Builder chosen for Dane County’s 1st manure digester

Monday, November 09, 2009

From an article by Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Dane County's first community manure digester, the first cooperative project of its kind in Wisconsin, will be built and operated by a Milwaukee-based company that plans to finance most of the project itself.

By letting Clear Horizons, in partnership with SCC Americas, a global developer of greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, operate the Waunakee community digester, the county is avoiding the financial risks and rewards.

"That was important to the farmers (who wanted) a separate company operating the digester," Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said of the county's decision. "We've chosen this model because Clear Horizons brings significant private dollars."

Clear Horizons plans to privately finance everything except a $3.3 million state earmark. The state included $6.6 million in its latest budget for the Waunakee digester and another being planned near Middleton. The county planned to borrow $1.4 million for the project, but now won't have to spend anything to build the first digester.

Clear Horizons general manager Dan Nemke said construction is expected to cost about $11 million. After designs are finalized and a site is selected on one of three participating farms, the company expects to break ground in the spring and begin processing manure by the fall.

A manure digester is essentially a mini power plant that uses bacteria to convert cow manure into mostly methane gas, a fiber material and a liquid fertilizer. The methane is burned to generate electricity and the fiber can be used as cow bedding.

The Waunakee digester is expected to generate $2 million worth of electricity every year, and Clear Horizons plans to sell the fiber material.

Dane County's 400 dairy farms and 50,000 dairy cows - a $700 million industry - produce more than 2 billion pounds of manure each year. Much of that is spread on fields in the winter and the resulting runoff into creeks and rivers has killed thousands of fish in the past.

County Board passes RTA proposal after passionate debate

Friday, November 06, 2009

From an article by Matthew DeFour in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Metropolitan Madison residents, welcome to the Dane County Regional Transit Authority.

The Dane County Board voted 20-16 with one absence early Friday morning to create a new governmental body with the power to raise a sales tax to fund bus and rail transportation options. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said she plans to sign the resolution, which will make the new body official.

In creating an RTA, the Dane County Board handed over the responsibility for answering questions about commuter rail versus enhanced bus service or when to hold a referendum on a sales tax.

Those questions now go to the nine appointed members of the RTA board. Madison and Dane County have two appointees each and the governor, Fitchburg, Middleton, Sun Prairie and the Dane County Cities and Villages Association each have one.

Though the RTA board won't likely meet until early 2010, officials already have begun to consider the task ahead. Falk, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the mayors of Fitchburg and Middleton signed a letter committing their appointees to hold an RTA-wide referendum before imposing up to a half-cent sales tax.

Video showing -- Mountain top removal coal mining, Nov. 11 & 12

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Wisconsin buys coal mined by blasting the tops off of Appalachian mountains & dumping the debris in the valleys!

Coal Country
November 11, 2009
Noon
Room 328 NW, State Capitol

Coal Country
November 12, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Goodman Community Center
149 Waubesa, Madison

The State of Wisconsin buys coal to be burned in state facilities from Massey Coal and Alpha Coal, two companies using the latest form of strip mining called mountaintop removal, or MTR. Coal companies blast the tops off mountains, and run the debris into valleys and streams. Then they mine the exposed seams of coal and transport it to processing plants. Coal is mined more cheaply than ever, and America needs coal. But the air and water are filled with chemicals, and an ancient mountain range is disappearing forever.

COAL COUNTRY is a dramatic look at modern coal mining. We get to know working miners along with activists who are battling coal companies in Appalachia. We hear from miners and coal company officials, who are concerned about jobs and the economy and believe they are acting responsibly in bringing power to the American people. Both sides in this conflict claim that history is on their side. Families have lived in the region for generations, and most have ancestors who worked in the mines. Everyone shares a deep love for the land, but MTR (Mountain Top Removal mining which has leveled over 500 Appalachian mountains) is tearing them apart.

More information -- Ed Blume, 608.819.0748, eblume@renewwisconsin.org

Sponsored by Sierra Club; RENEW Wisconsin; Madison Peak Oil Group; Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice's "carbon free, nuclear free" campaign

Learning to live in balance with Earth's limits

Hans Noeldner, an active member of the Madison Peak Oil Group shared the statement he intends to make at the Dane County Board meeting tonight:

The debate about creating a Regional Transit Authority isn't really about the RTA. It's about adapting to the future versus clinging to the past. It's about learning to live in balance with Earth's limits versus denying that there are any. It's about working together versus fighting each other to get ahead.

And for you, Supervisors, this vote isn't really about an RTA either – it's about the sobriety of your expectations and the courage of your convictions. It's about voting for those who cannot speak for themselves because they are too young – or not even born yet. After all, they don't have a radio station to broadcast their demands to you.

If you are fearful when the times call us to be bold, ask yourself what our great-grandchildren might say to us if they could come back in time.

"Great-grandpa, where did all the farmland in Dane County go?"

We would have to say, "We covered it with highways and parking lots so we could drive everywhere and park."

"Great-great-grandma, why is there so little oil left in the ground? We still need some to plant and harvest our food!"

We would reply, "We burned it up driving our cars. We figured `they' would discover something else to keep civilization running by the time you came along."

"Great-great-great-grandpa, why didn't you remember to share with us? You had so much to begin with! Did you really need all you took?"

And our excuse would be, "Well, at first we couldn't imagine running out of things like oil or water or more land to build on. After all, there was always a lot more somewhere else! So we got spoiled; we said to ourselves, `I deserve it!' Then, when it began to sink in that there really ARE limits to how much people can take, the thought of not always having more of everything scared us so much that we refused to think or talk or do anything about it."

County Board to vote on controversial regional transit authority

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

From an article by Kristin Czubkowksi in The Capital Times:

In some ways, the Dane County Board's vote on creating a regional transit authority is one of the longest and shortest journeys for a piece of legislation in the county's recent history.

After enabling legislation was passed in the budget by the state Legislature in June, board Chairman Scott McDonell introduced a resolution at the board's Oct. 15 meeting that would create the new governmental body. An RTA, which allows for regional governance on transit issues, could pave the way for a commuter rail line and an expanded bus system, among other options. The measure was approved by two committees on Monday, Oct. 26, setting up a vote by the full County Board on Nov. 5, just three weeks after the resolution's introduction.

While that may seem speedy relative to other bills, those involved in the Madison area's quest for improved transit through a regional governing body say that this vote has been a long time in coming. As former County Board chairman Dick Wagner recently pointed out, seven county executives going back to 1974 have supported the creation of an RTA, and local studies on regional transportation go back equally far.

The County Board has been generally supportive of regional transportation, including a 22-13 vote in 2007 that signaled support for an RTA to the state, and there's little to suggest the votes will be different Thursday. Still, some conservative members of the County Board say the county should hold an advisory referendum so that the public has an opportunity to weigh in before the board creates the body or spends any more money on transportation planning and studies. Under state law, the RTA could levy up to a half-percent sales tax without a referendum; RTA proponents have pledged to hold a referendum before a tax is levied, but after the body is created.

Madison March for Green Solutions, November 13

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

An announcement from WISPIRG:

November 13th at 3pm
By Library Mall

Stop the climate catastrophe
Carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise year after year due to human activity. This leads to a completely unsustainable path.
We WANT to, we CAN, and we HAVE to stop global warming!

The solutions exist
- Sustainable energy production
- Public transit - Bicycling
- Energy neutral buildings
- Energy efficiency improvements
- The politicians need to take action – talking is not enough!

This march is necessary in order to push climate change to the forefront of our political goals. It is a chance to unite in a common message, while also educating and raising awareness of citizens around the state.

Business as usual is the most dangerous path that can be taken, yet politicians are continuing to hesitate about passing significant legislation.

We need to show the politicians that we are really concerned about the future if significant action is not taken. That's why you should show up on November 13th at Library Mall. COME MAKE HISTORY!

Renewable energy tour, Nov. 13

Monday, November 02, 2009

A news release issued by Wisconsin Farmers Union:

Chippewa Falls, Wis. (October 30, 2009) - The Wisconsin Farmers Union and other Homegrown Renewable Energy Campaign partners will host a bus tour on Nov. 13 to highlight the benefits of four homegrown renewable energy policies promoted by the campaign and the opportunities for clean energy jobs in Wisconsin.

The four signature partners of the activities are Wisconsin Farmers Union, the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Clean Wisconsin and RENEW Wisconsin. The Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection and the Office of Energy Independence are co-sponsors of the event.

The bus tour will begin at 9 a.m. at the Montfort Wind Farm, 254 Highway 18, Montfort, Wis. The wind farm is an example of one way to reduce carbon emissions and emphasizes the campaign's advocacy for a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard. A LCFS calls for a reduction in carbon emissions from transportation fuels, based on the carbon content of all fuels, and the transformation of the market.

The Fuels for Schools and Communities Program and the Biomass Crop Reserve Program will be addressed at the second stop on the tour - at the Meister Cheese Plant, 1160 Industrial Drive, Muscoda, Wis. The cheese plant uses a wood-chip heating system. Research at the University of Wisconsin will also be highlighted demonstrate the prospects for Wisconsin farmers to grow biomass crops.

Providing funding for schools and communities to install renewable energy projects that use biomass crops will create demand for renewable energy. The Biomass Crop Reserve Program provides incentives for farmers to meet that demand by growing biomass crops.

The third stop will be at the Cardinal Glass factory in Mazomanie, Wis. Cardinal Glass is one of the leading suppliers of glass for solar panels. The stop is an example of how homegrown renewable energy can provide jobs for Wisconsin.

Renewable energy buyback rates, the fourth component of the Homegrown Renewable Energy Campaign, will set utility payments for small renewable energy producers who want to feed energy into the electric grid. The tour will stop at a residential home in Ridgeway, Wis. using solar panels to feed electricity into the grid.

The bus will return to the Montfort Wind Farm at 5 p.m.

To register for the Homegrown Renewable Energy Campaign Bus Tour, contact Mike Stranz, WFU Government Relations Specialist, by Nov. 9 at 608-256-6661 or email mstranz@wisconsinfarmersunion.com. A $10 registration fee, payable by cash or check the day of the event, covers the cost of the tour, lunch and snacks.

CLICK HERE for more information on the Homegrown Renewable Energy Bus Tour.

Glacier Hills Wind Park hearing, Nov. 4

Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Public Service Commission will take public testimony on We Energies' proposed Glacier Hills Wind Park.

Wednesday, November 4
3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Randolph Town Hall
109 S. Madison St. – Friesland

Those opposed to wind projects will likely make arguments like the one below from letter-to-the-editor of the Manitowoc Times Herald. The writere offered this outrageous explanation for why the Legislature passed and the govenor signed the bill on wind siting reform:

Blinded by a feel-good solution for a problem that never existed [global warming], legislators are being misled into a belief that something like wind turbines will not have a negative effect on those who are left to live around them . . .

To understand the problem you needed to be at the hearing in Mandison on May 12, held by the Senate and Assembly Energy Committee. . . .

It was obvious that the pro-wind lobby, paid with your tax money from RENEW Wisconsin, had the minds of legislators on their side long before the hearing.

Read more wild assertions from the letter.