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Environmental Policy

2001 Energy Forum

GUEST COLUMN

Wisconsin can secure an environmentally sound energy future

By John Imes

Understanding the links between energy reliability and environmental quality is the theme of the September 14th “Energy Forum” sponsored by the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative in collaboration with the We the People / Wisconsin “Powering Wisconsin” project.  The WEI Energy Forum will explore ways to fulfill Wisconsin’s energy needs - while positively impacting the environment and economy.

A challenge for Energy Forum participants will be not only looking at traditional approaches to energy reliability, but also examining innovative strategies and technologies that could constitute important parts of our future energy mix.  Energy efficient technologies, “green” building practices and new developments in energy markets offer a great place from which to start.

What businesses are doing:

Leading Wisconsin companies like Hoffman Corporation, Johnson Controls, Miller Brewing, Quad/Graphics and West Bend Mutual Insurance demonstrate the abundant opportunities for cutting costs, increasing profits, improving worker productivity, enhancing corporate image and deriving environmental benefit from energy efficiency.

Companies that participate in the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program (www.wifocusonenergy.com) and Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (www.wgba.org) and incorporate high efficiency lighting and windows, state-of-the shelf heating and cooling systems and environmentally responsible design can achieve similar benefits. For example:

·         The West Bend Mutual Insurance Company’s new headquarters in West Bend reduced energy consumption by 40 percent per square foot with a corresponding 7 percent increase in employee productivity, comfort and air quality versus their old headquarters.  At a annual salary base of $13 million, the companies gain in productivity is worth $910,000 -- a substantial return on investment.

 

·         The Johnson Controls Brengel Technology Center in Milwaukee, was one of the first 12 buildings in the world to earn The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by using innovative, cost-effective environmental design and construction techniques in the areas of site selection, energy efficiency, water conservation and indoor air quality.

Both of these buildings were built in line with the market average construction costs.  Imagine if most Wisconsin companies and institutions made similar investments in technology, practice and mindset, and realized the same energy and productivity benefits.  One result might be a “clean company” benchmark and brand for Wisconsin, a business climate which attracts and retains clean jobs and investment and furthers business environmental performance.

Business leaders are also showing interest in generating their own electricity due to increasing concerns about energy deregulation, the adequacy of the power grid and rising costs of doing business.  A recent national survey by RKS Consulting showed that more than half of 800 energy decision makers representing agriculture and food processing, manufacturing, lodging and high-tech industries believe that self-generation is the best strategy for meeting growing electricity needs.

At the same time, over two thirds of the companies address environmental protection in their mission statements and express interest in “distributed generation,” which is on-site power such as fuel cells, reciprocating engines, microturbines, gas-fired co-generation, solar panel.  Distributed generation can address concerns about the availability, reliability, quality and cost of electricity.

Growing interest in generating electricity is not surprising.  A study by the Electric Power Research Institute shows that power outages and voltage fluctuations are costing the U.S. economy up to $188 billion a year. Telecommunications, biotechnology and continuous process manufacturers like paper producers are particularly vulnerable and represent sectors Wisconsin wants to attract and expand.  Companies may also want to chose cleaner distributed generation to strengthen their marketing message and communicate a strong environmental ethic to customers, including overseas customers who increasingly show a preference for environmentally savvy suppliers.

In rural Wisconsin, opportunities abound for Wisconsin’s farmers with wind power, biomass fuels (ethanol) and “manure to energy” applications to provide new markets and income from agricultural lands and products. 

What builders are doing:

Closer to home, WEI’s Green Built Home program and partnership with Wisconsin ENERGY STARâ Homes results in homes that are 25-30% more efficient than code built homes because they integrate efficient design with high levels of insulation, high performance windows, air tightness, and energy-efficient mechanical equipment, lighting and appliances.  Don Simon Homes, one of Wisconsin’s largest home builders recently committed all of its homes (about 300 homes per year) to the program.  Building to these standards means home owners will save thousands of dollars on utility bills, money that can be put back into Wisconsin’s economy rather than spent on imported fuels and rising energy bills.  Leading developers are also beginning to see the benefits of energy self sufficiency and are installing on-site distributed generation for their developments and marketing the energy reliability and environmental quality benefits to customers.

What schools are doing:

Schools provide another opportunity for cost effective environmental and energy efficient design and construction. A study of several North Carolina schools built with daylighting strategies (lighting sensors, low-transmitance glazing, improved lighting fixtures and shading) cut energy consumption by 20 to 64 percent, with a financial pay back of less than three years. 

More importantly, students outperformed those in non-daylit schools by as much as 14 percent.  A separate Canadian study concluded students were healthier and attended school three to four days more per year in daylit schools.  In Wisconsin, the Energy Center of Wisconsin (www.ecw.org) offers a daylighting collaborative for businesses and school districts to learn from.

What utilities are doing:

Wisconsin utilities have shown leadership in controlling emissions, investing in renewable energy sources, conservation and energy efficiency, and are also leading the development of market-based emission trading to address climate change concerns with minimal economic effects. The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) would enable participants to get credit for voluntary carbon emission reductions and to buy and sell credits in order to find the most cost-effective way of achieving reductions.  The goal is to reduce participants’ greenhouse gas emissions (representing 20% of the region) by 5 percent below 1999 levels over five years.

Leadership and technological innovation can lead Wisconsin to a more secure and environmentally sound energy future. WEI looks forward to establishing an innovative alliance between business, utilities, government and citizen groups, working together on common goals, achieving shared rewards, and catalyzing long-term effective solutions to Wisconsin’s energy and environmental challenges.

Imes is Executive Director for Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, a Madison based educational organization that serves as a catalyst for cooperation between business, citizen groups and government on strategies to benefit Wisconsin’s environment, economy and quality of life.  For more information on WEI’s Energy Forum please see their website at www.wi-ei.org.