The Best Teacher
	Novel Nukes
	EDITORIAL
	Wisconsin Favorites Fat Tire Fest spells Fun

The Best Teacher
Experience Helps Dairyland Grow Its Renewables

BRenewable energy sources currently make up a small percentage—possibly 5 percent on a big day—of Wisconsin’s overall electric generation. Boosting that percentage is seen as a means to multiple ends: reducing our need to import energy from other states and nations, slowing the transfer of America’s wealth to interests that are often hostile to our very existence, and converting materials that might otherwise damage the environment into clean energy and useful by-products.

Actually accomplishing that percentage boost depends on several factors, including the creativity to recognize what’s out there waiting to be harvested and, increasingly, the growing body of practical experience in applying renewables technology.

Both within and outside its service territory in western Wisconsin and parts of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, La Crosse-based Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) is involved in a wide array of renewable projects, gathering experience to build on.

Improving with Age

People have been harnessing the wind to produce energy long enough for it to fall out of vogue and climb back again. But the newest turbines cranking out electricity in breezy places across the Midwest are a far cry not only from the rusty 1940s windmills still occasionally seen on farms and ranches; they’re a far cry from turbines put in service just a few years ago.

Since the late 1990s, Dairyland has offered wind-generated electricity from a Southwest Minnesota wind farm the generation and transmission cooperative partially owns.

In a recent conversation with Neil Kennebeck, Dairyland’s director of planning, Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News learned that in the comparatively short time since DPC undertook the project, things have changed rapidly and for the better.

For instance, when enthusiasm for wind was rekindling in the ’90s, the typical turbine produced less than a megawatt of power. But large footprint versus small output is a steadily diminishing problem. Kennebeck notes that DPC’s initial installation was five 1.5-megawatt machines, soon followed by six rated at 1.65 megawatts. And the increase in generation capacity wasn’t the only positive step.

“These second-generation machines are 20 to 30 percent more efficient and turn on at lower wind speeds,” he says, adding, “The next increment will be to 2.5-megawatt machines with a rotor diameter of 99 meters and still more efficient.”

Asked how much farther advances in wind energy can be pushed, Kennebeck is optimistic. Continuing technological improvement “has definitely been the trend and will probably continue for some time,” he says. Compared even with the past decade, “The blade designs are better, the gear boxes are better; they’re engineered way better than they used to be. The materials are better; they’re more reliable than in the past.”

And if the varied uses of wind down through the centuries suggest a kind of low-tech passivity, keep in mind that the most modern turbines use computerized control systems to keep them continuously turned into the wind, to constantly adjust the blade pitch—optimizing power production—and to shut the machine down if they detect excessive vibration or other signs of a malfunction.

Thanks to these continuing improvements, DPC had available more than 12 megawatts of wind power July 31 when its system set an all-time record for peak electrical demand. That’s a significant number in that it represents roughly one-fifth of the system’s summer load-management capability.

Rollin’ On the River

Usually, it costs more to produce electricity from renewable sources than from conventional utility generation, but there’s a conspicuous exception. The least expensive electricity made in the United States comes from a renewable technology that lit things up in Wisconsin when the 19th century still had a couple of decades left to run. The nation’s first hydroelectric station was a 12.5-kilowatt facility on the Fox River in Appleton that began powering one home and two paper mills in 1882.

Though DPC’s hydro experience doesn’t reach back quite that far, it has been producing power from a station on the Flambeau River near Ladysmith for 55 years. With a 2004 federal license renewal permitting operations to continue for another 32 years, Flambeau Hydro is among the larger such generating facilities in a state that has several dozen small ones.

But the potential to expand that renewable capacity, in Neil Kennebeck’s view, is “zero.”

The reasons are complicated, but involve the expense of installing new equipment, the cost of varied environmental studies that would be required, and the reluctance of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources to permit conventional hydro operations.

The DNR has both a role in the federal licensure process and a recent track record of denying permission to store water behind a dam so as to maximize the facility’s usefulness at peak demand. Instead, the agency has been conditioning license renewals on “run of the river” operation, utilizing whatever energy is available at any given time.

This diminishes one important benefit of a hydro facility, which delivers its greatest economic value if it’s used to replace other generation when demand—and the wholesale price of power—is highest. On the other hand, there’s an even more basic benefit that can’t be diminished. If violent weather or some other calamity shuts down a utility’s entire system, electricity is needed to restart it. A hydro facility has the “blackstart capability” to get the rest of the system back on line when nothing else is running.

Moreover, DPC has been improving the efficiency of Flambeau’s existing equipment to make the most of its day-to-day operations. At the time of license renewal, the three units were rated at a combined capacity of 22 megawatts. By rewinding two of the three old generators, capacity has been increased about one megawatt on each, and the third may be similarly upgraded if economics permit.

Digesting New Ideas

Like Windmills and hydropower, dairy farming has been around for a long time. Its role as a source of electricity has not.

Dairyland began investigating generation based on manure digesters in 1998. It found some vendors offering digesters to convert manure into methane, some selling engines to burn methane and run generation equipment, some selling concrete for the basic infrastructure, “but nobody did a comprehensively engineered project,” Neil Kennebeck says, so DPC set out to offer a standard package with the digester, generator, and interconnection to the power grid, tailored to a 1,000-head dairying operation.

Three of the five projects planned for the initial phase of DPC’s “biogas” program are now up and running—but not without some surprises along the way.

Initially unsure whether gas production would be sufficient, Kennebeck says that concern quickly proved unfounded but, unexpectedly, the engines used to run the turbines, designed for fuels other than methane, were constantly breaking down.

Switching to an Austrian engine specifically designed to burn biogas solved that problem, with the added benefits of smaller engine size, greater power output, and more efficiency at less cost.

Possibly the biggest surprise, according to Jesse Singerhouse, marketing, communications and member services manager at Dunn Energy Cooperative, is what the farmer gets out of the deal.

One of DPC’s three initial digester projects, the Five Star Dairy operation at Elk Mound, is on Dunn Energy lines. Singerhouse says it was assumed that making electricity from manure and selling it back to Dairyland would be the main attraction for the dairy farmer, but his biggest payoff came in the different approach to handling waste.

A trip through the digester turns manure into a dry, fluffy, odorless substance that’s sterile and suitable for use as animal bedding. The farmer doesn’t have to haul it away and it can be used to bed the animals as deeply as desired. This seems to be contributing to better animal health and significantly reducing animal replacement costs.

“We were surprised” at how the project’s benefits have played out, Singerhouse says.

Kennebeck says dairy farm-based digester projects are still planned for Dorchester (in Clark County) and a location in Minnesota, and “We still have every intention of moving to swine and also to see if there’s something to be done with poultry.”

The Fat of the Landfill

The newest addition to DPC’s renewable program is landfill gas, methane derived from decomposition of garbage.

In 2004, generation commenced at the ONYX landfill in Eau Claire, on Eau Claire Energy Cooperative lines. Dairyland purchases the methane from the landfill, to fuel three megawatts of generation and power about 2,600 homes on Eau Claire Energy lines.

Landfills in Lake Mills (Iowa) and Bruce, Wisconsin, provide DPC with another eight megawatts, and Kennebeck says another three megawatts will come on line within the next 12 months at the Allied BFI landfill in Sarona.

An unusual twist is that the waste-handling firm BFI has allowed Dairyland to partner with Waste Management, Inc., for design, maintenance, and operation of the generation facility. Kennebeck credits Waste Management with “an absolutely stellar track record,” routinely obtaining 95 to 98 percent of the rated generation capacity from its landfill gas projects.

He foresees increasing generation at 18- to 24-month intervals as the Washburn County landfill site grows. Asked if waste disposal translates into a lot more renewable energy capacity waiting to be gotten, Kennebeck says, “That’s a fact and we’re gonna’ try to get it all.”—Dave Hoopman

Novel Nukes
Industry Touts New Reactor Designs

Editor’s note: A feature story in our May 2006 issue (see article archived at wecnmagazine.com) noted that rising costs for fossil fuel, concerns about power-plant emissions, and improved reactor designs were factors prompting some government, industry, and consumer interests to revive U.S. interest in nuclear power. While nuclear construction has been on hold in this country for the past 27 years, abroad there remains active nuclear development—350 plants have been built in the past two decades and research on reactor design and fueling continues. We ran across the following story in Nuclear Energy Insight that described a new type of reactor poised to be built in South Africa, and thought it offered a useful perspective on evolving nuclear technology. Story and graphics courtesy of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

As developed and developing countries alike examine and expand their energy infrastructures to support growing economies, the need for stable and sustainable sources of energy becomes paramount.

Sustainability encompasses both long-term economic viability and minimal environmental impact. Nuclear energy demonstrates both aspects, but economies of scale primarily come from large plants that take many years to permit and build. Additionally, diversion of radioactive materials to the creation of weapons in developing countries is a concern.

A company in South Africa is nearing construction of a potentially revolutionary nuclear energy plant—the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). PBMR Pty. Ltd. is in the final stages of designing and licensing the demonstration project, with construction anticipated in 2007 at the site of the operating Koeberg nuclear power plant north of Cape Town. The company signed significant contracts during the past six months for long-lead-time components, some taking as long as 22 months to manufacture, as well as contracts for construction engineering and management services.

South Africa generates nearly half of Africa's electricity, with more than 90 percent produced by coal-fired plants, while nuclear power accounts for approximately 6 percent. Electricity demand in South Africa is growing at an annual rate of 15 percent, according to government officials.

Pebbled Fuel

Differences between the planned PBMR reactor and light-water reactors operating in the United States today include fuel design, cooling mechanism, electricity output, and construction process.

Billiard ball-sized “pebbles" of ceramic graphite, impregnated with thousands of tiny, coated particles of low-enriched uranium, fuel the PBMR in a continuous process that eliminates refueling outages. Operators feed fresh pebbles into the top of the reactor. The pebbles then travel through the core, coming to rest at the bottom. For optimal fuel use, pebbles travel through the core six times before being discharged to used-fuel tanks.

Since the uranium and subsequent used fuel products are embedded in the graphite fuel spheres, separation of material is more difficult, increasing the proliferation resistance of the design.

Light-water reactors planned and under construction today would produce 1,200 to 1,600 megawatts of energy and require four or five years to build. Countries with rapid growth or large demand can easily absorb these plants, but smaller economies are more suited to smaller plants. Also, a PBMR site would not require large water supplies, because it uses helium—not water—to cool the reactor

The PBMR concept consists of pre-fabricated modules assembled at the plant site in just two years. Each reactor supports a smaller 165-megawatt plant, and a utility could build several plants at one site. This allows a phase-in of new units as electricity demand grows.

Interest, Ongoing Research

Developing countries on different continents have expressed interest in the PBMR design because smaller plants could be built quickly as demand grows, fit well within established electricity grids, and require smaller capital investments and fewer employees.

Other companies also are researching advanced gas-cooled reactors. For example, France-based AREVA Corporation is working on the ANTARES (AREVA New Technology based on Advanced as-cooled Reactors for Energy Supply) program aimed at developing a commercial reactor for process heat and electricity generation. General Atomics has developed its gas turbine-modular helium reactor, which consists of two interconnected pressure vessels—one contains the reactor system and the second holds the power conversion system.

EDITORIAL
by Perry Baird

Final Connection

Hired in May 1944 as a lineman, he threw the switch that sent electricity flowing to Bayfield Electric Co-op’s first member. That was in January 1945, and by the time he retired—43 years later—Oscar Lahti had become one of the most recognizable and, yes, beloved figures in Wisconsin’s cooperative family.

His career in rural electrification literally spanned the full history of Bayfield Electric Co-op up to his 1988 retirement. Half of Oscar’s career was spent literally building the electric system, the other half managing the cooperative to which it belongs. Along the way, he earned top honors from statewide organizations for his service to Wisconsin’s cooperative business.

We learned that Oscar died August 3 at age 88.

Lighting Things Up

“God said, ‘Let there be Light,’ then He created linemen to distribute it," was the phrase imprinted on a cap Oscar once gave me. You could tell he was fond of the sentiment, even though he wasn't strapping on hooks and climbing poles for a living anymore.

His was a somewhat unique combination of experiences, one that gave Oscar a wealth of knowledge and a down-to-earth practicality that jibed perfectly with his off-the-cuff, homespun wit and manner of speaking.

“Wait ’til you hear this guy; you'll love him!” was part of a whispered exchange between two Illinois electric co-op directors I once overheard at a regional electric co-op meeting as Oscar ambled to the podium to address the delegates. A deadpan delivery and slow, thick vocals turned reports on even the driest topics into anticipated events—and even the most predictable of jokes into gut-busters. Listening to Oscar was a comfortable way of getting informed and enlightened. At his most intense, he still seemed at ease.

In 1983, two statewide co-op organizations—the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association (WECA) and the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives—each bestowed their highest award on Oscar for his service to co-op and community.

Political Tip

White hair, gentle smile, leisurely yet deliberate motions, Oscar was frequently dubbed "Tip" because of a resemblance to Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The nickname fit even more naturally because of the respect Oscar's electric co-op colleagues had for him, as they might for a statesman of O’Neill’s caliber.

Besides, Oscar was well known in the political arena, serving many years as the state chairman for the electric co-ops’ political action arm, the Action Committee for Rural Electrification. As a longtime member of the WECA Legislative Committee, his presence was felt in Madison and Washington, D.C., on legislative issues affecting rural electrification. Lawmakers knew him and respected his counsel.

You don't need to make a pest of yourself," he once admonished his fellow committee members, commenting on what he regarded as the most effective way of lobbying legislators. The advice illustrated his style of dealing with people in all walks of life: Say what needs saying when it needs saying, be friendly, and don't gush.

With Oscar Lahti, words didn't come cheap, or in great abundance. But for a great variety of reasons, and to the cooperatives’ benefit, they were usually listened to.

Fat Tire Fest spells Fun

Lots of people have trouble spelling “Chequamegon,” but those who’ve attended agree that the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival spells “fun” for participants and observers alike.

The Chequemegon Fat Tire Festival brings together a field of 2,500 bicyclists from throughout the country who seek adventure through off-road racing in the Cable–Hayward area in northern Wisconsin.

Saturday, September 16, the 40-mile race begins at 10 a.m. with a mass start of 1,700 participants on Hayward’s Main Street. According to Gary Crandall, director for the festival, this start—the nation’s largest mass start for point-to-point off-road bicycling—is a spectacle not to be missed. The grueling “Chequamegon 40” winds over the famed American Birkebeiner Ski Trail, through forest roads and wooded lanes, to the finish line at Telemark Resort near Cable. Telemark, which also hosts each winter’s Birkebeiner, is situated on the lines of Bayfield Electric Cooperative. In putting on the weekend’s events, Telemark and the Fat Tire Festival staff are joined by major sponsor Trek and by many other national and local sponsors.

Though the biggest event is the Chequamegon 40, other events are scheduled to ensure a full weekend of fun for cyclists, their families, and spectators. Also on Saturday, the less strenuous “Short and Fat” race takes off from Cable’s Randysek Road at 10 a.m. This 16-mile event follows similar trails, but is scaled for 800 younger or less experienced bicyclists who would be unable to tackle the 40-mile tour.

Spectators are encouraged to watch the beginnings and exciting finishes of both events. The two starting points and Telemark, the finish line for both races, will offer concession booths, information, and various Fat Tire souvenirs.

Crandall explained that these two Saturday events are limited to 2,500 participants in all to preserve the trails involved and to help ensure the safety of the riders. He said many more than 2,500 apply, with the final participants chosen by lottery. In addition, those not chosen have the opportunity to vie for 50 more spots awarded through an essay contest, “50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon.” These contest winners account for spots that may be vacated by “no-shows” who were originally selected.

Sunday, September 17, involves participants who’ve registered in two more events. The “Rough Stuff Rendezvous” is a treasure hunt that challenges bicyclists to use both brains and brawn to track down seven checkpoints indicated on their orienteering maps before returning to the finish. In the “Cable Criterium,” a tight, twisting half-mile course is the site for laps and finals that will determine age-class champions and the overall Criterium champion.

Sunday is also “Sunday Funday,” with free events for anyone who wants to participate or just watch the fun. These events require no registration. They include the Klunker Bike Toss, Lumber Jack and Jill Log Pull, Hammer Shammer Hill Climb, and a Children’s Bicycle Rodeo
.—Linda Hilton, photos by Tom Kelly and Kelly Randolph

For more information about the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival Festival, consult www.cheqfattire.com or call 715/798-3594. For lodging and other information about the area, contact the Cable Area Chamber of Commerce or the Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce.