In Gallup’s annual Environment poll, the majority of Americans wanted more emphasis on solar (79%) and wind (70%) with the least emphasis on coal (28%) as the domestic energy source. Sixty-five percent thought there should be …
Newsletter Blog Post
Seeking Nominations for Energy Educator of the Year Awards
The Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) is accepting nominations for four Energy Educator of the Year Awards: Primary Educator (grades PK-8), Secondary Energy Educator (grades 9-12), Higher Education Energy Educator, and Community Energy Educator. …
Joint Finance Acts on CUB
In taking up the budget of the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Joint Finance Committee voted to cut public funding for the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), a nonprofit organization that advocates for lower electricity rates …
EPA to Announce Renewable Fuel Standards
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to submit a proposal by June for Renewable Fuels Standards for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The mandated standards for 2014 will be near last year’s actual production levels. The …
First Round-The-World Solar Flight
The first round-the-world solar flight is underway by the Swiss-made solar powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2. It will land in Myanmar to complete the fourth leg of 12, flying day and night without fuel. The …
Wind Energy Saves Water
Five billion gallons of water have been saved by Mower County Minnesota (pop 39,327) since 2003 due to wind power according to an analysis by Fresh Energy. Freeborn County Minnesota (pop 31,000) has saved more …
Saving Water Saves Energy
March 16-22 is Fix a Leak Week and March 22 is World Water Day. It takes a lot of energy to pump, treat and deliver water – often a municipality’s largest energy use. The user …
NAACP Passes Resolution Supporting Distributed, Customer-Owned Solar
The NAACP passed a resolution Promoting Equitable Access to Clean Energy Alternatives supporting distributed solar located within local communities and advocacy for fair net metering pricing structures. Also, they support job training and for low-to-moderate income African …
Building Operator Certification Success
The Building Operator Certification (BOC) program conducted by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) produced 612 graduates in 2014. Formal third party evaluations of the BOC program by Focus on Energy highlighted lifecycle savings of 99,694,175 …
Focus on Energy Street Light Program Changing
There will no more Focus on Energy incentives for streetlight replacements after 12/31/15 per a Public Service Commission directive. Focus will be giving bonuses in 2015 for custom projects, however. Focus will provide the regular …