RENEW influences decisions of Focus on Energy

RENEW Wisconsin will continue to advocate for Focus on Energy to spend the $10 million per year allocated for renewable incentives.

We intend to keep a close watch on how the Focus administrators spend the money, and we told them so. These funds are being collected from rate payers this year, so Focus should spend as much of the money this year as possible. Simple!

RENEW effectively advocated for Focus on Energy (Focus) to reinstate incentives for distributed renewables since the non-residential incentives were suspended in July of 2011. RENEW organized members and other stakeholders to communicate this message to the Public Service Commission and Focus. RENEW’s advocacy led Focus to roll out the renewable programs in July.

Additionally RENEW solicited input from the renewable community, met with the Focus administrators, and provided suggestions in early June on how the Focus funds should best be used. Focus accepted and incorporated the majority of these suggestions in the Focus renewable programs that were launched in early July.

RENEW continues to advocate on behalf of the renewable energy community with the Focus administrators. We asked Focus to drop the need for installers to be licensed plumbers and electricians; to reconfigure the need for a building permit before installation; to clear up whether solar systems could be ground mounted; and, to reduce the minimum incentive for solar and wind installations in the Business Program RFP. Once again, Focus administrators accepted the majority of these suggestions.

Focus also addressed the questions received from RENEW and others in a list of frequently asked questions for residential systems at Focus FAQs.

Be aware that Focus has limited funds for residential solar projects. Focus will provide weekly updates on the level of funds available through the renewable energy program Web pages at Focus funding updates.

Business renewable projects will be considered for funding after a submission due date of August 29, 2012. FAQs on this RFP were issued on July 23, 2012.

Please continue to provide your comments and suggestions to RENEW and to Focus on how the renewable program should be managed within the budget constraints outlined by the PSC.

By working together, we can have the best program possible. Please support RENEW with a membership or donation at Join Today!

Safe bet is to act now to reduce fossil fuel use. Go renewable says RENEW.

In a weekend editorial the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted RENEW's executive director Don Wichert:  

While national leaders dither, local officials and families can start doing things to reduce human impact on climate change

It's possible that this summer is just a fluke; that the heat waves and drought that are wreaking havoc for farmers and others are an anomaly, and that the weather will return to "normal" next summer or maybe the summer after that. That it's just summer and it's hot, and that this really isn't part of a trend that climate scientists have been predicting.

But that's not the way to bet. . . .

"The extreme weather and heat waves are costing lives, hurting farmers and families, and inaction is wasting tax money," said Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison), member of the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee in a news release. "We need to take cost-effective steps to reduce greenhouse air pollution, create jobs and protect lives like my Jobs, Energy and Tax Savings Act (AB 117) to reduce energy costs at the 9,000 state facilities by 30% to 75% and cut the risk of extreme climate change."

"We know that using more renewable energy and more energy efficiency creates more jobs here and produces far less green house gases than the fossil fuels they replace," said Don Wichert, P.E., Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin. "Access to renewable energy can be increased by reducing upfront costs through private ownership, by creating fair and consistent electricity policies, and by reinstating utility renewable energy commitments."

It's also the message being pushed by a retired Marine colonel and former strategic adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who argues that sustainability and climate change are national security issues. Local leaders need to start the shift to more sustainable practices such as regenerative agriculture techniques and advanced manufacturing because "D.C. isn't going to do anything," Mark Mykleby, author of "A Natural Strategic Narrative," he told the Editorial Board Thursday.

The science says climate change is happening now, not just in computer models or overactive imaginations but in the real world. From rising sea levels to droughts to tornadoes and wildfires, there is a growing list of anomalous events that indicate climate change is already upon us. And the safe bet is to start acting now to mitigate the human effect on climate change at the international, national and local levels.

RENEW says renewable energy can reduce greenhouse gasses

From a presentation on July 11, 2012, at a Capitol news conference in the state Capitol:

Pathways to Increase Renewable Energy

1. Allow private companies to sell renewable energy to home and building occupants if the renewable system is on private property;
2. Allow fair and uniform net energy billing and interconnection policies;
3. Increase Focus on Energy funding for renewables;
4. Reinstate utility renewable energy commitments;
5. Increase renewable energy requirements.

RENEW announces new members of board of directors

Immediate release
July 11, 2012

More information
Jenny Heinzen,President
715.592.6595
jennyh@midwestrenew.org

RENEW Announces New Members of Board of Directors
RENEW Wisconsin (RENEW) members elected new directors to its governing board in July.

“The new board represents a wide range of talents and interests in supporting RENEW’s mission of leading and representing businesses, organizations, and individuals that seek more clean renewable energy in Wisconsin,” said Jenny Heinzen, RENEW’s board president. The new board offers a healthy mix of new and familiar faces, Heinzen said.

RENEW is an independent, nonprofit organization that leads and represents businesses, organizations, and individuals who seek more clean renewable energy in Wisconsin.

The following were elected to three-year terms on RENEW’s board:
• Jeff Anthony, Director of Business Development, American Wind Energy Association, Milwaukee;
• Alex DePillis, principal, Clean Energy Partners, specializing in commercial wind and solar thermal systems, Madison;
• Maureen Faller, co-owner, Kettle View Renewable Energy, LLC, installer of wind and solar systems, Random Lake;
• Jim Funk, owner and engineer for Energize, LLC, specializing in providing high quality, high performing solar PV systems, Winneconne;
• Gary Haltaufderheide, Sun Prairie;
• Duane Kexel, President, Duane T. Kexel Consulting, LLC, Madison;
• Jeff Peterson, executive director, Polk County Energy Fair and director at the Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative, Luck;
• Pam Porter, owner, P Squared Group, energy consulting, Madison; and,
• Carl Siegrist, Managing Partner, Carl Siegrist Consulting LLC, Whitefish Bay.

The new directors will serve three-year terms and join existing board members to form the group that sets overall direction for the organization.
-END-
RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that leads and represents businesses, organizations, and individuals who seek more clean renewable energy in Wisconsin. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

PSC commissioner: Renewable energy facilities come at a reasonable cost to consumers

From a story by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A report from the state Public Service Commission tallies the cost of complying with the state’s renewable power standard, concluding that it sent power rates up about 1% through 2010.

The report found that Wisconsin’s renewable projects accounted for more than 7% of sales in 2010, or nearly twice the level of 2006, when the state’s renewable standard was adopted by the state Legislature.

Since 2007, the commission has endorsed proposals to build $1.7 billion for utility-owned renewable projects, primarily wind farms built in Wisconsin and nearby states.

The report doesn’t account for about $500 million worth of projects, which were not completed as of 2010.

Large projects like new power plants are paid off over time, so the cost of adding those to the state’s fleet of generation was about $200 million, or an increase of 1% of utility sales, the report estimated. The estimate is based on a comparison of the cost of the projects with the average market price of power sold on the wholesale Midwest energy market during the period.

Wisconsin’s standard requires increases in the amount of renewable energy that utilities buy or build, so that 10% of utility sales in 2015 will come from renewables such as wind, solar and biomass projects.

The standard was enacted in 2006 with bipartisan and near-unanimous support. The state Assembly co-author of the bill, Republican Phil Montgomery, chairs the state Public Service Commission. . . .

Commissioner Eric Callisto, who was chair of the commission under Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, said the PSC staff’s analysis “confirms that balancing the state's generation portfolio with clean, renewable energy facilities comes at a reasonable cost to consumers.”

While providing balance for a fleet that relies on fossil fuels for a majority of Wisconsin’s power generation. Callisto said the renewable projects also “act as important risk mitigation tools in a future of increasing air regulation, and provide opportunities for economic development within the four corners of the state."

RENEW Rips WPS’s Net Metering Proposal

For immediate release
May 23, 2012

More information
Michael Vickerman
608.255.4044, ext. 2  

Another example of company backsliding on renewables 

In documents filed in conjunction with its pending rate case, Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS) proposed several rollbacks to its net metering service that would, if approved, sharply restrict a customer’s ability to generate electricity from renewable energy resources and sell a portion of it back to the utility.

Net metering allows customers to sell the unused output from their solar electric or other renewable energy system back to the utility at the full retail rate from month to month, so long as the surplus electricity is less than or equal to the customers’ usage in a 12-month period.

Currently, WPS customers may install solar or wind energy systems on their premises up to 100 kilowatts (kW). Beginning in January 2013, WPS would roll back that capacity limit to 20 kW.

WPS has also proposed to cap the overall size of its net metering offering at one-half of one percent of 2011 summer peak. No other Wisconsin utility has ever sought to impose capacity-based limits to its net metering service.

“What WPS proposes would be a really bad deal for customers installing small renewable energy systems serving their homes or businesses,” said Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit advocacy organization promoting renewable energy use in Wisconsin.

“These service changes are clearly intended to discourage its customers from investing in solar and small wind energy systems,” Vickerman said. “If WPS gets its way, the renewable energy marketplace in that part of Wisconsin will slow down significantly.”

“At a time when the customers and communities in WPS territory are looking to renewable energy to support new jobs and manage their energy costs, the company is doing its level best to take that option away from them,” Vickerman said.

As an intervenor in WPS’s rate case, RENEW Wisconsin will ask the Public Service Commission to:
• Reject WPS’s proposal to impose a system-wide cap on net metering service;
• Maintain the current maximum system size at 100 kW; and
• Base WPS’s calculation of net energy on annual usage instead of monthly usage.

“What we will ask for is a standard of service that is already offered by two Wisconsin utilities: Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) and Xcel Energy,” Vickerman said. “WPS’s proposal is a particularly egregious example of company backsliding.”

Vickerman noted that MGE, which also has a pending rate proceeding before the Public Service Commission, did not propose any changes to its net metering service for 2013 and 2014.

 “We urge the PSC to work toward a uniform net metering policy for the state using MGE’s and Xcel’s service as a template,” Vickerman said.

Vickerman added: “WPS, it should be remembered, was the driving force behind the “Outsource Renewable Energy to Canada Act,” which was signed into law in 2011. That law lets utilities apply the energy they purchase from large Canadian hydropower sources toward their renewable energy requirements, at the expense of in-state renewable energy providers. Within that context, WPS’s net metering proposal constitutes another slight to Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace.”

END 

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that leads and represents businesses and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

RENEW Wisconsin seeks nominations for board of directors

Call for nominations to RENEW Wisconsin board of directors

RENEW Wisconsin invites you to put yourself or another current RENEW member on the ballot for elections to a three-year term on the board of directors.

Your participation would help shape policies and programs to help lead and represent businesses, organizations, and individuals who seek more clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin.

As a board member, you can have fun and contribute to moving RENEW closer to achieving these solar, wind, and bio-energy goals in 2012:

• Organize stakeholders to articulate public policy messages on clean energy;
• Increase funding for renewable energy in the Focus on Energy program;
• Take the lead on wind permitting issues in Wisconsin;
• Advance third-party ownership of clean renewable energy systems;
• Overhaul and promote consistent net energy billing policies statewide;
• Revive utility commitments to expand renewable energy;
• Promote attractive renewable energy buyback policies;
• Defend and repair Wisconsin's 10% Renewable Energy Standard.

The board meets four times each year.   Board members are expected to be actively engaged and to volunteer for at least one standing committee.

There are four board seats that will become available in July.  Here’s the schedule for the elections: 

• May 25    Deadlines for nominations
• June 5     Deadline for submitting a short statement (50-100 words) to appear on the ballot describing yourself and your interest in serving on the RENEW board
• June 11    Elections open
• June 22    Elections close
• June 26    Candidates notified
• July 5       Elected members attend board meeting

A member of the board of directors must be a member of RENEW.  To join RENEW, click here.

To submit a nomination of get more information, contact M ick Sagrillo by email (msagrillo@wizunwired.net) or phone, 920 .837.7523.

PSC Issues Flawed Decision on Renewable Energy

Immediate release
April 16, 2012

More information
Michael Vickerman
Director, Programs and Policy
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Statement of RENEW Wisconsin  PSC Issues Flawed Decision on Renewable Energy Incentives Will Favor Biogas and Biomass, Penalize Solar, Small Wind
In deciding last Friday on a new approach to funding renewable energy systems through the Focus on Energy program, the Public Service Commission (PSC) reserved the bulk of the incentives for energy systems using (1) biogas from agriculture and industrial operations; (2) biomass combustion; and (3) geothermal heat pumps. In so doing, it consigned solar and small wind to a minor role for the next couple of years.

The PSC’s decision came more nine months after Focus on Energy’s program administrator announced in June 2011 that it would temporarily discontinue awarding incentives to renewable energy systems beginning that July. Systems approved for incentives prior to that time were allowed to go forward.

Beginning in 2012, the PSC will impose a $10 million cap on program outlays dedicated to renewable energy in a given year. The percentage of that amount that flows to energy producers in the form of incentives has not been determined. Shortly after the Friday open meeting, the agency issued a statement which can be accessed at http://psc.wi.gov/pdffiles/News%20Releases/2012/04%20April/04132012RenewablesPlan.pdf.

The following represents RENEW Wisconsin’s reaction to the new Focus on Energy policy on funding renewable energy systems. For the record, RENEW Wisconsin’s advocacy was a driving force behind the creation of Focus on Energy renewable energy program in 2002.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“We wish we could be more supportive of the long-overdue action the Commission took last Friday, but unfortunately it is flawed in at least one key respect, and the result will be a very unbalanced resource portfolio going forward,” said Michael Vickerman, RENEW’s director of programs and policy.

“The biggest problem with the new policy is that it reserves three-quarters of available funds for biogas, biomass and geothermal heat pump systems while limiting funding for solar and small wind projects to only one-third of the program budget for biogas and biomass energy. Under the new policy, the amount awarded to biogas, biomass, and geothermal determines the overall funding level for renewables.”

“Let’s do the math. If it’s a good year for biogas, biomass, and geothermal, and enough applications come in to obligate in full the $7,500,000 reserved for this category, then solar and small wind could receive the remaining funds up to $2,500,000. But if biogas, biomass, and geothermal have an off year and only $3,000,000 worth of applications is approved, the share that remains for solar and small wind shrinks to $1,000,000.”

“We are strong supporters of biogas and biomass energy systems, but this allocation goes too far in that direction. Even under the best-case scenario, solar and small wind will see a significant reduction of incentive support.”

“Whether intended or not, the PSC’s funding formula effectively picks winners and losers going forward. Although state law directs the PSC to place a higher priority on non-combustible renewables than on combustibles, this policy does the reverse.”

“As long as funding for solar and small wind systems remains contingent on outlays for biomass, biogas, and geothermal, uncertainty and instability will prevail in that market segment. Administering this aspect of the Focus on Energy program will present a number of challenges. ”

“We believe this problem flows from the PSC’s continuing difficulties in fairly evaluating the cost-effectiveness of non-combustible renewables. Basically, the PSC treats those resources as though they were an expensive form of energy efficiency. But small, non-combustible renewables and energy efficiency are different animals, yielding very different outcomes and benefit streams. Small-scale renewables are clean and homegrown energy sources. The PSC’s test for determining cost-effectiveness in large part ignores those attributes,” Vickerman said.

END

Session wrap-up: Wind lives! Bad bills stopped!

A wrap-up of the 2011-2012 legislative session from Michael Vickerman:

As RENEW Wisconsin’s new Program and Policy Director, I would like to report on recent results of the 2011-2012 legislative session. Though the session as a whole presented Wisconsin’s renewable energy community with unprecedented challenges and a few setbacks1, we were able to fend off a number of bad proposals in the final days. Had these proposals been adopted, Wisconsin’s ability to support and host investments in renewable energy would have been permanently damaged.

Wind-siting
As you probably know, the Legislature adjourned March 16 without taking any follow-up action on the wind siting rule (PSC 128). In doing so, the Legislature allowed the rule, which had been in a state of suspension for more than a year, to take effect. PSC 128 is now in effect, and it can’t be suspended by future Legislatures. More than four years has elapsed since RENEW spearheaded the process of forging a coalition (initially called the “Campaign for Sensible Wind Permitting”) to pass a bill requiring uniform standards for permitting wind turbines. Much blood, sweat and tears went into that legislative campaign (renamed “Wind for Wisconsin”) which culminated in the passage of 2009 Act 40 with bipartisan support. Then followed the drafting and redrafting of the siting rule itself, which proved to be more difficult process than we had first imagined.

Nevertheless, the PSC issued a strict but workable rule in December 2010. Even though what had emerged from the rulemaking process was a product of compromise and deliberation, the rule came under fire virtually the moment the Legislature convened in January 2011. After holding a stacked-deck hearing in February, the Legislature suspended PSC 128 on March 1, the day the rule was to take effect. Shortly thereafter, antiwind legislators circulated bills to repeal the rule outright (SB 50 and AB 72).

On a separate track, Sen. Frank Lasee, a Republican from Brown County, introduced a series of bills aimed at permanently crippling the wind industry in Wisconsin. Though these bills went nowhere, they succeeded in presenting an unwelcoming face to wind developers, and they responded by suspending or cancelling about a half dozen prospects throughout the state.

By March this year, it seemed to us that the momentum had shifted in our favor. Since the suspension of PSC 128, more than 17 or so newspapers had written editorials decrying the destructive nature of Lasee’s jihad and reiterated their support for a clear and consistently applied permitting process – exactly what PSC 128 rule was intended to provide. The signals coming from the legislative leadership strongly suggested that none of the antiwind bills referred to committee, including SB 50, the senate bill to permanently repeal PSC 128 and direct the PSC to issue a new rule , would be scheduled for a floor vote in the final two weeks of session.

But something happened around March 1st that changed the political calculus, and to everyone’s surprise, SB 50 appeared on the Senate calendar for the week of March 5. Theories abound as to why Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald reversed himself and allowed SB 50, which the wind industry viewed as the functional equivalent of a death warrant, onto the Senate floor. Unconfirmed reports attribute this last-minute switcheroo to extreme pressure that Sen. Lasee and his allies (former senator Bob Welch, now lobbyist for the Brown County antiwind group, and the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which had contributed generously to Republican office-seekers in the fall 2010 elections) exerted on Sen. Fitgerald.

When the Senate took the floor that Tuesday, the outlook looked grim. It appeared that the antiwind faction had at least the minimum 17 votes required to pass the bill. Wind energy supporters had little time to turn an unpromising situation around and build a firewall of support. But in those few hours they succeeded in denying Sen. Lasee the 17th vote he needed to send this bill to the Assembly. The following day, Lasee admitted defeat, and SB 50 was referred back to committee, a startling turnaround from the situation 24 hours earlier. The bill stayed there until its death the following Thursday, when the State Senate gaveled itself into the history books.

Notwithstanding PSC 128’s roller coaster ride culminating in the late-session cliffhanger vote that staved off its repeal, Wisconsin can now say, for the first time since 2007, that it is open for business in the wind energy development arena.

We are indebted to the law firm of Cullen, Weston Pines and Bach for their heroic efforts in keeping wind development alive in Wisconsin. Special thanks are in order for Lee Cullen, Jeff Vercauteren, Curt Pawlisch, and Chris Kunkle for building a firewall of support for PSC 128 that held firm under the extreme pressure applied by antiwind forces.

Further information on wind siting: RENEW Cheers End of Wind Siting Impasse
March 16, 2012

Legislature lets wind turbine placement rules stand
March 19, 2012

AB 146 (Extending the Life of Unused Renewable Energy Credits) Under current law, a Wisconsin electric provider can bank an unused Renewable Energy Credit (REC) for up to four years before using it to comply with Wisconsin’s Renewable Energy Standard. If not used within that four-year window, the REC expires. Last May, a bill was introduced (AB 146) to eliminate the shelf life of an unused REC. Passage of this bill would allow REC’s to be bankable into perpetuity, which would have the effect of diminishing the need for new sources of renewable electricity.

The Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee held a hearing on the bill in September. Among those in support of AB 146 were Wisconsin Utilities Association and various individual utilities. Among those joining RENEW in opposition to the bill were the American Wind Energy Association, Wind on the Wires and several independent wind developers; Wisconsin Counties Association; several private waste haulers; Dairy Business Association; Clean Wisconsin; Sierra Club; Citizens Utility Board, and the American Lung Association in Wisconsin. As events unfolded, the committee never did vote on AB 146. The bill died last Thursday, and is not likely to be resurrected in 2013.

Allowing Third-Party Sales of Energy to Host Customers In an effort to expand and invigorate small-scale renewables in Wisconsin, RENEW asked two legislators (Rep. Gary Tauchen of Bonduel and Rep. Chris Taylor of Madison) to sponsor the drafting of legislation to authorize sales of energy from third party-owned renewable energy systems to host customers. The legislation would accomplish that objective by exempting renewable energy systems that serve the owners of the premises where they’re located from being regulated as public utilities. The exemption would be narrowly constructed to restrict the sale of that energy only to the host customer or the local utility.

Last Thursday, the Legislative Reference Bureau produced a revised bill draft that appears to be ready for introduction ... next year, when a new Legislature is convened. In the meantime, RENEW plans to solicit support for this bill from such influential constituencies as farm groups, local governments, WMC, and large commercial enterprises. While the utilities may not support this kind of legislation, they could decide not to oppose the bill, especially if we build a bipartisan coalition of supporters.

1 In June, the Legislature took two steps back on renewable energy policy. First, it passed a bill watering down the state’s Renewable Energy Standard by allowing large-scale Canadian hydroelectric generation to become eligible renewable energy generators. Later that month, the Legislature approved a substantial cut to the annual budget of Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program. The budget for 2012 will be $20 million less than last year’s budget, which will diminish the supply of financial incentives available to support customer-sited renewable energy systems.

We have to move "so fast" to get to 100% renewables

Leslie Glustrom is the featured speaker at RENEW's Energy Policy Summit, January 13, Madison. Read the report that she mentions about 11 minutes into the interview. Get details and register for the Summit at the Summit Web page.

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 --

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.

RENEW asks PSC to stop We Energies' termination of renewable program

From the testimony of RENEW presented by Michael Vickerman, who draws attention to the fact that We Energies is trying to defund its $6 million/year renewable energy development program without any justification. In fact We Energies doesn't say anything about their actions. RENEW asks the PSC not to sanction this sleight of hand maneuver:

Q. What is the purpose of your testimony?
A. The purpose of my testimony is to discuss the May 2011 decision by We Energies to cancel a 10-year, $60 million commitment to support renewable energy development in its service territory. . . .

My testimony includes a recommendation to the Commission that it not allow We Energies to reallocate in 2012 the $6 million per year it had committed to spend on renewable energy development activities for other purposes. . . .

Q. What elements of We Energies’ Renewable Energy Development program do you consider to be particularly successful?
A. Several of We Energies’ customer incentives and tariffs were unique in the way they complemented Focus on Energy’s renewable energy program. For example, We Energies was the first utility to: (1) offer a solar energy-specific buyback rate; (2) increase the net energy billing capacity ceiling for small wind systems generators to 100 kW; and (3) support renewable energy-specific conferences and events such as Solar Decade held in Milwaukee. Perhaps the most innovative element in We Energies’ program, however, was its special incentive for nonprofit customers seeking to install renewable energy systems. Every three months, We Energies would solicit proposals from schools, religious institutions, local governments, nature centers and other nonprofit entities to co-fund new renewable energy systems on their premises. This We Energies incentive supplemented Focus on Energy grants and cash-back awards. It was designed to overcome the inability of these nonprofit entities to capture federal renewable energy tax credits to offset their own system acquisition costs. As a result of this unique incentive, there are more renewable energy systems serving nonprofit customers in We Energies territory than in any other utility territory. This initiative has an educational component to it as well; We Energies posts real-time production data from these systems on its web site.

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.

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. 

Funding Hiatus Darkens Outlook for In-State Renewables

Immediate release
July 5, 2011

More information
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Funding Hiatus Darkens Outlook for In-State Renewables

For the first time in its 11-year history, Focus on Energy is no longer accepting applications from Wisconsin businesses and nonprofit entities seeking to install renewable energy systems. This new policy took effect July 1.

According to Focus on Energy officials, this suspension of financial incentives is necessary to balance demand for renewable energy systems with available funds. In 2009, Focus on Energy allocated approximately $10 million to support customer-sited renewable energy systems. More than half of that allocation went to businesses, farmers, local governments, schools, and nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

“We recognize that Focus on Energy officials have a responsibility to ensure that outflows don’t exceed revenues. However, this suspension could not have occurred at a worse time for Wisconsin’s renewable energy contractors,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin.

“Unfortunately, this move coincides with Milwaukee-based We Energies’ decision to walk away from an agreement with RENEW Wisconsin to commit $60 million over a 10-year period to develop renewable energy within its territory,” Vickerman said. ‘We Energies disclosed its unilateral action in May, barely more than halfway into honoring its commitment.”

“Given the adverse environment for renewable energy right now in Wisconsin, we hope that the interruption amounts to nothing more than a brief timeout,” said Vickerman.

“Unless funding is restored quickly, 2012 will turn out to be a very lean year for contractors and installers,” Vickerman warned.

As of this moment, the renewable energy marketplace is bristling with new installations. Installations to be completed this summer with incentives from Focus on Energy include:
• Two small wind turbines serving a Monroe County cranberry grower;
• A solar hot water system serving a new apartment building next to the Hilldale shopping complex in Madison;
• Side-by-side solar hot water and electric installations atop a new classroom building at the UW-Oshkosh;
• An engine generator fed with biogas derived from the City of Appleton’s wastewater treatment plant.

However, without a fresh supply of Focus-funded projects, Wisconsin’s renewable energy development pipeline will slow to a trickle, forcing contractors and installers to either seek work in other states or lay off employees.

Wisconsin has more than 2,500 customer-sited renewable energy installations, the vast majority of which received either financial incentives or facilitation services from Focus on Energy. In total, these installations have a generating capacity of about 20 megawatts.

END

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.

Small businesses hit hard by cuts and changes in Focus on Energy

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.

120 businesses urge funding support for job creation through energy efficiency and renewable energy

From an article by Charles Davis in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

Thousands of future jobs are at stake if Gov. Scott Walker doesn't veto a provision in the state budget that limits funding for the Focus on Energy program, local business leaders said Wednesday.

"I see it being a real detriment to our business and our customers going forward if we don't have these funding increases," said Jeff Klonowski, regional manager of Kaukauna-based Energy Federation Inc., which supplies lighting fixtures, foam and weather-stripping materials to area contractors.

But supporters of the provision object to the amount of the funding increase, not the program.

"The Focus on Energy program certainly had a lot of benefits, but the huge increase in assessments that were put in place at the end of last year, we think, were too much, too soon," said Scott Manley, director of environmental and energy policy for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business lobby.

Walker received a letter Wednesday signed by more than 120 businesses asking that he veto that provision in the state budget bill. His office responded with a one-line statement: "We'll evaluate that provision and make any veto-related announcements once the decisions have been finalized."

The program
The statewide Focus on Energy program is funded by tax assessments on utility bills and provides grants to help homeowners and businesses pay for energy-efficient upgrades. It also helps pay for consultants to advise property owners on which type of upgrades would be practical and cost-effective. Each year, utility companies contribute 1.2 percent of revenue — about $100 million total — to the program.

The state Public Service Commission proposed in December raising the utility bill assessments from $94 million in 2010 to $256 million by 2014.

The proposal calls for utilities to increase their contributions to $120 million this year. That amount is fixed even if Walker does not veto the provision. However, assessments would drop to around $100 million in 2012, instead of the initial proposed increase of $160 million for that year.

Image by Clean Wisconsin

Giving perpetual life to renewable energy credits makes no sense

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
JUNE 7, 2011

CONTACT:
SHAINA KILCOYNE
(608) 251-0101
KILCOYNE@CWPB.COM

Giving perpetual life to renewable energy credits makes no sense

Wisconsin Assembly Bill 146 would give Renewable Energy Credits, which can now be “banked” for 4 years, perpetual life.

Supporters of AB-146 claim the primary justification for the bill is that it will save ratepayers money. However, their view of our state’s energy needs does not bear up under analysis. Instead, it is now clear that the bill is an attack on longstanding, bipartisan clean energy policy in our state.

The Wisconsin Energy Business Association asks lawmakers to oppose any further efforts to advance this misguided bill. By allowing unlimited banking of renewable energy credits, the bill would place us at risk of skyrocketing energy costs and would cost Wisconsin jobs and economic investment.

The Bill Would Increase Our Reliance on Costly and Risky Fossil Fuels
Significant rate increases in our state over the past decade have been driven by the cost of new coal plants and expensive retrofits to keep old, inefficient coal plants running, including over $2 billion on coal plant retrofits over the past six years alone. Renewable energy provides an important hedge against increased energy costs, as well as fossil fuel price and security volatility.

Currently, Wisconsin gets over 70 percent of our energy from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. This unbalanced portfolio places our state at risk of price fluctuations, supply disruptions, and regulatory risks. Further, it forces our state to rely almost entirely on out-of-state sources of energy as we have no fossil fuels in Wisconsin. Diversifying our energy portfolio is just sound risk management.

The Bill is Unnecessary and Out of Line with Other States
Wisconsin’s renewable energy standard already contains adequate safeguards for ratepayers. Utilities and ratepayer organizations have the power under existing law to request a waiver or delay of renewable energy purchases. In the entire history of our renewable energy standard, no utility or organization has exercised that right. If there were truly cost concerns with renewable energy, that power certainly would have been exercised.