June 2003
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Vicarious Pleasures at a Victorian
Villa
Wisconsin Favorites
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ARCHIVES |
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Renewable Showcase
Environmentally Conscious Consumers
by the Thousands Trek to Energy Fair
Effective and Economical Use of Solar Energy,
History of Wind Machines, Water-Pumping Windmills, How to Connect
a Small Renewable Energy System to the Utility, Insulated Window
Treatments, Keeping Cool Without an Air Conditioner, Passive Solar
Rooms, Hot Tips for Great Compost, Methane Gas Production, Run
Your Car on French Fry Grease.
These and more than a hundred other workshop
and exhibit titles will pack the three-day program of what is
being touted as the world’s largest renewable energy event.
The tiny central Wisconsin community of Custer will welcome a
crowd that could surpass 15,000 to the Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Living Fair on the weekend of June 20–22. For the second
year, the event will be on the grounds of the ReNew the Earth
Institute, operated by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association
(MREA), located just off Highway 10 midway between Stevens Point
and Amherst.
Broad Appeal
The fair, in its 14th year, is expected to again
attract environmentally conscious people from 49 states and 36
countries, according to Executive Director Tehri Parker. “Fairgoers
will find entertainment, speakers, workshops, exhibitors, and
like-minded people all interested in preserving the earth and
our standard of living through renewable energy,” she said.
Broad topic categories for the many workshops include photovoltaics
(electricity from sunlight), wind systems, water and hydroelectric
systems, energy efficient and passive solar buildings, green building
materials, heating and cooling, transportation and fuels, sustainable
lifestyles, issues and activism, gardening, landscaping, and others.
Exhibitors representing a wide variety of businesses and organizations
involved with energy production, conservation, efficiency, and
development will display their products and services throughout
the tents, buildings, and plots that make up the fair. Fairgoers
will see solar panels, wind turbines, super energy efficient light
bulbs and home appliances, and examples of construction techniques
using such varied materials as cobs, straw bales, tires, and adobe.
Parker estimates that the fair will spread across nearly 45 acres,
including the property of the ReNew the Earth Institute and two
neighboring farms.
“We’ve seen steady growth in fair attendance,”
said Parker. “We had heavy rains last year, and even though
our attendance was down, we got 12,000 people anyway.”
Practicing What They Preach
Fair organizers take the “sustainability”
portion of the event’s title seriously, operating all of
the lights, machines, appliances, and other electrical devices
with “green” energy sources. “From our own sources,
we produce 30–40 percent of what the fair needs,”
explained Parker, referring to wind and photovoltaic gear either
permanently used by the institute or erected for the fair. “For
the rest, we buy green power from Alliant Energy’s Second
Nature Program.” The purchased power is required primarily
because of the needs of vendors at the fair, she explained.
“We’ll also be composting food scraps on site,”
she continued. “This has been a lot of fun making the event
itself sustainable. This year, even our plates and utensils are
100-percent biodegradable; all can go into compost.” Plus,
fairgoers are encouraged to bring their own cups, plates, and
utensils in order to cut down on waste.
Not-So-Modest Beginnings
The very first Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Living Fair in the summer of 1990 drew a respectable crowd of
4,000, encouraging organizers to make the event an annual opportunity.
The genesis of that first fair, according to Parker, was a challenge
published by Home Power magazine Editor Richard Perez in the spring
of 1990. It seems the magazine, published in Ashland, Oregon,
had long been a source of articles on renewable energy, but its
editor had become frustrated by a lack of outlets to actually
showcase the technology he advocated. Hence, he challenged readers
to create visible expositions for the innovations.
Parker said a handful of residents of Amherst who were using renewable
energy partnered with a few others and organized the first fair,
held at the Portage County 4-H Fairgrounds near Amherst. One other
fair, a solar energy expo, was organized that same year in California,
but the Wisconsin event is the only one of the original challenge-takers
still operating. Last year, Home Power listed a dozen renewable
energy fairs in addition to Wisconsin’s being held across
the country, and Parker said many of them were helped along by
information and individuals associated with the Wisconsin show.
Prompting Permanence
The success of the first fair in Wisconsin prompted
organizers to create a more formal structure to help sustain their
efforts year to year. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association,
incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, came into
existence shortly thereafter, governed by a volunteer board of
directors that is elected annually. Directors have included individuals
who own renewable energy businesses, energy efficiency consultants,
architects, construction business owners, university staff, and
other interested business people and consumers.
The board first hired a part-time executive director in 1991.
Today, that post is full-time, as are several other positions.
“We have five and a half permanent employees and three interns
from UW–Stevens Point,” said Parker, herself a product
of university graduate programs in environmental education. She
became co-executive director in 1996 and executive director in
1997.
The association operates with funding from annual fair admissions
and booth rentals, dues from more than 2,100 active members, fees
from a variety of workshops and other outreach programs conducted
throughout the year, grants, and donations.
In 1999, MREA got a permanent home when it bought a building and
acreage that was owned by a wildlife rehabilitation organization
at 7558 Deer Road in Custer, Wisconsin, just seven miles from
Amherst. Since then, the facility, called the ReNew the Earth
Institute, has become a showplace for renewable energy systems,
with a 3.5-kilovolt wind generator atop a 120-foot tower; two
photovoltaic systems—one connected to the utility grid where
excess power is sold back to Alliant Energy, one off-grid; two
solar hot water systems; and an assortment of energy-efficient
construction displays showing alternatives to conventional design
and materials.
Parker said the main day-to-day activities at the institute involve
organizing and scheduling presentations for consumer, school,
and professional groups conducted by an array of experts who design
and build renewable energy systems for home and small commercial
use. Putting interested consumers together with capable builders
and installers is a prime focus of MREA networking, according
to Parker.
Moveable Fair
The annual renewable energy fair—the most
daunting of MREA’s projects—stayed at the Portage
County Fairgrounds until 2000, after which it had a one-year run
in Madison, piggybacking the American Solar Energy Conference
that was held there. The fair moved back to the Portage County
facility in 2001, and in 2002 it relocated to the ReNew the Earth
Institute at Custer, where it is expected to remain. Parker said
one of the drawbacks to the 4-H fairgrounds was that a variety
of demonstration systems had to first be erected for the fair
then disassembled following the three-day show. At Custer, a variety
of representative renewable energy systems are both on-site and
permanent.
In addition to the five-acre parcel belonging to the institute,
land and buildings from neighboring Heartland Stables and a field
belonging to neighbor Lenny Pliska are rented to fill out the
space necessary for exhibits and parking.
Attendee Mix
MREA promotes the fair through a variety of
local, regional, and national publications, and the organization
estimates that about 30 percent of fair attendees are from beyond
the Midwest. “We have student, entrepreneur, and other groups
from as far away as Japan, Kenya, and Senegal,” said Parker,
noting the fair typically occurs about the same time as the American
Solar Energy Conference, drawing a number of dual attendees. “About
50 percent of fairgoers are from Wisconsin, while about 70 percent
could be called Midwestern,” she continued.
The Impact
Are the fair and other MREA activities having
an impact on the renewable energy usage?
“Realistically, 15,000 among all consumers using electricity
is just a drop in the bucket,’ Parker lamented. “We’re
just scratching the surface.” But she is encouraged by the
growth in fair attendance, MREA organization and outreach, and
the number of home-sized renewable energy systems being installed
as a result of MREA efforts.
“People are interested, and they’re spreading the
word,” she said. “We’re always the most hopeful
when the tents go up and people start coming through the doors.”
For at least three days beginning June 20, there should be plenty
of hope for our energy future.—Story by Perry Baird; photos
courtesy of MREA and Steve Meyer, Jackson Electric Cooperative
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Waste Not, Want Not
You Never Know What May Turn Out to
be Valuable
The stuff that used to make a Sunday drive
in the country an exotic experience for urban nostrils now offers
its own unique contribution to our energy needs and a cleaner
environment.
The "win-win" situation may be a
concept that has fallen on hard times, with the examples of
Enron, California-style electric “deregulation,”
and a host of other colossal energy-industry failures to make
the prudent person wary.
But it’s also healthy to give our skepticism
an occasional rest, and a new undertaking by Dairyland Power
Cooperative, a forward-looking company called Microgy, and soon,
farmers served by Dairyland's distribution co-op members, is
looking like a great opportunity to prove the elusive “win-win”
is achievable after all.
Earlier this year, Dairyland signed a letter
of intent with Microgy, a subsidiary of Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based
Environmental Power Corporation. Their plan is to produce renewable
electricity at dairy and swine farms within Dairyland’s
62-county service area, using “waste-to-energy”
technology.
The basic resource is manure. It will be coaxed
into yielding methane gas by anaerobic digestion, and the gas
will be burned to generate electricity.
Environmental Power (EPC) and Microgy are the
exclusive North American licensees in the use of an efficient
Danish anaerobic digestion technology, said by EPC to yield
five times as much gas as any other system. It's been operating
at two-dozen European sites since the mid-1980s.
The project will begin with five megawatts
of generating capacity. It’s planned to expand over the
course of five years to 25 megawatts. If that sounds small by
comparison with a baseload power plant of several hundred to
a thousand or more megawatts, think of it in terms of the roughly
20,000 homes in the Dairyland service territory whose energy
needs will be met by this renewable resource.
Power Plant in the Barnyard
A news release from Dairyland this spring spelled
out concisely how the waste-to-energy projects will work. In
essence, a miniature power plant will be sited at each participating
farm. Microgy’s role is to supply the basic equipment:
the digester, which the farmer will own, and the generating
equipment, which Dairyland will own. Manure from cattle or swine
will be collected and heated in a digester tank. In this anaerobic
(oxygen-starved) environment, bacteria will break down the manure,
and the resulting methane—known more and more commonly
as “biogas”—will be sold by the farmer to
Dairyland, to fuel the gas-fired electric generators. The naturally
occurring pathogenic bacteria in the animal waste are destroyed
and the farmer will have the opportunity to use the residues
as organic fuels or mulch.
Several important issues are thus addressed
simultaneously:
• By exploiting a long-overlooked energy source, Dairyland
gets help meeting the continuing growth of demand for the co-op’s
power.
• Farmers get to dispose of livestock waste by a method
that adds economic value in the process.
• Concerns about air and water pollution arising from
the disposal of manure are significantly reduced, in a manner
that yields multiple benefits.
• The overall “fuel mix” supporting the region’s
energy consumption is improved.
That final point is likely to grow increasingly significant
as time goes on. The Dairyland system spans parts of Wisconsin,
Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois—places where the manure
used in waste-to-energy generation will be abundant as far into
the future as anyone can foresee. Even a relatively modest addition
of generation capacity using such a dependably available fuel
source—one whose price is less affected by other competing
uses than, say, natural gas—can help smooth out some of
the peaks and valleys in energy prices and strengthen system
reliability in times of heavy demand.
Up and Running in '03?
Dairyland and Microgy are hopeful the project
will begin delivering power into the grid sometime this year,
and so far things appear to be on target.In a May meeting at
Dairyland’s La Crosse headquarters, the participants discussed
a number of individual farms that could qualify to host waste-to-energy
facilities.
It's not automatic that any farm with livestock
is the right place to make electricity. Crucial factors in evaluating
the suitability of a given site include geography and size of
the herd.
A farm’s geographic location matters
mainly because ready access to existing electric infrastructure
can help mitigate construction costs. And the herd must be substantial
enough to ensure a steady supply of the raw material. The ideal
situation is a farm with a large or very large herd, served
by a three-phase distribution line and located in close proximity
to a substation.
Of course, the required volume of raw material
is a need that could be met in more than one way. At last month's
meeting in La Crosse, the possibility of farmers with smaller
operations forming a cooperative venture and pooling their,
umm... resources, was among the topics discussed.
Deb Mirasola, communications manager at Dairyland, told Wisconsin
Energy Cooperative News the electricity output from a typical
waste-to-energy site is anticipated to be about one to two megawatts.
There's nothing to prevent them generating more, provided sufficient
fuel is available; hence the focus on large operations or pooling.
The collective wastes of about 1,000 cows
would be needed to consistently produce a megawatt of on-peak
power, Mirasola noted.
The initial investment required will vary considerably,
depending on the individual farmer's situation. But it's an
investment that's sure to begin paying for itself the minute
the equipment is running.
And that element of certainty asserts itself
in other ways. Wisconsin’s variable climate discourages
heavy reliance on other renewable energy sources such as wind
and solar power: the wind is inconsistent and the sun has been
known to go AWOL for extended periods of time. But so long as
livestock play a key role in the economy of Dairyland’s
western Wisconsin service area, manure will be readily accessible
as a source of fuel.
At the same time, the cost of managing animal
waste will grow more and more daunting as farmers face increasing
pressure from federal and state environmental regulators. In
EPC's world view, that's a problem waiting to be turned into
an opportunity. Along with Microgy and Dairyland, the company
believes it has a way for the farmer not only to get around
the waste problem, but also to make money doing so.
The energy industry may finally be coming
up with a win-win after all.—Dave Hoopman
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Going “Home”
Editorial by Perry Baird
Before hunkering down on legislative issues,
national and state organizers of the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association Legislative Conference in Washington,
D.C., will traditionally ask assembled co-op leaders, “For
how many of you is this your first time in Washington?”
From the show of hands among the several thousand
participants who gathered at this year’s conference from
across the country—including the cluster of about 50 who
represented Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives—it
was clear 9 out of 10 attendees were repeat visitors.
Indeed, I recognized countless co-op directors
and managers who had been trekking to the nation’s capital
ever since 1981 when I began making the annual trip, and I know
of some who had been at it years longer. The Capitol Hill turf
was comfortably familiar to most in the crowd.
Veteran D.C. Dwellers
But there were several travelers among the
Wisconsin group this year whose exposure to Washington, D.C.,
pre-dated even that of our longest-serving co-op directors by
decades. Three ladies from La Crosse—Kathryn La Fleur,
Adele Stolder, and Marge Dixon—had returned to retrace
experiences in Washington, D.C., dating back more than 60 years.
Kathryn, mother of Riverland Energy Co-op director
Tom La Fleur, prevailed upon her son to drive the three friends
to the capital city, piggybacking their stay with Tom’s
participation in the legislative conference. All at about age
80, they weren’t up to the sort of independent travel
that marked the women’s first excursion there in the spring
of 1942.
The story began with four 19-year-olds enrolled
in secretarial classes at what was the predecessor of Western
Wisconsin Technical College. Kathryn, Adele, Marge, and classmate
Betty Trinkes, all recent high school graduates from La Crosse,
were given a standardized skills test prescribed by the government.
They took the test on a Saturday, learned the following Tuesday
they had all passed, and found themselves transplanted in Washington,
D.C., four days later.
Essentially “drafted” into a variety
of government wartime jobs, the quartet scarcely had time to
say goodbye to their families. In fact, Adele’s mother
had been out of town and didn’t know of her departure
until after the fact.
During their years of wartime service, the
four lived together in several different apartments throughout
the city. Marge was first to return home to La Crosse; the rest
followed in 1945, and all settled within a short walk of each
other. They all vowed someday to return together to the city
where they had such eye-opening experiences as young adults.
“They were talking about this ever since I was a kid,”
Tom told me.
Bittersweet Return
Alas, the return would involve just a trio;
Betty died within the past two years. Tom speculated that her
passing might have been what prompted his mom, Adele, and Marge
to pursue their dream this May.
He reported the women had amazing success visiting
their old living quarters (which were still in use) as well
as 1940s landmarks. Even new monuments took on special meaning,
such as the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial; two of the four women
were on hand to witness Roosevelt’s funeral procession
in April 1945.
“They’re talking about going back,”
Tom exclaimed.
If they do, these duty-minded ladies from La Crosse are more
than welcome to travel again with the seasoned crowd from the
electric cooperatives.
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Vicarious Pleasures
at a Victorian Villa
If you’ve ever dreamed of being wealthy Victorian farmer
or a fur trader on Wisconsin’s Mississippi River banks,
Villa Louise offers a perfect opportunity to feed your imagination.
In 1826, pioneer fur trader Hercules Dousman first settled on
the spot where Prairie du Chien stands today. Plying their trade
as frontier entrepreneurs, Dousman and his heirs amassed a fortune.
Son H. Louis Dousman and his wife, Nina, built Villa Louise
in 1870 on St. Feriole Island, on a mound overlooking the Mississippi,
as a centerpiece of their country estate. They furnished their
Prairie du Chien mansion lavishly with elegant antiques, heirlooms,
and art. Then, in 1885, they completely redecorated the home
in the popular and pompous Victorian style.
Today, the Wisconsin Historical Society operates Villa Louis
as a state historical site. The Historical Society has recently
restored the mansion to its 1890s magnificence, making it one
of America’s most authentically restored Victorian homes.
The public is invited to experience this masterpiece and all
the history it enbodies.
This month, two special events are planned at Villa Louis. On
June 9, the site will celebrate Visitor Appreciation Day, with
a special low admission. And on June 28 and 29, you’re
among invited guests of the Dousmans for A Weekend in the Country.
At Villa Louis, you will learn how the wealthy whiled away summer
days with such leisure pastimes as lawn golf, tennis, croquet,
and picnicking.
Special activities later in the season include The War of 1812
in Wisconsin: The Battle of Prairie du Chien on July 19 and
20, in which a historic encampment and battle reenactment occur
on the lawn of Villa Louis—once the site of Wisconsin’s
only War of 1812 battle. On September 6 and 7, Villa Louis hosts
its annual Carriage Classic, in which more than 100 carriages
vie in ring classes and obstacle driving, as they did when Villa
Louis was one of the Midwest’s top racehorse farms.
Villa Louis is open daily, 9–5, now through October 31.
For more information, call 608/326-2721 or visit www.wisconsinhistory.org/sites.—Linda
Hilton
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