several nearby dairy farms in the Waunakee area and produce two megawatts of electricity with it. The electricity will be purchased by Alliant Energy through a voluntary biogas tariff worth 9.3 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, Alliant’s biogas program is fully subscribed and is no longer available to other dairy farmers, food processing companies and wastewater treatment facilities served by Alliant.

4. Companies that install solar, wind and biogas energy systems are quintessentially small businesses, many of them family-owned. Renewable energy contractors and affiliated service providers constitute one of the few market sectors where young adults who have acquired the necessary skills to do the job well can find meaningful work at decent pay.

5. By its very nature, distributed renewable energy delivers nearly 100% of its economic punch to the local economy.