State's largest wind farm gets OK

Posted by Bob Zahn

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) recently approved our revised plan to construct Glacier Hills Wind Park in Columbia County, Wis. When completed, Glacier Hills will be the largest wind farm in Wisconsin. 

The revised plan changes the distance between wind turbines and homes of non-participating residents from 1,000 to 1,250 feet.

Site preparation and foundation work could begin as early as this week. The 90-turbine wind farm is expected to be completed by late 2011 and generate 162 megawatts of power--enough to power 45,000 typical homes.

Visit our website to get more information about the project.

Winter was kind to natural gas heating customers

Posted by Bob Zahn

A warm winter and a cool economy combined to keep natural gas prices low during the past heating season. 

Our typical customer paid less for heating this winter than all but one other winter in the past decade. 

For the six-month heating season that ended April 30, heating costs for a typical customer were $625, down 26 percent or $220 from $845 in the winter of 2008-2009. The lowest heating season of the past decade was 2001–2002 when the average residential customer’s heating bill was $469.

Unusually mild weather in March and April was one factor. The other was price. Abundant natural gas supplies and reduced demand due to the weather and the economy helped keep natural gas prices low.

Most customers realized those savings in the month they occurred, but customers who use budget billing saw prices adjusted downward twice last year. Recently, an increase was made to budget billing based on forecasts of a return to normal weather this summer and next winter.

In a report this week, the Energy Information Administration issued a forecast saying that natural gas prices will be a bit higher over the coming months compared with a year ago. But prices are still forecast to be well below the elevated prices of natural gas seen in 2008, when gasoline, crude oil and natural gas prices all soared.

Largest customer-owned wind turbine begins generating power

Posted by Bob Zahn


The first 100-kilowatt wind turbine in our service territory was dedicated last week at Madison Area Technical College-Fort Atkinson, where the campus is gearing up to educate students about green energy jobs.


Connie Lindholm, who works in our Office of Energy Options, says the installation of the Northwind 100 wind turbine is expected to produce about 35 percent of campus energy needs. “At 155 feet tall, it's the most eye-catching structure in Fort Atkinson,” according to Connie, who says that our company and Focus on Energy, each contributed $100,000 toward the project cost.


See a related story at the Daily Union Online. Learn more about our renewable energy progams.

Nearly 21,000 customers buy additional renewable power

Posted by Bob Zahn

All of our customers buy some renewable energy as part of our standard mix of energy sources. Last year, the total was a little over 3 percent. That percentage will increase in the years ahead to meet regulatory requirements.

While all of us buy some renewable energy within our standard electric service, some customers are doing more by participating in our Energy for Tomorrow (EFT) program.

When we started the program in 1996, it was one of the first green pricing programs in the nation. Since then, participation has grown to nearly 21,000 residential customers and more than 700 businesses. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s annual assessment, our number of participants ranks ninth in the nation.

In terms of sales, our program sold more than 173-million kilowatt-hours, which ranked 10^th in the nation. A kilowatt-hour is enough power to light 10 100-watt light bulbs for one hour. Our average customer uses about 750 kilowatt-hours a month.

The primary sources of renewable energy used in the program are wind and landfill gas along with a small amount of solar. Because renewable energy costs more than energy generated from traditional sources, such as coal and nuclear, the price is slightly higher. The extra charge is 1.388 cents per kilowatt-hour if you buy all of your power as renewable, but you also can participate at a 50 or 25 percent level, reducing that charge accordingly.

The question always comes up as to whether we make more money on the EFT program because of the premium charged. So, I asked Pat Keily, who manages the program. “The EFT rate is set the same way as standard rates,” he said. “The EFT price just recovers the additional cost of renewable energy used for the program.”

The other question that often arises is why renewable energy costs more. After all, isn’t the fuel -- light from the sun, wind from the air, gas from the landfill and from other renewable sources – free or nearly free? That is true. The fuel itself is essentially free. However, there are costs for the investment in the equipment as well as the maintenance, and those costs -- per unit of energy produced -- are still much greater than they are for traditional sources of energy.

In the future, technology may make renewable energy more cost competitive. Until then, some customers are paying the premium for renewable energy, whether to reduce greenhouse gases or preserve energy resources.

If you are interested in learning more about EFT or want to sign up to buy more of your power from renewable energy sources, visit our website.