WBIA BLOG

WBIA Member Boldt Wins $255 Million Biomass Plant Contract

WBIA member The Boldt Co. won the construction contract for WE Energies new $255 million biomass plant in Rothschild.  Boldt will provide all construction services for the plant that is to be built at the Domtar paper mill, and will use wood waste to produce electricity.

The project is now pending approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.  If approved, work will begin in spring 2011.

This project will help Wisconsin toward complying with the mandate that 10 percent of all the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2015. It is another important step for advancing Wisconsin’s biomass industry and securing energy security for our state and nation.

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Wisconsin’s Bio Industry Needs Your Help Today

A new bill in Wisconsin that would have a huge impact on the bio economy in Wisconsin could be introduced as soon as this week, and would work to extend the following:

- A 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC)
- A 54-cent-per-gallon ethanol tariff
- A cellulosic ethanol tax credit
- A small producers tax credit

    We are asking everyone’s help by making a call to your Congressional Representative and sending a letter asking for their support of this important bill.  It is critical to gain their support now for a bill that will have such an impact on the bio industry in Wisconsin.

    Without extension, these tax credits will expire at the end of this year, causing an immediate spike in fuel costs.  Without the VEETC credit, for example, taxpayers will see an increase of $5.4 billion in taxes at the fuel pump, an oppressive amount in this difficult economy.

    A GAO study found that since 1968 the oil industry has received more than $150 million in tax breaks, subsidies and incentives.  Support for ethanol has amounted to less than a tenth of that total.  Why wouldn’t we spend just as much on a source of fuel that reduces our dependency on foreign oil and increases our nation’s energy security?

    Please contact your Congressional Representative in support of the bill today.

    You may download talking points, a fact sheet and a sample letter below.

    VEETC Key Findings from RFA

    White Paper Talking Points on VEETC

    Sample Letter on VTEEC

    In order to have the most beneficial contact with your Congressional representative, the following is a listing of where they currently stand on the issue:

    Congresswoman Baldwin – Possible Support

    Congressman Kagen- Undecided

    Congressman King – Undecided

    Congresswoman Moore – Undecided

    Congressman Obey – Undecided

    Congressman Petri – Undecided

    Congressman Ryan – Undecided

    Congressman Sensenbrenner – Opposed

    We greatly appreciate all of your support in this cause and your help in moving Wisconsin’s bio industry forward.

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    Upcoming Event on Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy Projects

    Interested in learning more financial options for renewable energy projects? Check out this event sponsored by Whyte Hirschboeck and Dudek.

    Breakfast Seminar – Tax Incentives and Financing Tools for Renewable Energy Projects

    Description:  Attorneys Lynda Templen and Joe Pickart will discuss the many financing tools and incentives available for investing in renewable energy business projects including tax incentives, state and federal grant and loan programs, tax-exempt bond financing and angel and venture capital financing opportunities.

    When: Thursday, April 22, 2010
    7:30 AM – 9:00 AM

    Where: Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.
    555 East Wells Street, Suite 1900
    Milwaukee, WI 53202

    R.S.V.P. by Thursday, April 15, 2010

    Click here for more details.

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    Didion Works to Increase Energy Efficiency

    WBIA Member Didion Ethanol has begun work to increase the plant’s energy efficiency using $5.5 million from a recent DOE grant.  The project, which will cost a total of $11 million, will decrease energy use while allowing the plant to produce more ethanol.  We are proud to see one of our members taking such a big step towards energy efficiency and the improvement of the ethanol industry.  The project will also created an estimated 10 permanent positions, plus 75 temporary construction jobs.

    Read more about the project in this article in Ethanol Producer Magazine.

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    Domestic Biofuels Bill Protects Small Engine Manufacturers and Users

    Assembly Bill 408, the Domestic Biofuels Bill, is a step toward making Wisconsin a leader in the renewable fuels industry.  The bill will protect and create jobs and help Wisconsin become a clean, more environmentally friendly state.

    Some small engine manufacturers, however, have expressed concerns about the bill.  As a strong supporter of small engine manufacturers and users, the WBIA has worked to highlight how the proposed bill will actually protect jobs and benefit the small engine industry.

    Here are a few ways in which the bill will protect small engine manufacturers:

    1.  The bill guarantees the availability of ethanol-free gasoline.

    2.  The bill ensures small engine users will be able to buy gasoline with ethanol blends recommended by the manufacturer.

    3.  The bill protects small engine owners, should ethanol become to expensive or scarce.

    For more details, including text from the bill, download our fact sheet below.

    Small Engine fact sheet [PDF]

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    WI Small Scale Gas & Liquid Biofuels Workshop & Expo

    The Wisconsin Small-Scale Biofuels Producers Program (WSSBPP) from Fox Valley Technical College is presenting a new workshop – the Small Scale Gas & Liquid Biofuels Workshop & Expo – that will give participants an opportunity to visit with local biofuels equipment manufacturers, learn about starting a small-scale biofuels operation and hear about new funding opportunities.

    The workshop will include a morning “lecture” session and and afternoon “hands-on” session. Speakers will include biofuels experts, business leaders, state officials and educators from Wisconsin.

    The program will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Fox Valley Tech College’s Agriculture Center in Appleton.

    Registration is required.
    Workshop Fee: $25.00*
    Registration deadline: 4/5/2010
    * WSSBPP members receive a $25.00 discount (cost is free)

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    UW-Platteville Students to Compete with Ethanol Powered Snowmobile

    Categories: Bio Fuels,Education

    Every year the WBIA sponsors a team of students from UW-Platteville to participate in an engineering-design competition called the Clean Snowmobile Challenge.  Their task is to redesign an existing snowmobile to reduce emissions and noise.  An important part of this redesign is converting the snowmobile to run on ethanol blends.  Their modified snowmobile competes in a variety of competitions including emissions, noise, fuel economy/endurance, acceleration, handling, static display, cold start and design.

    Their team captain, Ryan Kubat, recently shared with us this update:

    We have been extremely busy working on the sled and finishing up the design paper and our suggested manufactured retail price (MSRP). I have attached the design paper for this year if you would like to read through it or pass it along to anyone else on the board. Our final MSRP cost for our snowmobile came to $14,823.24 this year!

    We have just over one week before we head up to our competition and are just wrapping up some fine tuning and even looking at possibilities for next year already! The whole team has been investing a great deal of time over the past weeks to help get our paper finalized and to get the sled ready to go. We are all excited and looking forward to competition. The following email is where the schedule of events can be seen at:

    http://students.sae.org/competitions/snowmobile/schedule.htm

    To download their design sheet, please click here.

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    Miron Executive Discusses Green Building, New Biorefinery

    Theresa Lehman, director of sustainable services for WBIA member Miron Construction was recently interviewed in the Appleton Post-Crescent about the new green building trend. Miron Construction has been a leader in this field and has shown a deep commitment to renewable energy.

    Lehman discusses the new biorefinery they are helping to in Park Falls at the Flambeau River Paper mill:

    Miron Construction is involved with an innovative project in Park Falls with the Flambeau River Papers mill. What can you share about that?

    As we all know, pulp and paper mills were the bread and butter for the Fox Valley at one time. But paper mills today are having a tough time in the global marketplace. What’s happening in Park Falls is a unique opportunity. What they’re doing is creating a process … taking wood mass and converting it into wax and biofuel.

    It takes a tremendous amount of heat to do this and what they’ll be able to do is take the heat to create steam to generate electricity for the plant. This will save a lot of money and help the plant become more competitive.

    It certainly is a step toward energy independence and the technology is something that can help paper mills be more competitive in the global marketplace.

    This is a key project for the bio industry in Wisconsin. With an ample supply of biomass materials, Wisconsin is poised to be a leader in this area. The Flambeau River project will be the second largest biorefinery of its kind in the US.

    We at the WBIA are proud to see one of our members contributing so successfully to building this sector of the bio industry.

    Click here to read the entire article.

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