Call for energy research proposals

From Focus on Energy:

Wisconsin's Focus on Energy Environmental and Economic Research and Development Program (EERD) is pleased to announce $1,300,000 in grant funding available this year for research projects that study the environmental and economic impacts of electricity and natural gas use in Wisconsin. EERD is looking for projects that study the environmental impacts of biomass and biofuel energy, the economic impacts of the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, the environmental and economic impacts of climate change in Wisconsin due to electricity or natural gas use, and the economic effects of electric and natural gas use. Multiple year projects will be considered in this funding cycle.

Any researcher or research organization with a project relevant to Wisconsin can apply for a grant. The EERD Research Forum will evaluate proposals and make funding recommendations. We expect to announce funded projects in late May or early June.

Prospective applicants must submit an Intent to Propose form by April 8, 2008 and those invited to submit a full proposal must send it electronically by 12 p.m. on May 1, 2008. The 2007-2008 Request for Proposals and other forms can be found on the Focus on Energy website at http://www.focusonenergy.com/Enviro-Econ-Research/Environmental_Research_Program.aspx

Look Who's Talking to Your Appliances and Equipment (And Why!)

Is it Time for Wisconsin to Embrace the "Smart Grid"?
9 AM - 4 PM April 29, 2008
Tong Auditorium, 1550 Engineering Dr. Madison WI

Utilities across the nation are actively investigating the conversion options for moving their analog distribution grid into a digital "smart grid" - all with the goals of making energy use more efficient, of making delivery more cost-effective and reliable, and of giving customers more control over their appliances and equipment. And, does this offer a new business opportunity for the telecom industry?

Presentation topics:
Getting the Lay of the Land-Why Do This?
Is the Technology Ready?
Case Studies - Duke and Xcel, Is This Real?
Making the Utility Grid Smarter One Day at a Time
Telecom's Role: Is there a Business Intersection with the Telecom Industry

Register.

Do wind turbines make too much noise?

Apparently the Fond du Lac Reporter filmed the new wind turbines in Fond du Lac County and posted the footage on You Tube:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/do-wind-turbines-make-much-sound/610841121

A bubbling brook and birds can be plainly heard while the turbines spin. A passing automobile drowns out all other sound.

State calls for proposals for energy grants

From an article by Rick Barrett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Businesses and researchers may soon apply for state grants and loans aimed at developing renewable energy, Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday.The state expects to award about $15 million per year for 10 years from the newly created Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund, Doyle said at a news conference at Johnson Controls Inc.The money will be used to support research and development of renewable fuels and encourage businesses to adopt new technologies that save energy and use renewable energy.

Typical grants are expected to range from $100,000 to $500,000. Matching funds of at least 50% of total project costs must come from other sources, according to the state Department of Commerce.

Doyle laid out a long-term strategy that he hopes will make Wisconsin a leader in renewable energy. He repeated his call for the state to generate 25% of its electricity and motor fuels from renewable resources by 2025.

The Web for the Energy Independence Fund lists the following dates for the grant cycle:

First Funding Cycle Opens April 1, 2008
Application submission deadline: June 2, 2008 (5 p.m.)
Target date for award announcements: August 2008.
Application workshops: Details coming soon.

UW staff goes GAIA for energy sustainability

From an article by Anita Weier in The Capital Times:

Ann Hoyt put her used shopping bags in her car so she can reuse them when she goes to the grocery store.

Tania Banak finally programmed the programmable thermostat in her home.

Marla Handy tried to figure out whether heating her rural home with wood was a good idea and looked at the pros and cons of an electric rechargeable lawn mower.

And all three will use a meter to measure the electricity used by household appliances, as well as surveying light bulbs in their homes to find whether some could be replaced with those that use less energy.

They are University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and academic staff members who are seeking ways of sustainable consumption.

Their group, dubbed a "learning-action group," is just one of about 14 that are part of the GAIA Project, named after the Greek goddess who personified the Earth.

The project emerged from a survey of UW departments by the Faculty Senate in 2006. "They were concerned about global warming and sustainability," said Hoyt, a consumer science professor who leads the GAIA Project with Thatcher Root, a chemical and biological engineering professor.

After a follow-up survey of the entire faculty, the University Committee heading the Faculty Senate decided to start a broad-based campus discussion about climate change and sustainability -- meeting the needs of the present without depriving posterity.

The plan was for groups of about 10 to 15 people each, including faculty and staff from around campus, to cooperate on some joint concerns.

About 95 people have signed up so far for the campus-wide project. Leaders hope more will join as word spreads. Information can be found at www.nelson.wisc.edu/gaia, where individuals can also sign up for the learning-action groups.

Extended daylight saving time not an energy saver?

From an article by Brian Handwerk for National Geographic News:

On Sunday people in the United States will roll their clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. and begin the country's second consecutive year of extended daylight saving time.

The change, adopted into law last year, was touted as a way to save energy. But some studies suggest the move actually has consumers using more power—and paying bigger energy bills.

Hendrik Wolff, an environmental economist at the University of Washington in Seattle, is skeptical of the purported savings.

Wolff and colleague Ryan Kellogg studied Australian power-use data surrounding the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when parts of the country extended daylight saving time to accommodate the games.

The pair compared energy use in the state of Victoria, which adopted daylight saving time earlier than normal, to South Australia, which did not.

"Basically if people wake up early in the morning and go to bed earlier, they do save artificial illumination at night and reduce electricity consumption in the evening," Wolff said.

"Our study confirmed that effect. But we also found that more electricity is consumed in the morning. In the end, these two effects wash each other out."

Wolff stresses that it's difficult to determine how increased daylight saving time affected energy use across the U.S. last year. But he's inclined to reject the government's pre-change projections of modest energy savings.