Friday, December 30, 2011
Developers Apply to Build Western Wisconsin Large Wind Farm
William Rakocy, founding member of Emerging Energies, based in Hubertus, WI, reports in a recent article in the Wisconsin State Journal highlighting the development plans that the company is confident about the project.
Current conversations are being held within the PSC on siting rules for wind farms in Wisconsin, and this application could offer some clarity into the direction of these conversations.
According to formal process of submitting applications, the PSC has 30 days to consider if the application is complete, then 360 days to make a decision.
Wisconsin Wind Works will be following the process closely. Read the full article in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Company to Specialize in Repairing Wind Turbine Gears
A new company in Mukwonago, Gearbox Express has been formed to specialize in wind turbine gearbox replacement.
Currently the company is retrofitting a 43,000 square foot warehouse and expects to be operational by next year. The company has raised $1.8 million from investors and has been aided with a $1.8 million Small Business Administration loan along with a $3.4 million loan from the state of Wisconsin.
It is expected that Gearbox Express will create 100 jobs for the city of Mukwonago in a three year period.
Bruce Neumiller, the company's CEO said, "The firm will try to crave out a niche by having gearboxes ready to exchange and install at the same time the old gearbox is removed. That should result in cost savings for wind farm operator, who would need to bring in a crane only once rather than twice."
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Alliance member Milwaukee Machine Works Highlights its recent purchase of a Leitz PMM-G
Friday, October 14, 2011
'ATC files plan for $31 million Wisconsin-Illinois power line' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Monday, September 19, 2011
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP to Host: 'Intellectual Property Protection in the Emerging Offshore Wind Energy Sector'
Citing the recent claims from American Superconductor (AMSC) against Sinovel Wind Group Co. for "stolen intellectual property", IP protection is a timely subject for those in the wind market. The emerging offshore opportunities in the United States will generate greater competition within the market as future sites are determined and incentives are organized around offshore wind PPA's, making it more and more important for those within the wind market to focus on IP protection.
Also during the conference, Michael Best & Friedrich will host a poster presentation on 'Offshore Wind PPA's, the Ontario Feed-In Tariff, and the New Jersey OREC Program: Strong Government Support to Key Success'.
To RSVP for the sessions and find out more information, contact Jocelyn Gomez of Michael Best & Friedrich at jagomez@michaelbest.com or 414-225.4964.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
ABB Hosts 'Five Key Characteristics to Make Wind Farms More Profitable'
Find out more information on the webinar and register to participate today.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
'How does Wind Affect Coal..." From the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Review the full presentation and share your comments below.
Monday, August 22, 2011
'10 (Short) Reasons to be Excited about Wind Power'
- It is abundant. China, for example, has enough harnessable wind to increase its electricity consumption 16-fold
- It is carbon-free. Reducing carbon emissions is a key part of any plan to transition from fossil fuels.
- It is non-depletable. What we use today doesn’t affect how much we have tomorrow
- It does not require any water. This is in contrast to other water-intensive energy sources, such as nuclear and natural gas
- It does not use any fuel. Wind farm developers are ready to sign 20-year fixed-price contracts, Brown said, because the main cost associated with wind is building the farm.
- Wind turbines don’t use a lot of land. It’s true that wind farms take up a lot of land. But the turbines themselves only occupy 1 percent of a wind farm’s land area, which leads to the next point…
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Upcoming Event: 'Turbines, Towers, and Vessels 2011' Hosted by Michael Best & Friedrich
place in the supply chain for the
Northeastern Offshore Wind projects
Featuring A Special Opening Address
Governor of Rhode Island: Lincoln D. Chafee
View the Agenda, see the keynote speakers, and register for this great conference today at http://www.infocastinc.com/index.php/conference/windturbines
Monday, August 15, 2011
'Where to Get a Green Job' - Apollo Group
See the full green jobs report at: 'Infographic: Where to Get a Green Job'
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
'DOE picks 6 projects for R&D funding' Windpower Engineering
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
'WI Pursues SheerWind; Co. Interested in Osceola'
An article in Twin Cities last week reports that, "SheerWind hopes to have about 20 wind farms—which will collectively produce about one gigawatt of energy—operational by 2016." Also, SheerWind is using the Invelox system, to eliminate the need for tower-mounted turbines.
Read more on Wisconsin's effort to attract SheerWind at: http://tcbmag.blogs.com/daily_developments/2011/07/wi-pursues-sheerwind-co-interested-in-osceola.html.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wisconsin Public Service Commission reports Wisconsin meeting RE portfolio standards
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Installation details on a 36-turbine Wisconsin wind farm
Project Manager Rick Vander Heiden of Faith Technologies shares the development and progress of the wind project in a recent article featured by Windpower Engineering & Development Magazine. Read the full article to learn more...>
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Fidelity Analyst on Wind's Sunny Future as an Energy Solution-OnWallStreet.com
Read the full article below:
Thursday, July 7, 2011
"Wind Turbine Component Suppliers Experience Slow Growth In The U.S." Article by GLWN Executive Director Ed Weston
Executive Director of Great Lakes Wind Network, Ed Weston, shares the latest experiences of a slow supply chain growth for suppliers in Wind in his recent article featured on North American Windpower.
Weston provides an action-orientated response to suppliers, with the opportunity to participate in conversations with supply chain leaders and policy experts in wind energy at GLWN's upcoming 2011 Wind Summit "Making it Here" in Cleveland, Ohio on July 13th-14th.
Read the article and register for the convention to find out more.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Mike Manna, General Manager of Milwaukee Machine Works, shares his views on alternative energy
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Freshwater Wind 2011: Sponsored by Alliance Member Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
Policies and the Role of Freshwater Wind in Economic Development in the Great Lakes Region', 'Progress in Assessing the Environmental Impact of Offshore Wind Development in the Great Lakes' and 'Siting and Permitting in the Great Lakes Region'.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wisconsin Wind Works Welcomes New Alliance Member: Orchid Monroe LLC
Friday, June 10, 2011
Offshore Wind has no significant effect on tourism levels, study shows
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
AWEA Manufacturer's Group Supplier Handbook
See links below to a copy of the "Supplier Handbook" recently developed by the AWEA Manufacturing Working Group, along with a MWG policy paper which helps bring clarity and definition to the core policy orientation that the working group has agreed to pursue in upcoming months/years. The Supplier Handbook serves as a helpful reference for companies and their Tier II suppliers. The policy paper is intended to succinctly summarize what AWEA's Manufacturer's Group believes is their focused policy agenda in N. America, and serve as a frame of reference when companies contact and have local/regional discussions with public officials.
Tom Maves Deputy Director, Manufacturing and Supply Chain American Wind Energy Association tmaves@awea.org email 614.670.8961 direct 202.341.8230 cell | ||
Monday, June 6, 2011
AWEA 2011--Wisconsin Wind Works Pavilion
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
GE Healthcare Waiting for Turbine Approval
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Students Learn How to Erect Components of a Wind Turbine
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 has teamed with a Utah manufacturer of crane simulators to build a first-ever virtual world where students learn specifically how to erect the components of a wind turbine.
The simulator is owned by the union’s Joseph J. Goetz Jr. Training Center, located in Coloma. Built by GlobalSim, a Kongsberg Maritime Company, in Draper, UT, the machine’s software projects real-world scenarios such as two cranes being operated independently, but together, to lift the components into place.
Designed with a commitment to realism, the simulator lets students get bumped around if they drive their crane over uneven ground, feel the force of the wind blowing against a crane boom and see the shadow of turbine blades pass over other objects. Equipped with a cab and controls identical to those in a Manitowoc Epic Model 2250 MAXER crane, along with a second set of the controls, up to two crane students can train simultaneously along with a third individual learning to be a signal person. With the second set of controls, an instructor has the option of working with one student at a time.
Because the simulator is enclosed within a 26-foot-long, 8-foot-wide trailer, it can be transported to locations off the training center grounds.
Training center staff applied for and received a $275,000 Green Energy Grant from the State of Wisconsin in 2009 to develop the simulator. Following a design and testing period, the center put the simulator into action and began offering wind turbine erection classes in December, 2010.
“We’re pretty proud of what we have accomplished here,” said Local 139 Training Director Daniel Sperberg. “This simulator is the only one of its kind and it’s like being in the real thing.”
Sperberg said the simulator demonstrates Local 139’s commitment to offer its members the best possible training available. “We continually strive to be in a leadership role nationally as far as training is concerned,” he said. “This simulator gives us the bleeding-edge technology to achieve our goal.”
This story began about a decade ago when the training center purchased a state-of-the-art simulator from GlobalSim to teach Local 139 members how to operate a crane. But the machine’s intended purpose as a training tool was not realized because it was not set up to run a class through. Instead, it was used mainly as an interactive promotional device at public events to showcase educational opportunities at the training center.
With the Green Energy Grant available, Sperberg and Crane Instructor Doug Stegeman saw an opportunity to upgrade and repurpose the simulator to train students how to operate a crane for use in a green industry – wind power. Stegeman discussed creating virtual wind turbine erection scenarios with GlobalSim engineers. In August 2010, he drove the simulator back to the manufacturer and provided photographs he had taken of wind turbine components being hoisted into place on actual jobsites. The engineers incorporated those scenes into the realistic graphics that students now see on the rebuilt simulator’s 90-inch diagonal, curved projection screen.
“We’re working with big cranes in this industry to lift very heavy turbine components hundreds of feet into the air,” Stegeman said. “It is inherently a high-risk situation because of that height. The training center can’t buy a real-life big crane like the Manitowoc 2250. But our students can establish a high degree of confidence with these cranes by using the simulator.”
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wisconsin Wind Works is Proud to Sponsor the Small Wind Siting Workshop
Wisconsin Wind Works is proud to sponsor the Small Wind Siting Workshop hosted by Renewegy on Friday, March 25th, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00p.pm. The event will take place at Renewegy located on 3650 Jackson St. in Oshkosh.
The workshop will focus around new siting rules and regulations around opportunities for renewable energy projects. The workshop will also talk about opportunities for renewable energy and highlight real-world case studies of current projects.
Speakers at this event include Paul Esslinger, Mayor of Oshkosh, Dan Epstein, Vice President and COO of Renewegy and Eric Fowle, Executive Director of AICP to name a few.
Tours will also be available of the Renewegy facility after the workshop.
The management team at Renewegy has worked together the past ten years to develop clean energy products for the commercial and industrial marketplace. Prior to starting Renewegy, the team founded and successfully grew MotoTron Corporation a wholly owned subsidiary under Brunswick Corporation.Friday, March 18, 2011
Glenmore Wind Turbine Project Moves On
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Committee Votes to Suspend Wind Turbine placement Rule
On Tuesday a legislative committee voted to suspend rules adopted by the state Public Service Commission last year regarding the placement of wind turbines.
The vote came in 5-2 by the joint committee that reviews administrative rules. This means there are now no statewide standard in place governing setbacks of wind turbines.
In a debate that has pitted economic development opportunity against concerns about property rights, wind energy supporters argued in favor of the rule. Critics of the wind powered projects contended that the setback of wind turbines was not restrictive enough.
The PSC rule was finalized in December and would have been in effect Tuesday if the note had not passed.
The full Legislature must now follow up on the committee’s vote by passing a bill to throw out the PSC rule. A bill under construction would send the issue back to the PSC for revision, giving the agency seven months to have the revision completed.
Republican Sen. Leah Vukmir said the PSC rule was tantamount to “a government sanctioned taking because it reduced the value of property for nonparticipating landowners without their consent and without compensation.”
Representative, Fred Kessler notes that all energy choices are controversial, including older sources such as coal and it’s important for the state to support the development of wind energy. “This is the next generation of technology,” said Kessler, “why would we not be supporting this when companies will go to another states if these rules are suspended.”
The American Wind Energy Association said the PSC rule was restrictive enough, given that it set specific noise limits and restrictions on shadow flicker in addition to turbine distant setbacks.
“These rules were developed collaboratively by the wind energy industry and all major stakeholders in Wisconsin,” said Jeff Anthony, director of business development at the American Wind Energy Association and a Wisconsin Resident.
But Bob Welch, a lobbyist for the Coalition for Wisconsin Environmental Stewardship, which represents groups that have been fighting wind projects, said his constituents need a "fair hearing" at the PSC. "As far as those who want to build wind turbines in Wisconsin, all they've got to do is treat their neighbors fairly," Welch said. "Property rights need to be protected."
Thursday, February 17, 2011
United Technologies Optimistic About Future of Wind Power
An executive of United Technologies Corp. says the conglomerate is more optimistic about the wind power business it recently entered than fuel cell technology that has been in its portfolio for years.
Greg Hayes, Chief Financial Officer of United Technologies Corp. told investors last Thursday that last year’s $382 million purchase of Clipper Windpower, helps United Technologies to capitalize on what he said is a $60 billion global market.
When comparing the potential of the wind market to that of other renewable energy markets Hayes feels optimistic in wind development on the basis that it is one of the most developed markets in the renewable energy field.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Wisconsin Power & Light Co. Construction Finished on Wind Farm
The total cost of the project was $460 million and began delivering power Monday morning about a week ahead of the company’s projections.
The Bent Tree Wind Farm is located in Albert Lea, Minn, and consists of 122 turbines that can produce up to 201 megawatts of electricity. It is expected that over a year’s time the wind farm will generate enough power to supply 50,000 homes.
“The addition of Bent Tree allows us to meet and exceed Wisconsin’s existing renewable portfolio standard,” said John Larsen, WP&L president.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Obama Calls for Clean Energy
Last Tuesday night during the State of the Union address president Barack Obama made a big push for renewable energy. The president stated that the nation should develop 80 percent of its electricity from clean sources by 2035 and pursue and research development projects to be financed by killing $4 billion in annual tax subsidies for oil, gas and other fossil fuels.
The White House believes that domestic production of wind, solar and other types of clean energy helps to underscore its prime time focus on clean energy as well as innovative technologies that make them cheaper and more reliable.
President Obama’s 2012 budget will increase clean energy technology funding by one-third when compared to last year or to about $8 billion. “Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, lets invest in tomorrows,” said Obama.
Going forward wind and solar companies would also like to see a long-term extension of the popular government 1603 grant program, which allows companies to obtain grants instead of investment tax credits.
Clean energy advocates have also supported the creation of a national renewable energy standard. This would force companies to generate a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources.
For more on Obama's clean energy push click here >
Thursday, January 27, 2011
India’s Inox Wind Orders More From American Superconductor
Inox Wind Limited of India has placed a $9 million follow-on order for a wind turbine electrical control system from American Superconductor (AMSC). AMSC is gaining a business presence in India with multiple orders for its products being used on renewable energy projects. In August AMSC received an initial order for 17 of the companies electrical control systems and another $20 million order from Ghodawat Energy in April of last year.
Inox will use the systems in its 2MW wind turbines and has the ability to manufacture 400 annually. India is currently the 5th largest wind energy market in the world and is expected to double its capacity within 4-5 years.
“India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” said Devansh Jain, Director of Inox Wind Limited. “When considering our rapid urbanization and industrialization combined with our need to reduce pollution and increase electricity generation, it is imperative that we continue to promote and produce zero-emission electricity from sources such as wind. Our partnership with AMSC has enabled us to enter full-scale manufacturing quite rapidly, taking us one step closer to our goal of becoming a leader in the global wind power marketplace.”
Friday, January 21, 2011
U.S. Market Report shows high Wind Energy Investment in 2010
The report showed a large portion, 85 percent, of the federal money allotted to subsidize renewable energy generation construction went to wind companies.
The report supported continued investment in 2011 in renewable energies, specifically wind, because of less initial investment and quicker returns than other renewables like solar and biofuels.
Read the full article on reuters.com and view the complete report.
The report argues the losers in 2010 were bioenergy firms, who say a 27-percent decline from 2009 investment. The article supports that higher investment needs due to high demands of R&D and time for this market is holding back investment. Do you agree?