(WisBusiness) TUES News Summary — 24 Feb. 2009

From WisBusiness.com …

— Eric Callisto, chairman of the state Public Service Commission, predicts the Legislature will soon open the door to building new nuclear power plants in Wisconsin.

Speaking at an energy conference organized by WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com, Callisto said Monday the Democratic-controlled Assembly and Senate will enact the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force recommendations. And that includes modifying the language on the long-time moratorium on building nuke plants.

“It will be part of the package to reduce our carbon emissions,” said Callisto, who added that certain conditions would have to be met before the nuclear option could be considered.

Tia Nelson, who co-chaired the task force and participated in one of the conference panels, noted the task force didn’t recommend lifting the moratorium.

“It will happen only if stringent conditions are met,” she said. “I don’t believe nuclear plants are a near-term option. We should be pursuing the low-hanging fruit at this point, and that is conservation and energy efficiency. Right now, nuclear is a distraction.”

But Callisto said he is “optimistic (lawmakers) will take it up and move this issue forward. … Nuclear needs to be part of the solution.”

— U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, told the conference that dealing with climate change could be expensive in the short term, but that tackling it now would help out future generations.

“if we fail to stand up to any near term costs, we will pay dearly in the long term.”

She said one of the first steps is measuring the country’s current greenhouse gas output to establish a baseline for emissions. Baldwin said she introduced the Greenhouse Gas Registry Act to give guidance to the Environmental Protection Agency as it establishes a registry of emissions.

See the prepared text of Baldwin’s speech for more: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=150144

— David Owens, an official with Edison Electric Institute, told the conference utilities are being hit hard by the restricted capital markets and have cut building plans by 10 percent over the next two years. But he predicted they’ll spend between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion over the next two decades to expand the nation’s power infrastructure and other projects.

He predicted the federal government might take over some regulatory powers now held by the states to speed up the building of transmission lines to get wind energy from the Plains to urban areas.

Owens praised Obama’s “vision of change” for the country, including plans to increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and build a smart grid.

— Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center and an adviser to Obama, used his conference address to highlight the billions in the president’s stimulus that is targeted for high-speed rail and predicted a line could be built from Chicago to Minneapolis through Milwaukee and Madison. It could eventually include Detroit and St. Louis.

“These are exciting times, in part because this administration cares about the Midwest,” he said, citing Obama’s strong Chicago ties. “So hang on, it will be a big ride.”

— Xcel Energy has filed an application with the state Public Service Commission to install biomass gasification technology in a boiler at its Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland.

“This addresses a lot of the things raised in the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force and will displace 100,000 tons of coal and 4,000 tons of petroleum coke,” David Donovan, the utility’s manager for regulatory policy, said Monday during the conference.

The $58 million project would fully convert the Ashland plant from coal to biomass and remove 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. It already has two boilers fueled by waste wood products, Donovan said. When completed, it would be the largest biomass plant in the Midwest.

The move was hailed by environmental groups.

“This is a great sign of progress,” said Andy Olsen, a representative of Environmental Law and Policy Center. “We hope Xcel can carry this through to completion.

“We also hope they can work with the state and conservation groups to make sure this is a model project for sustainable use of wood,” he said.

See a WisBusiness story on Xcel’s move: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=150142

— See complete WisBusiness coverage of the conference: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=150126

— Writer Joe Plasterer says it’s important to look for opportunities even in the midst of the current pessimism about the economy.

“So is the sky falling, or is it raining pennies?” he asks in a new commentary piece. “How it looks depends upon what ground you stand on. If you believe that a job with General Monolithic Inc. is secure and you need security, then the sky is falling. If you are among the growing number of people who realize there’s more security in having their own money-making ventures, then there’s excitement in the air.”

Read his commentary: http://wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=article.mdl&article=19670

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