NEWS

Progress Lakeshore serves as convener on Clean Power Plan

For HTR Media

MANITOWOC – A Dec. 10 roundtable meeting on alternative energy policy, hosted by Progress Lakeshore in partnership with Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation, proved to be a powerful one. It brought together a cross-section of sectors to discuss how alternative energy — and specifically the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule — poses both challenges and opportunities to the current state of energy and environmental stewardship in Northeast Wisconsin.

The roundtable developed as an outgrowth of the Lakeshore Industry Energy Cluster established in 2012. It brought together representatives from economic development organizations in Door, Calumet, Kewaunee and Sheboygan counties as well as business representatives, agricultural business representatives/interest, utilities, municipalities, a Wisconsin State Energy Office representative and subject matter experts.

"Our role was to bring people together around the issue to identify the impact of recent policy decisions. In addition, we wanted to explore how we could overcome some of the challenges on the policy side by better understanding the Clean Power Plan, as well as how we can increase alternative energy application as we comply with the plan," said Connie Loden, executive director of Progress Lakeshore. "The solutions are complex and require input and commitment from many parties."

The Clean Power Plan is intended to cut carbon pollution from the power sector 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. If the plan is adopted as is, it will cause a substantial increase in electrical costs to industrial users and utilities. It puts each state in the driver's seat in creating its own State Implementation Plan by June 2016 as to how it will address greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired electrical generation units in the U.S. "This is a particular challenge for Wisconsin as we are powered by a large number of coal-powered plants," said Loden. "In the past, we have depended very largely on coal, oil, natural gas and hydroelectric power.

"In addition, the Clean Power Plan poses opportunity. The area is unique in having a nuclear plant, wind manufacturers and one of the highest concentrations of biofuel digesters in the nation," added Loden. "The policy actually creates new opportunities for alternative energy by requiring changes in current electric generation and exploration into expanding alternative energy sources," she said.

These alternative energy sources include nuclear, solar, wind and bio-fuels, with the use of waste streams to generate energy being a hot topic of discussion given how heavily agricultural the state is. That topic in particular has drawn the attention of Kory Brockman, Chief Financial Officer at Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, as well as Board Member for Progress Lakeshore and a participant in the Energy Cluster Roundtable discussion. His employer is a larger energy user and while the cost of natural gas is at a near historic low, he knows it's a volatile commodity and has experienced natural gas prices that are "astronomical" first hand.

According to Brockman, "What's unique to Wisconsin is the opportunity to create energy through anaerobic digestion, particularly through the dairy industry. We are America's Dairyland, and when you look at the waste stream generated through dairy businesses – and even the food manufacturers in the dairy chain – there is an incredible opportunity to convert that waste stream into new business and a new industry, a renewable energy resource. What if Northeast Wisconsin developed an economy of anaerobic digestion that converted and scrubbed methane gas into usable natural gas and created a regional market for it?"

He quotes the 1.3 million dairy cattle in the state and the fact cattle create a waste stream that's seven to eight times that of humans. "It's easy to do the math. I see it as a multiple-win situation as we look forward to improving the well-documented water quality issues and convert a waste stream into usable energy. However, right now we don't have the legislative support to make that attractive to the business community."

Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry recently conducted a feasibility study on generating its own electricity using a natural gas turbine. The study indicates it would generate savings, but the amount falls outside the company's thresholds for return on investment (ROI). "However, that doesn't mean in one, two or five years it won't make more sense when the ROI may be greater and the payback period shorter, especially since the EPA (through the Clean Power Plan) is looking at greatly reducing/restricting the use of coal in generating electricity and converting it to natural gas," Brockman said.

It's definitely a topic that merits close and in-depth attention. "In my 30 years of practice, I've never seen a rule package that has the potential for a greater impact on a larger percent of the populace than this rule," said Arthur Harrington, Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., who heads up the renewable energy and energy efficiency practice group at the firm. He presented an overview of the plan to the roundtable group.

"It's proposed to be finalized this summer and there is, of course, a lot of angst because of the complexities in how this rule will play out for the cost of electrical energy in Wisconsin. At the same time clean, renewable energy is a building block to achieving the plan's carbon reductions. That's where the opportunities lie for anyone who produces energy efficient products and anyone involved in the renewable energy sector."

The next steps for the roundtable are to connect with the Wisconsin State Energy Office to find out how the group can participate in the policy the state develops on complying with the plan. "If we can have people at our table, who are concerned about implications, tap into the economic development opportunity of the state's plan, we will have a strong voice in the direction the state takes for policy," said Loden. "The next level of conversation will likely encompass more of the region so that we can create an even stronger voice toward mutually beneficial policy."

Brockman is looking forward to it.

"There was real interest among the participants in the roundtable in identifying economic opportunity through alternative energy, especially during a time when energy costs are low. I don't know anyone who doesn't expect utility costs to go up. I believe the consensus among those in attendance is that our regional challenges can be solved while creating economic value and maintaining or even improving quality of life."

Access the Roundtable's notes on alternative energy, details on the Clean Power Plan and other information from the roundtable at www.ProgressLakeshore.org or www.lakeshoreinitiative.webs.com.

Submitted by Progress Lakeshore, (920) 482-0540, www.progresslakeshore.org