In his first major environmental acts as president, Obama directed his Environmental Protection Agency to review a California application to regulate greenhouse gases and told his Department of Transportation to begin implementing fuel efficiency standards passed last year but not implemented by the Bush administration.
Obama, who has consistently urged U.S. automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars, is likely to accelerate the timeline for raising the nation's corporate average fuel economy for cars and trucks. The Transportation Department guidelines must be issued by April in order to affect the 2011 auto fleet.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Power Alternatives by Steve Prestegard, MarketPlace Magazine
marketplacemagazine.com
Innovation in energy has been part of Manitowoc’s history, dating back to when the city purchased its electric utility. Manitowoc — both the city and its businesses and institutions — is generating its own reputation today for innovation in alternative forms of energy.
"We’re sitting here in Manitowoc where we have a pretty interesting energy cluster," says Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford, who points out that the city purchased Manitowoc Public Utilities ("Power for their people," Marketplace, Feb. 27, 2001) in 1914 "so poor people could have electricity."
Today, Manitowoc is "the only city in Wisconsin that exports 25 megawatts of electricity" per day. MPU’s value has increased from an estimated $50.7 million in 1989 to an estimated $242.9 million in 2008.
The city’s role in renewable energy begins at MPU, where its coal-burning power plant also burns charcoal and paper pellets. MPU and other utilities are required to generate 10 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2015.
Several wind projects are in the works outside Manitowoc ("Wind power’s windfall," Marketplace, Dec. 2, 2008). But Manitowoc is the only city in Wisconsin that now allows wind generation projects up to 400 feet high to be built within the city limits.
"Many local governments busy themselves with political pandering rather than the facts regarding wind power," says Crawford. "This small city’s advocacy that will result in the installation of wind structures on the shore of Lake Michigan will hopefully not only expand our local and state ‘green’ economy, but also change the focus of wind generation discussions by ‘electeds’ from politics to renewable energy policy."
The impact of the wind energy industry extends not just to generating electricity in the Manitowoc area.
"We are home to a major cluster of impressive green manufacturing businesses: Tower Tech, a builder of wind towers; Orion Energy, in the business of energy efficiency and renewables; Manitowoc Cranes, building wind generation erection equipment; and the long list of organizations that support them," says Crawford. "Our location on the Niagara Escarpment coupled with the incredible wind plume generated by Lake Michigan make us not only a great place to build the key components of the wind industry, but also a great place to generate electricity using the wind as well."
The first company to take advantage of the new ordinance will be Orion Energy Systems ("Clean light," Marketplace, March 20, 2007), which will be installing a microturbine at its new corporate headquarters, expected to open in February.
Orion vice president Steve Heins says the company expects to be able to sell electricity back to Manitowoc Public Utilities. Orion’s manufacturing plant uses several of the company’s products and systems. Orion’s corporate headquarters, now under construction next to Orion’s Manitowoc plant, will include a technology management, demonstration and training center.
Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland has begun a Wind Energy Technology associate-degree program, designed to train installers and repairers of wind turbines. The first class, held last fall, attracted 25 students, 21 of whom are taking the second course this spring.
Lakeshore Tech has had a wind turbine on its campus since 2004. The technical college installed a photovoltaic solar project in 2007, with 70 kilowatt-hours of electricity — or the equivalent of the energy use of seven Northeast Wisconsin homes — generated between the wind turbine and the solar project, according to LTC officials.
The wind project, intended only as a demonstration, sparked the interest of an LTC student who wanted to work with its maintenance crew. Doug Lindsey, LTC’s dean of agriculture, apprenticeships, trade and industry, says the technical college created a one-credit course for the student.
Since a photo was taken of the student on Lakeshore Tech’s tower and the photo was transmitted to newspapers and Web sites via The Associated Press, "the phone still hasn’t stopped ringing," says Lindsey.
Twenty-five students took the first Wind Energy Technology course this past fall. Twenty-one of those students are moving on to the program’s second course this spring, in which students climb up a wind turbine for the first time. Another 10 to 12 students will be taking the introductory class of the 2½-year program this spring, Lindsey says.
LTC also is working with wind turbine manufacturers on training for the manufacturers’ employees. Lakeshore Tech first worked with Gamesa, a Spanish manufacturer with facilities near Milwaukee, on Occupational Safety and Health Administration training. The technical college now is working with Vestas, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer, to get two wind turbine sections for safety instruction and training, Lindsey says.
A study of wind power’s economic effects from the U.S. Department of Energy estimates the creation of 12 construction jobs and 34 operations jobs for every 100 megawatts of new wind energy construction. The same study estimates $296,000 of wages of construction workers and $1.23 million of operations wages for every 100 megawatts of new construction.
"The calculations would have us with well over 100,000 jobs in wind energy by 2030," says Lindsey.
Lakeshore Tech also is working with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College on a new nuclear technology program, funded by a $1 million three-year U.S. Department of Labor grant. The grant makes tuition free to students.
Lindsey says LTC is moving ahead on creating a photovoltaic-energy certification program. The college’s campus will have an interactive kiosk, duplicated on its Web site, www.gotoltc.edu, to show the amount of energy the college’s wind and photovoltaic plants are generating.
Both the wind energy and the nuclear programs include classes taught in LTC’s Electro-Mechanical Technology associate-degree program.
"It makes a bold statement about our community — I think Manitowoc is well planned to be the epicenter of renewable energies," says Crawford, who is leaving office in April after 20 years as Manitowoc’s mayor. "We’ve got amazingly skilled people, the shops that are necessary — it’s the right place. If you want to hang around inventive people who are working in this area already, they’re already here in Manitowoc."
Writer Lee Marie Reinsch contributed to this story.
Innovation in energy has been part of Manitowoc’s history, dating back to when the city purchased its electric utility. Manitowoc — both the city and its businesses and institutions — is generating its own reputation today for innovation in alternative forms of energy.
"We’re sitting here in Manitowoc where we have a pretty interesting energy cluster," says Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford, who points out that the city purchased Manitowoc Public Utilities ("Power for their people," Marketplace, Feb. 27, 2001) in 1914 "so poor people could have electricity."
Today, Manitowoc is "the only city in Wisconsin that exports 25 megawatts of electricity" per day. MPU’s value has increased from an estimated $50.7 million in 1989 to an estimated $242.9 million in 2008.
The city’s role in renewable energy begins at MPU, where its coal-burning power plant also burns charcoal and paper pellets. MPU and other utilities are required to generate 10 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2015.
Several wind projects are in the works outside Manitowoc ("Wind power’s windfall," Marketplace, Dec. 2, 2008). But Manitowoc is the only city in Wisconsin that now allows wind generation projects up to 400 feet high to be built within the city limits.
"Many local governments busy themselves with political pandering rather than the facts regarding wind power," says Crawford. "This small city’s advocacy that will result in the installation of wind structures on the shore of Lake Michigan will hopefully not only expand our local and state ‘green’ economy, but also change the focus of wind generation discussions by ‘electeds’ from politics to renewable energy policy."
The impact of the wind energy industry extends not just to generating electricity in the Manitowoc area.
"We are home to a major cluster of impressive green manufacturing businesses: Tower Tech, a builder of wind towers; Orion Energy, in the business of energy efficiency and renewables; Manitowoc Cranes, building wind generation erection equipment; and the long list of organizations that support them," says Crawford. "Our location on the Niagara Escarpment coupled with the incredible wind plume generated by Lake Michigan make us not only a great place to build the key components of the wind industry, but also a great place to generate electricity using the wind as well."
The first company to take advantage of the new ordinance will be Orion Energy Systems ("Clean light," Marketplace, March 20, 2007), which will be installing a microturbine at its new corporate headquarters, expected to open in February.
Orion vice president Steve Heins says the company expects to be able to sell electricity back to Manitowoc Public Utilities. Orion’s manufacturing plant uses several of the company’s products and systems. Orion’s corporate headquarters, now under construction next to Orion’s Manitowoc plant, will include a technology management, demonstration and training center.
Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland has begun a Wind Energy Technology associate-degree program, designed to train installers and repairers of wind turbines. The first class, held last fall, attracted 25 students, 21 of whom are taking the second course this spring.
Lakeshore Tech has had a wind turbine on its campus since 2004. The technical college installed a photovoltaic solar project in 2007, with 70 kilowatt-hours of electricity — or the equivalent of the energy use of seven Northeast Wisconsin homes — generated between the wind turbine and the solar project, according to LTC officials.
The wind project, intended only as a demonstration, sparked the interest of an LTC student who wanted to work with its maintenance crew. Doug Lindsey, LTC’s dean of agriculture, apprenticeships, trade and industry, says the technical college created a one-credit course for the student.
Since a photo was taken of the student on Lakeshore Tech’s tower and the photo was transmitted to newspapers and Web sites via The Associated Press, "the phone still hasn’t stopped ringing," says Lindsey.
Twenty-five students took the first Wind Energy Technology course this past fall. Twenty-one of those students are moving on to the program’s second course this spring, in which students climb up a wind turbine for the first time. Another 10 to 12 students will be taking the introductory class of the 2½-year program this spring, Lindsey says.
LTC also is working with wind turbine manufacturers on training for the manufacturers’ employees. Lakeshore Tech first worked with Gamesa, a Spanish manufacturer with facilities near Milwaukee, on Occupational Safety and Health Administration training. The technical college now is working with Vestas, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer, to get two wind turbine sections for safety instruction and training, Lindsey says.
A study of wind power’s economic effects from the U.S. Department of Energy estimates the creation of 12 construction jobs and 34 operations jobs for every 100 megawatts of new wind energy construction. The same study estimates $296,000 of wages of construction workers and $1.23 million of operations wages for every 100 megawatts of new construction.
"The calculations would have us with well over 100,000 jobs in wind energy by 2030," says Lindsey.
Lakeshore Tech also is working with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College on a new nuclear technology program, funded by a $1 million three-year U.S. Department of Labor grant. The grant makes tuition free to students.
Lindsey says LTC is moving ahead on creating a photovoltaic-energy certification program. The college’s campus will have an interactive kiosk, duplicated on its Web site, www.gotoltc.edu, to show the amount of energy the college’s wind and photovoltaic plants are generating.
Both the wind energy and the nuclear programs include classes taught in LTC’s Electro-Mechanical Technology associate-degree program.
"It makes a bold statement about our community — I think Manitowoc is well planned to be the epicenter of renewable energies," says Crawford, who is leaving office in April after 20 years as Manitowoc’s mayor. "We’ve got amazingly skilled people, the shops that are necessary — it’s the right place. If you want to hang around inventive people who are working in this area already, they’re already here in Manitowoc."
Writer Lee Marie Reinsch contributed to this story.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Lt. Governor Lawton: Green Entrepreneurship Series Launched at UW-Madison
MADISON - Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton today announced that for this spring semester, the Business, Environment and Social Responsibility (BESR) Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business will offer “Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship,” a Friday forum series designed to provide UW students and members of the community access to experts on clean technology and alternative energy.
“This new program will give bright entrepreneurs both the vision and tools they need to develop innovative strategies to address the opportunities of developing a green economy,” said Lawton. “Local economic growth and job creation begins with sustainable development. I applaud our UW-Madison School of Business and the campus’s Wiscontrepreneur initiative for targeting green innovators ready to grow new businesses right here.”
The forum series was motivated and inspired by Lawton’s Green Economy Agenda, an agenda to empower smart individual and institutional action related to energy, water and climate change while strengthening Wisconsin’s competitive position in a global economy
“I am approached again and again by people wanting to start up a clean tech or alternative energy business,” said Lawton, who will be the presenter at the Friday, March 27 forum. ”Now they can learn from green business experts who will share their experience – stories of the challenges they’ve met, trends they see and the successes they’ve realized in this growing sector. We want Wisconsin’s entrepreneurs poised to take advantage of the opportunities that can come with a new president who is committed to driving green-collar jobs creation.”
The “Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship” forums are free and open to the public. However, seating is limited and individuals must register at the following link if they want to attend:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=ptMGgmekZufxXmambvPG_dQ
“We are thankful for Lt. Governor Lawton bringing this idea to UW-Madison’s Wiscontrepreneur initiative, who in turn engaged Dr. Xun Pan, Assistant Professor of Bioenergy and Bioproducts Engineering in the Dept. of Biological Systems Engineering, and the BESR program,” said program co-director Tom Eggert. “We want to highlight some of our amazing entrepreneurs and offer them up as models for others that are seeking to address some of the challenges we are facing while also providing jobs and making money. This community forum is unique in the way it brings the community together with the professionals and students to hear from green business experts and start a dialogue.”
The first community forum is scheduled for Friday, January 30 at noon. UW-Madison professors Tom Eggert and Xuejun Pan will be providing a broad overview about cleantech and alternative energy companies, on-going research, and future opportunities. The forum will be held in 5120 Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus. Lunch will be provided.
Subsequent forums will be held on the following Fridays: February 13, February 27, March 13, March 27 (Lt. Governor Lawton), and April 17. Interested individuals will need to register for each of these forums separately at the above internet address.
The BESR forum is part of the Wiscontrepreneur Initiative, made possible in part by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and administered by the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations. Additional support is provided by the MGE Foundation.
For more information on Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton’s Green Economy Agenda please visit: www.ltgov.wisconsin.gov and click on the “Green Economy Agenda” button.
“This new program will give bright entrepreneurs both the vision and tools they need to develop innovative strategies to address the opportunities of developing a green economy,” said Lawton. “Local economic growth and job creation begins with sustainable development. I applaud our UW-Madison School of Business and the campus’s Wiscontrepreneur initiative for targeting green innovators ready to grow new businesses right here.”
The forum series was motivated and inspired by Lawton’s Green Economy Agenda, an agenda to empower smart individual and institutional action related to energy, water and climate change while strengthening Wisconsin’s competitive position in a global economy
“I am approached again and again by people wanting to start up a clean tech or alternative energy business,” said Lawton, who will be the presenter at the Friday, March 27 forum. ”Now they can learn from green business experts who will share their experience – stories of the challenges they’ve met, trends they see and the successes they’ve realized in this growing sector. We want Wisconsin’s entrepreneurs poised to take advantage of the opportunities that can come with a new president who is committed to driving green-collar jobs creation.”
The “Sustainability Meets Entrepreneurship” forums are free and open to the public. However, seating is limited and individuals must register at the following link if they want to attend:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=ptMGgmekZufxXmambvPG_dQ
“We are thankful for Lt. Governor Lawton bringing this idea to UW-Madison’s Wiscontrepreneur initiative, who in turn engaged Dr. Xun Pan, Assistant Professor of Bioenergy and Bioproducts Engineering in the Dept. of Biological Systems Engineering, and the BESR program,” said program co-director Tom Eggert. “We want to highlight some of our amazing entrepreneurs and offer them up as models for others that are seeking to address some of the challenges we are facing while also providing jobs and making money. This community forum is unique in the way it brings the community together with the professionals and students to hear from green business experts and start a dialogue.”
The first community forum is scheduled for Friday, January 30 at noon. UW-Madison professors Tom Eggert and Xuejun Pan will be providing a broad overview about cleantech and alternative energy companies, on-going research, and future opportunities. The forum will be held in 5120 Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus. Lunch will be provided.
Subsequent forums will be held on the following Fridays: February 13, February 27, March 13, March 27 (Lt. Governor Lawton), and April 17. Interested individuals will need to register for each of these forums separately at the above internet address.
The BESR forum is part of the Wiscontrepreneur Initiative, made possible in part by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and administered by the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations. Additional support is provided by the MGE Foundation.
For more information on Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton’s Green Economy Agenda please visit: www.ltgov.wisconsin.gov and click on the “Green Economy Agenda” button.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Dr. Stephen Chu named Energy Secretary
Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Stephen Chu was appointed Energy Secretary by President-Elect Obama. Dr Chu is a leader in the field of combating climate change using scientific methods.
WI Climate Change Summit
Team Manitowoc attended the Wisconsin Climate Change Summit at UW-Stevens Point hosted by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton.
Members of Team Manitowoc included:
Ryan Holl, Orion Energy Systems
Mayor Kevin Crawford
Tina Prigge, Go Green Coordinator
Sherrie Richards, Farm Market Coordinator
Georgia Lusk, Citizen Representative
Paul Braun, Deputy City Planner
Kelly Eskew, Woodland Dunes Education Coordinator
Tony Fodden, Citizen Representative
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
