Dane County exec. announces "Clean Lakes, Clean Energy" initiative

Friday, September 28, 2012

Michael Vickerman, RENEW director of programs and policy, gestures toward Lake Monona during the announcement of a "Clean Lakes, Clean Energy" initiative by Dane County Executive Joe Parisi (right in suit coat).


For Immediate Release
September 27, 2012

New technology to eliminate 100% of lake polluting phosphorus, expanded lake clean‐up partnership, “CNG by 2023,” and Solar Powered “Green Highway Garage” among highlights

Near the shores of Lake Monona today, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced his comprehensive 2013 “Clean Lakes, Clean Energy” plan to be included in his 2013 county budget that will be introduced to the County Board on Monday.

“Cleaning up our lakes, preserving our lands, and investing in green energy like solar, wind, and alternative fuels are shared values that enhance our quality of life we enjoy in Dane County,” Parisi said. “My budget reflects a continued commitment to protecting and enhancing the resources that make our home such an attractive place to live, work, and visit,” he added.

One of the cornerstones of Parisi’s $4.5 million capital lakes clean‐up initiative, is brand new technology that successfully removes 100% of the pollutant phosphorus from animal waste.

Parisi’s budget will have $300,000 to install this cutting edge system as part of the new manure digester being built in the Town of Springfield in early 2013. “Technology is rapidly evolving and this system not only keeps our county on the cutting edge of lake clean‐up, it also could be the gateway to developing additional manure digesters in areas where we know phosphorus run‐off is a problem,” Parisi said.

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Kathleen Falk: County shows Walker how to create green jobs

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

From a commentary by Kathleen Falk in The Capital Times:

We elect governors to solve problems, not create them.

Unfortunately, when it comes to energy and green jobs, Gov. Scott Walker is making things worse. Here’s how:

One of the big drags on our state’s economy is the amount of money we spend for energy. Right now we send $12.5 billion every year to out-of-state companies to power our businesses and homes and to fuel our vehicles.

Walker is making this problem even worse:

• Walker stopped construction of a new biomass power plant. This renewable energy plant would have produced power locally with the added benefit of buying biomass from local farmers or utilizing waste wood.

• Walker shelved the wind energy siting rules devised through years of negotiation. That cost about 1,100 Wisconsin jobs and dried up $600 million in investments by driving three wind farm companies out of state.

• Walker eliminated the state’s Office of Energy Independence and gutted programs that encourage companies to become energy efficient. He outsourced “Focus on Energy” money to a Louisiana-based company to run the program.

My work as Dane County executive shows what we can accomplish when we work together rather than working to gain personal power and tearing people apart.

I was a frugal county executive — not only does it come naturally since I’m German/Irish from Milwaukee, but the top executive must be careful with taxpayers’ money.

Over a decade ago, faced with the problem of highly polluting methane produced at the county landfill, I found a solution: We converted the methane to electricity and sold it to the local utility — enough to power 4,000 homes a year, eliminate burning 16,000 tons of coal, and earning over $3 million a year for taxpayers.

I also led the charge to retrofit old government facilities, producing energy and cost savings. Dane County boasts solar panels at the airport, zoo, park buildings and county offices. Underneath the new county nursing home is a geothermal system that cools and heats the buildings.

We brought green jobs to Dane County through Cow Power. Dairy is almost a billion-dollar part of the county’s economy. Helping the dairy industry grow and at the same time preventing pollution from hurting our lakes and streams makes real economic sense.

Working with farmers, a private Wisconsin company, the local utility and county government, our county built the first community manure digester in our state. It uses manure from 2,500 cows, produces green energy that fuels the equivalent of 2,500 homes, and keeps phosphorus out of county lakes. It’s so successful that we are now on to a second digester! The Environmental Protection Agency has us speaking to other states in the Midwest so they can do the same thing.

The governor ought to be working with farmers and private companies to replicate Cow Power around the state.

The governor ought to build the biomass plant.

Wisconsin cheese factory promotes renewable energy

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

From the newsletter of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese:

At Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese we’re green as well as growing. We
have solidified our commitment to sustainability, and proudly display our
new green logo on our website and elsewhere. We know our customers
appreciate the fact that we use 100% green power, and practice water
conservation and recycling. Our commitment is evident in our land
management practices and in the way we care for our cows. We’re a carbon negative company, too, which means we produce more power with our bio
digester than we use for our dairy farm and cheese plant.

Crave Brothers Farmstead Classics cheeses not only
taste good, we hope they make you feel good
about your choice, too. When you choose Crave
Brothers Cheese, you are supporting locally owned
and operated family farms. Our cheese is made from
our farm-fresh milk, produced on a state-of-the-art
farm with sustainability practices that help
preserve the environment for future generations.

Energy groups oppose bill to undermine Wisconsin's renewable energy commitment

Thursday, May 26, 2011

From statements issued by three groups in opposition to Assembly Bill 146:

"Clearly, this bill is a drastic step in the wrong direction for our state. The Wisconsin Energy Business Association therefore opposes this attack on renewable energy in our state." - Wisconsin Energy Business Association. Full statement.

We strongly recommend that this bill not be approved as it solves no known problem in Wisconsin and seeks only to roll-back policies on renewable energy that have served the state well and are otherwise benefitting Wisconsin residents with cleaner air and lower prices for electricity. - Wind on the Wires. Full statement.

Fresh attack on Wisconsin voters’ desire for a renewable energy standard would kill wind projects and sap state’s economy, say wind energy advocates - American Wind Energy Association. Full statement.

Dane County's manure digester ready to provide electricity

Friday, April 01, 2011

From an article by Ron Seely in the Wisconsin State Journal:

WAUNAKEE - Sure, the cows on the farm run by Chuck Ripp and his brothers near here generate a lot of manure — about 7 million gallons a year.

But now they also generate electricity.

Call it cow power.

Thursday, Dane County officials were joined by farmers and utility officials and others to flip a ceremonial switch and power up the state's first cooperative manure digester. Spearheaded by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, the $12 million project has been more than six years in the making.

When it is in full operation, the digester plant with its three huge tanks will process manure from three adjacent farms and a total of 2,500 cows. It will remove about 60 percent of weed-growing phosphorus from the manure. The digester will produce methane and that methane will be used to power generators that will churn out $2 million a year in electricity, enough to allow Alliant Energy to power 2,500 homes.

And, according to Dick Pieper, with Clear Horizons, the company that will run the plant, the entire operation can be run with an iPod.

"The efficiency of this plant is exceptional," said Pieper. "It's world class."

Falk said the plant represents an important milestone in green energy production and in manure management in Wisconsin. Many digesters don't remove phosphorus, which clogs lakes with weeds and toxic blue-green algae during warm months. But the Dane County plant was designed specifically to remove the nutrient.

Co. Exec. Falk, farmers help start Dane County “Cow Power” facility

Thursday, December 16, 2010

With the push of a button by Dane County Exec. Falk, the innovative facility north of Waunakee began the process of converting manure into electricity, instead of pollution.

From a news release issued by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk:

Dane County’s first “Cow Power” facility officially started operating today, as County Executive Kathleen Falk, representatives of Clear Horizons (the private operator), and the three farm families partnering on the project pushed a button to start filling the first manure digester tank.

Once this one-million gallon tank is full (in approximately two weeks), the manure will be heated and the process of converting it into electricity for homes and compost for gardens will begin. The facility is expected to begin producing electricity for sale to Alliant Energy in February.

The Dane County “Cow Power” facility will generate about $2-million worth of electricity each year - - enough to run 2,500 Dane County homes. It also includes first-of-its-kind equipment slated to remove much of the algae-producing phosphorous from the manure.

“Today begins the next exciting step in this innovative project - - turning a whole lot of cow manure into a valuable commodity for our homes and businesses and keeping it out of our lakes,” Falk said. “Thanks to the unique design of this one-of-a-kind digester, manure from 2,500 cows will go into powering our homes instead of polluting our waters.”

Dane County and a Wisconsin company, Clear Horizons are partnering on this project with three family farms in the Towns of Vienna and Dane - - the Ripps’, the Endres’ and the Maiers’. This digester is the first in the state to be shared by a cluster of several farmers and one of only a handful in the country to substantially remove pollutants that cause algae and weed growth in local lakes. That primary pollutant is phosphorus which studies have shown is the leading cause of green algae and other weed growth in Dane County’s lakes.

Today’s start of operations culminates years of pioneering work by County Executive Falk, the farm families and Clear Horizons to build this unique digester.

Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin's executive director, attended the ceremony.

Governor Doyle included $6.6 million in the 2009-11 state budget so two new Dane County “Cow Power” facilities would have additional phosphorus removal technology not used in other digesters in the state. To date, private dollars from Clear Horizons has funded the $12 million total project cost. Once the project is fully operational, half of the state funding ($3.3 million) will be used to pay for the phosphorus removal equipment while the other half will go for a second digester. No county dollars were used.

Cow Power project breaks ground

Thursday, August 05, 2010

From a news release issued by Governor Doyle:

WAUNAKEE – Governor Jim Doyle today broke ground on a $12 million community digester project that will help clean Dane County air and lakes, and generate enough clean energy to power 2,500 homes. Governor Doyle joined Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk for the groundbreaking of the “Cow Power” project at the Ripp’s Dairy Valley farm in Waunakee.

“The Dane County Digester demonstrates the best of our past and future in agriculture – putting to work three local farms to power our homes and clean our environment,” Governor Doyle said.

"With the turn of these forks today, we begin new, exciting work to clean up our lakes and turn a big problem into a valuable commodity," County Executive Kathleen Falk said. "Thanks to the help of the Governor, the courage and willingness of these farmers to be good stewards of the lakes and lands we love, and the ingenuity of Clear Horizons, we're pioneering an innovative solution to generate green energy and curtail an environmental problem."


In March 2009, Governor Doyle announced his support for the project. The state is providing $3.3 million in assistance for the first of two Dane County Digesters. The community digester is the first of its kind in the state – involving three family farms: Ripp’s Dairy Valley, White Gold Dairy and Richard Endres Farm.

Construction is expected to be completed later this year. Once operational, the facility will convert manure from the farms into nearly $2 million worth of electricity per year. Electricity generated by the digester will be enough to run 2,500 Dane County homes annually.

The community digester will create construction jobs and full-time jobs to run the digester. The project will also help local farms expand their operations.

Dane County moves ahead on manure digester in Vienna

Friday, June 25, 2010

A Clear Horizons built electricity-generating anaerobic manure digesters drew attention from visitors to the 2009Farm Technology Days at the Crave Brothers Farm near Waterloo last summer.

From an article by Devin Rose in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Dane County’s first community manure digester, with the potential to generate electricity and reduce lake pollution, was approved Thursday by the County Board.

The $12 million digester will use bacteria to turn cow manure supplied by three town of Vienna farms into methane gas, fiber and a liquid fertilizer. The methane is burned and expected to generate $2 million worth of electricity every year, and the fiber can be used as cow bedding.

Algae-producing phosphorus is the biggest cause of pollution in the Yahara Lakes watershed, said Josh Wescott, spokesman for County Executive Kathleen Falk, in a release. The digester will use advanced separation technology to remove up to 70 percent of the phosphorus from the manure. It will also reduce odor problems and lessen the need to spread manure on distant fields, which generates environmental problems, Wescott said.

Milwaukee-based Clear Horizons will own, operate, and partially finance the digester. The County Board also approved issuing $6 million in bonds through a federal stimulus program, and the state will contribute another $3.3 million toward the project. The state also included $6.6 million in its last budget for this and another digester planned near Middleton. Wescott said he and other officials are still working with farmers there.

County picks firm to study building food-waste digester facility

Thursday, June 24, 2010

From a news release issued by Dane County:

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk today announced that the County has selected AECOM, a global engineering company, to examine the viability of turning thousands of tons of food waste each year into millions of dollars of green-generated electricity.

Falk said the first phase of AECOM’s feasibility study will be completed this fall. It will explore both the financial benefits to taxpayers and the renewable energy potential of food waste from commercial, industrial and institutional sources for a possible digester to be located at the
County’s Rodefeld landfill. This would be the first food digester in the state of Wisconsin and one of only a handful in the entire country.

“Food waste recycling is a new ‘green industry’ that offers tremendous financial and environmental benefits,” said Falk. “Converting locally-produced food waste into everyday, necessary products such as energy and soil fertilizer is an innovative trash to cash solution with benefits for taxpayers.”

Food waste recycling is becoming a national trend especially being explored by those businesses that generate food waste. Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, announced it is planning to roll out a 50-state food waste recycling program for its stores sometime later this
year.

The County’s landfill currently earns taxpayers $3-million a year by turning methane from naturally decomposing landfill trash into green electricity sold to Madison Gas & Electric Company. The landfill receives approximately 200,000 tons of material every year of which 30,000 tons is food waste. Diverting food waste to a digester will significantly extend the life of the current landfill and produce greater amounts of green energy.