Category: Business/Technology

The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating 15 state-owned power plants, including several on University of Wisconsin System campuses, to determine if they are in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. The federal agency sent the state Department of Administration a letter Thursday requesting information about the plants. They include power plants on UW campuses at Eau Claire, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Menonomie, Superior and Whitewater. The state?s power plants first came under scrutiny in 2007 when the Sierra Club sued the state for similar violations at the Charter Street Heating Plant on the UW-Madison campus. A finding in favor of the environmental organization resulted in the state signing a consent decree that saw the elimination of coal at Charter and at the Capitol Heating Plant in Downtown Madison.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notified the state of Wisconsin this week that it was starting an investigation into 15 publically owned power plants to determine if they were violating clean air laws. The EPA sent a letter to the state Department of Administration asking for information about the plants “to determine whether the emission sources at these facilities are complying with the Clean Air Act.” The EPA letter comes after Doyle?s administration acknowledged that as many as eight state-run plants have violated the Clean Air Act in recent years. The state is already spending more than $250 million to convert a coal-fired plant that powers the University of Wisconsin-Madison to run on natural gas and biomass after a federal judge agreed with the Sierra Club that it was violating the Clean Air Act.

The new monthly report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy shows little improvement on the jobs front. The state gained 5,400 private sector jobs and 2,300 government jobs from September to October 2010, according to figures compiled by the liberal UW-Madison think tank. But those 7,700 jobs weren?t enough to push the state unemployment rate down from 7.8 percent.

Gov. Jim Doyle and other leaders broke ground on the Wisconsin Energy Institute last week, a building on the UW-Madison campus that will house research on renewable energy resources. The Wisconsin Energy Institute will be located at 1552 University Avenue, the site of the former University Health Services building. It is funded with $50 million from the state and $50 million from gifts and grants. In other building news, planning is moving forward on a new School of Music performance center for UW-Madison.

Governor-elect Scott Walker?s order Thursday to axe a biofuels boiler for the redesigned Charter Street Heating Plant was met less with surprise than discouragement by supporters of the plan. “It?s disappointing,” said Jennifer Feyerherm with the Sierra Club. “I think we?re missing a great opportunity to invest in Wisconsin?s future.” In a letter to Daniel Schoof, secretary of the state Department of Administration, Walker said he wants to shift plans to installing a natural gas boiler rather than the boiler that would burn alternative naturally grown fuels such as wood chips or switch grass. Such a move, Walker said, would save the state $100 million of the total $250 million cost of rebuilding the university?s central heating and cooling plant so that it no longer burns coal.

Gov.-elect Scott Walker is determined to bring major changes to Madison ? seemingly even before he takes office next year. Walker, a Republican, has asked Gov. Jim Doyle?s administration to immediately stop some of its key policy initiatives, signaling that he wants to block the Democratic administration from any last-minute political maneuvering that could hamstring him later. In a letter sent Wednesday to Department of Administration Secretary Daniel Schooff, Walker urged the current administration to start revamping the Charter Street power plant.

Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker asked higher education leaders for help Thursday balancing the state?s tight budget and fulfilling his campaign promise of creating 250,000 jobs.

University of Wisconsin System leaders on Thursday will tell Governor-elect Scott Walker that the state?s $1.3 billion-a-year investment in public universities is worth increasing.

Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker asked higher education leaders for help Thursday balancing the state?s tight budget and fulfilling his campaign promise of creating 250,000 jobs.

There?s not much good news on the job front and a switch from Democrat to Republican won?t likely make much difference, a new report suggests. Wisconsin lost nearly 10,000 jobs from August to September, with manufacturing and construction sectors posting the biggest losses, according to the latest report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy.

Marking the beginning of the end for coal power on the UW-Madison campus, Gov. Jim Doyle and other leaders broke ground Monday on a $250 million upgrade to the Charter Street Heating plant. The mostly coal-powered plant, which provides heating and cooling for UW-Madison, will be converted to run on natural gas and farm-grown fuels, known as biomass. It?s the most expensive single project in UW-Madison history. Doyle said that when it is completed in 2013, it will be one of the country?s leading biomass power plants.