Small Businesses Request Resumption of Renewable Energy Support

For immediate release
January 31, 2012

Small Businesses Request Resumption of Renewable Energy Support

Over 150 small businesses, organizations, schools, and local officials appealed to the Public Service Commission (PSC) to restore full funding for a nationally recognized renewable energy program that reduces the cost of solar, wind, and biomass installations for Wisconsin utility customers.

In an open letter delivered to the PSC yesterday, the signers asked the PSC to “to exercise its oversight authority over Focus on Energy and restore funding, without delay, for renewables at a level consistent with previous years’ allocations.”

The impetus for the open letter arose from RENEW Wisconsin’s Energy Policy Summit held two weeks ago in Madison. At the summit, the 140 people who participated asked RENEW to make Focus on Energy funding restoration its highest policy priority for 2012.

Focus on Energy suspended its support for customer-sited renewable energy systems last July, when rising demand for renewables outstripped available funds. The program administrator said that incentives will be resumed later this year, but no firm timeline has been set.

“This problem needs to be fixed as expeditiously as possible before the funding interruption permanently damages Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace,” said Michael Vickerman, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide, nonprofit renewable energy advocacy organization.

“A number of renewable energy installers and contractors are already feeling the effects of the funding hiatus, and the result is less new hiring and potential layoffs down the road. However, we remain optimistic that once funding is restored renewable energy development will once again become a dynamic economic sector and a source of new jobs here in Wisconsin,” said Vickerman.

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.

Mpower Business ChaMpions: It's all about sustainability

Focus on Energy Announces Residential Program Implementation Firms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MADISON, WI. (October 3, 2011) – Focus on Energy, Wisconsin Utilities’ statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy, today announced the selection of the following firms to implement seven residential energy efficiency programs:

• Prescriptive Incentive Program: Resource Solutions Group (RSG)
• Appliance Recycling Program: JACO Environmental
• Single Family and Multi-Family Direct Install Program: Conservation Services Group (CSG)
• Multi-Family Comprehensive Program: Franklin Energy
• Single Family Comprehensive Upgrade Program: Conservation Services Group (CSG)
• Upstream Lighting and Appliance (Retailer) Program: Applied Proactive Technology (APT)
• Low-Moderate Income Program: Resource Solutions Group (RSG) and Conservation Services Group (CSG)

“We are excited to begin working with these firms to reduce costs, serve more customers, expand program offerings and create jobs for the citizens of Wisconsin,” said William S. Haas, project manager for Focus on Energy.

Program implementers were selected by a bid evaluation team, which included representatives from Focus on Energy’s program administrator, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and a utility representative appointed by the Statewide Energy Efficiency and Renewable Administration. The process was open to all qualified bidders with winners selected based on their capabilities, project experience, program approach and cost effectiveness.

Focus on Energy will work with customers and the current program implementers to ensure a smooth transition to the new implementers where applicable. The new residential energy efficiency programs will launch on Janunary 1, 2012. Please visit www.focusonenergy.com to receive program details as they become available.

10 types of companies that consume the most electricity

From an article posted on Compare Electricity Rates:

1.Chemicals – Fertilizers and pesticides are among the main processed-chemicals that require huge amounts of power to produce and transport.
2.Petroleum – The U.S. refines nearly a quarter of all the world’s crude oil at nearly 150 refineries across the country, and these refineries consume incredible amounts of power.
3.Paper Industry – The United States would be lost without paper products, and is the world’s leading producer of paper, another industry that is energy-intensive.
4.All that Glitters – All that glitters may not be gold, but America is one of the global leaders in the production of cast-metal, the industry that brings us such life-staples as cookware and faux Christmas trees.
5.Planes, Trains and Automobiles. . . – . . .and trucks and buses and ships, et.al. The transportation industry uses more than 25% of all the energy produced in the country, and waning supplies of fossil fuels have necessitated an accelerated changeover to alternative fuel sources, including electricity.
6.Heating, Ventilation and Cooling – The heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) industry used to involve nothing more than fireplaces, blocks of ice and strategically placed doors, windows and porches, but today’s industry requires large amounts of power on a national scale.
7.Appliances – We like our clothes kept clean, and we like our food kept cold until we cook it in our self-cleaning ovens, and the appliances we use to attain these goals use up a lot of power to make and to use.
8.Electronics – Televisions, computers, track-lights, alarm systems and hundreds of other devices fill our domestic world, and every blinking little red light means power is being used.
9.Commercial Buildings – A store or warehouse uses a lot of electricity whether it is open or not, and most other commercial buildings require significant amounts of power to heat, cool and secure.
10.Construction Industry – Even during construction slowdowns the industry consumes power at a great rate, and industry up-ticks use even more power as more projects are generated.

Cool Choices takes on climate change through voluntary action

From an article by Marianne English on TheDailyPage.com:

Kathy Kuntz approaches climate change with one goal in mind: Whatever you do, make combating it fun, popular and easy.

In fact, when Kuntz and her colleague rolled out the first pilot program for their nonprofit Cool Choices on Earth Day in April, the term climate change didn't even come up.

"Our core quest is to facilitate people making changes that reduce their emissions by using what's already available," says Kuntz, the group's executive director. "The way to motivate that is not through long discussion about climate change and its global impacts, but leveraging people's local interest in saving money and protecting the environment."

This mentality separates Cool Choices from other environmental groups, even those Kuntz has worked for in the past. Rather than lobby for policy changes, Cool Choices focuses on curbing greenhouse emissions through voluntary action by businesses and communities.

Headquartered in an office just off Midvale Boulevard, Cool Choices came into existence in 2009. It was created to promote voluntary sustainability by former Gov. Jim Doyle's Climate Change Task Force: a group of academics, energy industry leaders, environmental groups and politicians.

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

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.

Walker's "green" rules killing energy efficiency programs and sending renewable energy projects to other states

From an article by Clay Barbour in the Wisconsin State Journal:

In the past six months, three wind farm developers with a combined investment of more than $600 million have stopped operations in Wisconsin — victims of regulatory uncertainty and what some now perceive as a hostile business environment for “green” energy.

The wind farms — planned for Calumet, Brown and Green Lake counties — would have created more than 1,100 jobs and helped Wisconsin reach its goal of generating 10 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2015.

But new wind regulations, more than two years in the making, were shelved as the Public Service Commission works on a more restrictive set. Combined with a series of initiatives pushed through by Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-led Legislature, industry officials and environmental advocates say Wisconsin seems more concerned with making green than being green.

“In a typical year, you win some and you lose some. It’s about a 50-50 breakdown,” said Jennifer Giegerich, legislative director for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters. “But this year, it has been one loss after another. We are going backwards, fast. And it’s scary. . . .”

Currently the Public Service Commission is holding meetings with advocates and opponents, trying to iron out a compromise. Neither side wants to start from scratch, but PSC officials said they are at a standstill.

“The uncertainty is killing us,” said Dan Rustowicz, of Minnesota’s Redwind Consulting, a company trying to develop a wind farm in Buffalo County. “It’s a shame because Wisconsin has good wind. But we have other options. If you don’t have the political support here, why try and push that rope?”

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

Industrial model is stunningly ineffective in the commercial and residential sectors

From an article by William Pentland in Forbes:

Sheboygan Falls, a modestly-sized city of about 7,600 residents in northeast Wisconsin, is not commonly considered to be a hot-spot for clean-technology start-ups or a haven for green-minded consumers.

And yet Sheboygan Falls boasts the single largest ‘operational’ smart-grid program operated by an electric utility in the United States, according to the results of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) “2010 Demand Response and Advanced Metering Survey.”

The survey, which FERC conducts biannually, gathers data on demand-response programs and advanced metering “from 3,454 entities in all 50 states and representing all aspects of the electricity delivery industry.”

According to the most recent iteration of the survey, the municipally-owned utility in Sheboygan Falls reported potential peak power demand reductions of 2,700 megawatts (MW), more than three times the amount of potential peak demand – 874 MWs – reduced by the second largest program, which is operated by Chicago, IL-based Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd).

FERC defines “demand response” as:

Changes in electric use by demand-side resources from their normal consumption patterns in response to changes in the price of electricity, or to incentive payments designed to induce lower electricity use at times of high wholesale market prices or when system reliability is jeopardized.

Here is the problem. Sheboygan Falls reduced peak power demand by curtailing electric service provided to a single customer – a large, industrial wood-flour grinder. By contrast, ComEd manages a demand-response program for more than 650,000 customers in the residential sector, which is among the largest programs in the country.

Budget commitee slashes energy efficiency funding

From an article by Mike Ivey in The Capital Times:

Cuts to key environmental programs continue in Wisconsin, with a sharp reduction in future funding for Focus on Energy, a statewide energy efficiency effort.

On a party-line vote Tuesday, the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee rolled back the budget for Focus on Energy to less than $100 million annually. The monies come from a tax on electric utility revenues and are distributed to businesses and individuals for energy savings projects.

The Focus on Energy program has been administered over the past years by the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp., a Madison-based non-profit. But the contract was awarded earlier this year to the Shaw Group, a Baton Rouge, La., firm with offices in Milwaukee.

The Public Service Commission in November 2010 had proposed new energy savings goals for Focus on Energy by hiking the utility assessment. Those budgets were then approved by the Democratic majority in Joint Finance and would have upped money in the program from $120 million in 2011 to $256 million by 2014.

But with the committee action, funding for Focus on Energy will remain flat for the foreseeable future.

Co-chairman Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, led opposition to the increase, calling it a redistribution of utility ratepayer dollars.

Launched in 2001, Focus on Energy has helped residents and businesses save nearly $2 billion on their energy bills, supporters of the program say.

PSC chairperson highlights Focus on Energy achievements on Earth Day

A news release from the PSC:

MADISON – Public Service Commission Chairperson Phil Montgomery today marked Earth Day by recognizing the achievements of the Focus on Energy program, which for 10 years has worked successfully with businesses and residents across Wisconsin to advance renewable energy projects and efficient energy use.

“Using energy wisely means saving money, cutting pollution and increasing the reliability of our utility services,” Chairperson Montgomery said. “I want to thank Focus on Energy for being part of a balanced approach and making significant gains that make Wisconsin a better place to live and do business.”

Focus on Energy programs saved Wisconsin approximately 2.8 million megawatt hours and $380 million in energy costs in 2010. In turn, emissions were reduced as follows: 8.7 million fewer pounds of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide; 10.7 million fewer pounds of sulfur dioxide; 6.65 billion fewer pounds of carbon dioxide and 42 fewer pounds of mercury.

The Public Service Commission oversees the Focus on Energy program, which was created in 2001 and is supported by an independent fund established by utilities and their ratepayers.

More about Focus on Energy, including information on participating and a library of product and equipment data, fact sheets, case studies, technology updates, industry best practices and more, can be found at: www.focusonenergy.com.

Earth Day Economics: A Green and Prosperous Future

From an article in the Shepherd Express by Doug Booth, a retired Marquette University economics professor, a founder of the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, and author of The Coming Good Boom: Creating Prosperity for All and Saving the Environment Through Compact Living:

The astounding success of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, under the tutelage of a true Wisconsin hero, Sen. Gaylord Nelson, marked the coming of age of the environmental movement in this country. Environmental victories in the 1970s included the passage of such landmark legislation as the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts. Earth Day ushered in a new environmental era, and today the quality of our lives is much improved for it.

Unfortunately, our work remains unfinished.

Our single greatest environmental threat today is global warming brought to us by the burning of fossil fuels to power our cars, heat our homes, grow our food and fabricate and operate all our wonderful consumer gadgets. Scientists tell us that greenhouse gases from fossil fuels act like a "tea cozy" around the Earth, bringing forth dangerous environmental harms reported in the news on a daily basis—a shrinking polar ice cap, rising sea levels, more powerful storms, droughts and wildfires.

Reducing Fossil Fuel Consumption
Bringing global warming to a halt can be accomplished with a simple act—freeing ourselves from the environmental tyranny of fossil fuels. Some will say this is easier said than done, but doing so will bring on what I call a "good boom" that will lift all our boats. The "good boom" will be an economic expansion created through compact urban living, clean energy, more grassland and less corn, green cuisine, letting forests grow old and more. It will also help us address global warming. . . .

Wind and Solar Are the Future's Power Sources
Necessary to moving beyond fossil fuels is a switch to truly clean sources of renewable energy. Notwithstanding Gov. Scott Walker's attempt to bring wind energy to a screeching halt with onerous regulations, both wind and sun are the primary energy sources of the future. For example, California lawmakers recently approved a rule requiring utilities to derive one-third of their power from renewable energy sources within 10 years. As we do more of anything in our economy, its cost inevitably falls. This is happening already for both wind and solar energy. The Great Plains is on track to becoming the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, and throughout the Midwest industrial belt, old factories are quickly being refitted to produce wind generators and solar panels. Despite the naysayers, the wind and solar energy revolution is under way, bringing forth an abundance of new jobs—windsmiths, solar panel installers, weatherization specialists, solar engineers, wind and solar equipment fabricators and, here in Milwaukee, urban farmers.

To be sure, the fossil fuel industry will resist going quietly and will defend to the death its right to pollute the atmosphere without cost. Eventually, the industry will lose this battle and will pay the public piper through some form of a tax on greenhouse gas emissions.

Impromptu ACEEE Summer Study review, August 31

Since quite a few people in the Madison area energy community were able to make it to the ACEEE Summer Study it was suggested that it would a good idea to have a little get together and share event highlights. So, the Madison’s AESP chapter will be hosting an impromptu discussion in WECC’s board room tomorrow Tuesday, August 31. It should be a fun time.

Tuesday, August 31
431 Charmany Dr.
Food/drink/social: 5:30-6:00
Discussion:6:00-7:30

For more information please read the attached official invite.

RSVP is not required, but appreciated for food/drink planning. The
event will be free.

Kristopher Steege-Reimann, LC, LEED Green Associate
3001 Hermina St
Madison, WI 53714
608.886.7058
reimannk@gmail.com

Juneau rejects energy grant

From an article by Paul Marose in the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen:

JUNEAU - Government grants offer opportunity, but opportunity can come at a cost.

Tuesday night, the Juneau City Council unanimously overturned its earlier approval of a $25,600 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce because the cost of compliance appeared to outweigh the benefits of the grant.

"We can't afford it," summarized Mayor Ron Bosak.

"We'd have to pay up front and there's no guarantee it would pay us back," said Ward 2 Alderman John Schuster.

On June 8, the council voted to accept the grant money, stating in a resolution it would, "assist in financing the proposed energy conservation project to replace interior and exterior lighting with fluorescent and LED lighting for the city garage... community center... and city hall."

At that time, city street superintendent Chad Stange told the council, "we got a contract from the state and they'll send us the rules and regulations needed to procure the products and services for this project.

"Everything is moving smoothly, but at a snail's pace," he said.

Tuesday all movement stopped.

"At the time the grant came out, it was not clear to the city that it was going to be a cost-reimbursement grant," said Juneau Clerk/Treasurer Gladys McKay-Lenius.

"We didn't budget for the anticipated costs and the return would come in energy savings over time," she said.

"It appears to be cost-prohibitive with an estimated return," McKay-Lenius said, adding it would take the staff a great deal of time to complete reports required to comply with grant standards.

Save serious money with a business energy audit

From an article by Elsa Wenzel on IT World:

August 3, 2010, 11:40 AM — PC World —
Sluggish sales and hard-to-get loans may blight the business landscape, but cutting energy waste can bring a big payoff to a small company. To shave liabilities off your profit-and-loss statement, aim to slash your power consumption instead of your workforce or the crucial projects that could help your company expand.

An energy audit creates a portrait of the energy demands that matter to your operations--as well as those you can do without--and it can lead to skinny electricity bills and fat tax breaks.

"We all have incentives to manage our utility bill, but many people don't try because they don't know how," says Geoff Overland, who runs IT and data-center programs for Wisconsin's statewide Focus on Energy program. "By efficiently managing our energy, we have an immediate impact on our bottom line."

The Oil Spill and You

From a commentary by Michael Vickerman:

Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
July 12, 2010

About 100 people gathered in downtown Madison in early July to take part in “Hands Across the Sands,” an internationally organized protest against continued oil drilling in and along the world’s coastal waters. Against the backdrop of the weed-choked waters of Lake Monona, they joined hands for 15 minutes to express their fervent desire to see a cleaner, less destructive energy future emerge from the liquid melanoma spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.

No doubt the protestors would like to do more, much more, than simply engage in ritualized protest in front of a few camera crews. But we live in a society that is organized around the expectation of a limitless supply of nonrenewable hydrocarbons feeding concentrated energy into our economic bloodstream. Most of us have not bothered to comprehend the yawning gulf that lies between our best intentions and our abject dependence on the wealth-producing properties of petroleum. Nor how this addiction fills us with delusions of godlike mastery over our environment while blinding us to the reality that we humans have grossly overshot our planet’s carrying capacity.

For those who read and still remember the science fiction classic Dune, the “spice” on Arrakis remains the quintessential literary analogy to the reality of Earth’s oil. Like our oil, the spice held a special place in that world as the ultimate prize worth waging wars and plundering hostile environments for. . . .

Need I mention that once you begin to appreciate the finitude of the Earth’s endowment of petroleum, there’s nothing to stop you from taking immediate steps to curb your personal consumption of this irreplaceable fuel. Whatever you do to lessen your dependence on petroleum will turn out to be a much more satisfying and meaningful response to our energy predicament than any canned protest promoted through Facebook.

As for myself, I made two resolutions since the Macondo well erupted. The first is to go through this summer without activating the household air-conditioner. So far, so good, I can report. (Luckily, we were spared the triple-digit temperature swelterfest that gripped the East Coast last week). It wasn’t that long ago that life without air-conditioning was the norm rather than the exception. If we all resolved not to turn on air-conditioners, we could force the retirement of two to three coal-fired plants in this state.

The other change was to ratchet up my reliance on my bicycle and make it the default vehicle for all my local travels, irrespective of weather conditions. I have been a fair-weather bicycle commuter for many years, but after watching everyone on TV blame someone else for the catastrophe, I felt the need to push myself a little harder. My objective here is to regard my car as a luxury that one day I might do without.

Though the extra perspiration and the occasional dodging of raindrops may take some getting used to, you are going to sleep better at night. Trust me on this.

If the oil spill has prompted a similar response from you, feel free to describe them and send them to the moderator of our Peak Oil blog or post them in a response.

Ten Wisconsin communities reaching energy independence

From a news release issued by Governor Jim Doyle on the success of the ten communities in Energy Independent (EI) Pilot -- Brown County; Chequamegon Bay (including the cities of Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn, the towns of Bayfield and La Pointe, the counties of Ashland and Bayfield, the Red Cliff tribe and the Bay Area Regional Transit authority); Columbus; Evansville; Fairfield; Marshfield; Oconomowoc; Osceola, including the school district; Platteville and Lancaster; Spring Green, including the school district:

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today announced ten Energy Independent (EI) Pilot Communities are well on their way toward achieving “25 x 25” – getting 25 percent of their electricity and 25 percent of their transportation fuels from renewable sources by 2025.

“Through the EI Pilot program communities have found ways to reduce their overall 2025 fossil fuel-based energy consumption by 30 percent,” said Governor Doyle. “This is significant considering we spend $16 billion on fossil fuel energy every year in Wisconsin, and all those dollars go outside of our state. We are finding ways to reduce our dependence
and generate jobs in Wisconsin.”

Two independent reports released by the Office of Energy Independence revealed how the ten EI Pilot Communities were able to accomplish 98 percent of their collective 25 x 25 goal.

The communities reduced their overall 2025 fossil fuel-based energy consumption by 30 percent and reduced their 2025 carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.

The information gathered by the EI Pilot Communities will assist Wisconsin local units of government including the 140 EI Communities to decide which strategies will work best with their unique assets and capitalize on the diversity of their resources.

The reports were conducted by two non-partisan research and policy organizations: the Local Government Institute and the Energy Center of Wisconsin.

Johnson Controls to host 'Clean Technology' Analyst Day

From a news release issued by Johnson Controls:

MILWAUKEE, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Johnson Controls, Inc. will hold a "clean technology" analyst day at its corporate headquarters in Glendale, Wisconsin on Thursday, June 10, 2010, beginning at 8 a.m.

The all-day event will provide an in-depth review of Johnson Controls clean technology offerings for commercial buildings and hybrid vehicles. Clean technology refers to products or services that improve operational performance, productivity, or efficiency while reducing costs, energy consumption, waste or pollution. Johnson Controls is the world's largest provider of energy efficiency solutions for commercial buildings and a leading provider of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles.

Presentations by executive management will be followed by four breakout sessions, providing an interactive, small-group environment on key topics. Breakout session subjects include: performance contracting / bundled solutions / renewable energy; the potential market impact of legislation and regulation on building energy efficiency and vehicle fuel efficiency; current and future HVAC energy efficiency technologies; and hybrid vehicle battery technologies.

The event is open to institutional investors. Attendance is limited to a maximum of 60 participants. For more information or to register to attend, please contact Glen Ponczak, executive director of investor relations, at 414-524-2375 or at Glen.L.Ponczak@jci.com.