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Energy central
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New North region has tools and manpower that make renewable energy possible
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By Sean Johnson, March, 2010
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Jeff Ehlers knew just where he wanted to locate his startup renewable energy company when it launched in 2008. Northeast Wisconsin. Oshkosh, to be exact.
Certainly, there were personal reasons to locate Renewegy there. Ehlers and his partners were leaving an existing Oshkosh company and they had roots in the local community that made staying in the area an easy choice. But the business reasons were even more compelling: Northeast Wisconsin has all the tools to become a hub in the renewable energy industry.
“We are manufacturers,” Ehlers says. “If you look at the companies that get into wind turbines, they need fabricators, assembly and tool-and-die work. There is a fantastic manufacturing base here. That infrastructure has certainly helped.”
It’s an odd paradox that the bulwark of the region’s old economy could be the vanguard of its entry into a new, green economy. Ehlers looks at it practically. By locating in Oshkosh, recycling an old car dealership in the process, Renewegy is positioned to be within a 200-mile radius of the majority of all of its suppliers, a supply chain Ehlers is committed to using.
“The moral of the story is that we will use local manufacturing and engineering wherever we can,” says Ehlers.
Jerry Murphy sees the paradox as well and certainly wants to exploit it to the benefit of the New North region.
“There are not a lot of places out there that have the manufacturing capacity that we have here,” says Murphy, executive director of New North, Inc. “We are unique in that we are really well-positioned to participate in the first generation of renewable energy development providing the parts and services that make it work.”
New North has been extolling the capacity of the region’s manufacturing base as a benefit to the renewable energy industry. The organization recently compiled a supplier list touting local companies that can deliver various parts and services for the industry as part of its Wisconsin Wind Works effort.
Much of that is due to the region’s economic history, Murphy says. The region’s manufacturing economy was set up to capture resources such as water, agriculture and forestry products. Now, it’s a matter or repositioning that capacity and expertise to take advantage of new opportunities, whether its in wind, alternative fuels or finding ways to help existing industries improve their efficiency.
Local expertise was certainly a boost to SCA Tissue’s efforts to reduce its energy consumption, says Mike Dillon, SCA Tissue manager for environmental and risk management. SCA will erect four wind turbines at its Town of Menasha plant this spring in a test project to see if the company can use renewable energy technologies to reduce costs and reliance on traditional sources.
“When you think about these kinds of capabilities, you at first don’t think about this region,” Dillon says. “But they are here.”
Renewegy will construct the turbines for SCA, which will be the startup company’s first customer. Renewegy received a $525,000 low-interest loan from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to purchase equipment and create an estimated 40 jobs. Miron Construction prepared the foundations for the turbines this past fall and Faith Technologies will do the electrical work for the project.
For the SCA Tissue project, Renewegy will install a new type of wind turbine, which the company expects to market nationally and for international export. SCA will be sharing data it gathers from the project, which it expects will generate the equivalent of two months’ worth of electricity for the company’s administrative building.
The installation of the turbines this spring will mark the second such renewable energy project by SCA. The company installed more than 100 solar panels on the same building in 2008. The installation work for that project was also done by regional contractors.
“It’s always good to know that you are sourcing local and making a positive impact,” Dillon says.
The region’s oldest industry is also producing opportunities in this new arena. Wisconsin’s position as one of the leading dairy states also means it is a leader in something else – animal waste. Historically, that waste was disposed of by spreading it across available land. Today, the lack of available land and the environmental concerns about land application have led to increased costs for storing, transporting and processing that waste.
One solution is the use of an organic digester to process the waste as both an energy source and for usable byproducts. In late 2009, the Department of Natural Resources issued permits for NEW Organic Digestion in Denmark, which will handle waste from the Green Bay Dressed Beef Packing Facility. The digester will produce methane gas to power a generator while the separated solids can be used as animal bedding.
The digester was designed and is being installed by GHD Inc. of Chilton, which has digester projects in 20 states, company president Steve Dvorak says.
“For us, it came down to opportunity. The concentration of dairy farms here helped us and we have been able to expand it all across the nation,” Dvorak says. “We probably won’t have the resources here to export renewable energy, but that does not mean we can’t export the technology and create the jobs.”
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay environmental engineer John Katers is optimistic that Northeast Wisconsin will fare well as the first generation of renewable energy industries takes root across the country. He notes that the area has well-developed “green roots” in place from such long running events as the alternative energy fair that takes place in Custer each year.
His bigger concern is preparing the workforce for the next generation. He has been working with the two- and four-year colleges in the region to adapt their curriculum for the skills that will be needed going forward.
“We have a group of people in this region who understand how to manufacture things,” says Katers, “but there will be some new skills needed. What we need to is to get people involved in high school and let them know the job opportunities that will be available.”
Murphy says that’s why it’s important for the region to build a reputation as a hub for the equipment and skills that make renewable energy possible.
“Our sweet spot is probably not going to be power generation,” Murphy says. “Our focus is on getting our region positioned so we can take advantage and make money as the industry develops.”
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