The answer depends on how you view a new bill,signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle last week, which expands the definition of“renewable energy source” without increasing the amount of renewable energythat must be used by the state's utilities.
“We went backwards, not forwards,” said state Rep.Spencer Black (D-Madison), a champion of clean energy. “If you don't increasethe percentage of renewable energy that must be used, and you include the newtechnologies, you decrease the amount of wind and solar to be used.”
A Last-MinuteAmendment without Public Debate
The bill had been proposed last year with littlefanfare. A public hearing was held last September to add some new technologiesto the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS)the state's definition ofwhat is a renewable energy source.
That designation is very important to a “cleanenergy” company, because it allows the company to sell its electricity to autility and help that utility reach the 10% goal. Without that designation, theelectricity isn't as desirable to utilities that need to decrease theirreliance on fossil fuels such as coal.
Last fall, the new technologies didn't seem to raisetoo many alarmsfor example, it included solar light pipes manufactured byOrion Energy Systems in Manitowoc.
Besides, the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), whichwould have raised the state's renewable energy goals from 10% to 25% by 2025,was attracting far more attention than this rather innocuous bill.
But just hours before the vote on April 15, acontroversial amendment was added to the bill by Sen. Majority Leader RussDecker, Milwaukee Sen. Jeff Plale and Green Bay Sen. David Hansen to includeeven more technologies. Among them is “synthetic gas created by the plasmagasification of waste,” a cutting-edge technology that takes just about anykind of waste, heats it so intensely it turns into a gas, then uses that gas tocreate electricity that can be sold to utilities and put on the power grid.
Without public debate, the state Senate approved theamended bill 25-8 and the Assembly followed suit a week later on a voice votewith no record of who voted “aye” or “nay.”
Doyle signed it last week without revision, althoughhe did note that it was “a difficult one to sign” since CEJAwith its higher standardsdiedin the state Legislature.
Supporters hailed the bill as a win for Wisconsin's clean energyfuture.
“I want to thank Governor Doyle for recognizing thatthis legislation is a positive step toward Wisconsin's growing clean energy economy,”Plale said in a press release. (Plale's office did not return a call seekingcomment for this article.)
But environmentalists say that the combination ofthe flat 10% renewable energy goal, expanded renewable energy standard and theinclusion of the waste-to-energy technology weakens Wisconsin's clean energy portfolio.
“I think the first thing we need to do is to comeback next session and repeal the bill,” said Jennifer Giegerich, capitolliaison for the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.
GasificationPlant Planned for Milwaukee
This would all seem to be an abstract argument amongclean energy experts at the end of the legislative session, a time ofMonday-morning quarterbacking, but the argument is far from abstract since awaste-to-energy gasification plant is being planned for the north side of Milwaukee. Critics areconcerned that it's not as “green” as its supporters promise.
Dubbed “Project Apollo,” the $250 million project isbeing planned by a Milwaukee-based corporation, Alliance Federated Energy (AFE).No other commercial gasification plant is up and running in the United States, although a small gasificationplant in Japan has operatedfor years, and a test plant in Pennsylvaniais run by Alter NRG, which owns the Westinghouse Plasma technology that AFEplans to use. Others have been proposed but haven't gone online yet.
According to Ken Niemann, executive vice presidentof development and operations for AFE, the plant would produce 40 megawatts ofbaseload electricity, an estimated 25 megawatts of which could be sold toutilities. The remaining 15 megawatts would be used to run the plant. Niemannestimated that it would take about 18 months to go through the permittingprocess prior to construction. The company is currently discussing power-purchaseagreements with utilities. If all goes according to schedule, the plant wouldbe ready for business in the final months of 2013.
Rep. Black was concerned that the ambiguous languagein the bill would allow all of the energy produced by the plant to be countedas green energy, not just the amount that is sold to the utilities.
“The bill isn't explicit about that, but it appearsto do that,” Black said. “If it does do that then it would further weaken theRPS.”
AFE's Niemann said he wasn't even sure about thispoint.
“It really depends on how [the Public ServiceCommission] interprets the regulations,” Niemann said. “I would guess thatthey'll look at the net amount.”
Project Apollo would consume about 1,200 tons ofgarbage each day, Niemann said. That dwarfs the Japanese gasification plant,which consumes about 200 tons of garbage a day.
About 70% of Project Apollo's fuel would bemunicipal waste from the city that would otherwise go to a landfill, while therest would be industrial waste. Niemann said AFE hasn't decided if it wouldhandle medical or hazardous waste, since that would require more stringentmaterials handling and an extra set of permits.
“At this point we're not sure what we're going to dowith that material,” Niemann said. “We'd like to take it but I don't have adefinitive answer yet.”
Concern AboutEmissions
Although the technology is pretty cutting edge, thesynthesis gasor “syngas”created during the gasification process contains manytoxins that must be removed. Niemann said that these materialsstudies showthat particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury and furansare among themare consistent with what turns up in the waste process industryall over the world.
Niemann said some elements would be recycled and soldwhere appropriate, emitted from its stack, or sent to a certified landfill thatis permitted to accept those materials. He said that gasifying waste waspreferable to sending it to a landfill, where it can create methane, agreenhouse gas.
But first the plant must be granted permits by thestate Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“We will submit to the DNR an air permit applicationthat will tell them what the process is, how it works, what will come out ofthe stack,” Niemann said. “We're very sensitive to what comes out of the stackand we'll work with the DNR and work within the limits of the permit [ifProject Apollo is granted one]. We will get our emissions as low as we can.”
Spencer Black, however, isn't convinced that thetechnology is truly “green.”
“My concern about burning garbage is that it canlead to the emission of toxins, depending on the process,” Black said. “We'llhave to wait to see what's in the permit and see how the plant is run.”
Giegerich of WLCV said that allowing this technologyto be included in the definition of “renewable energy”with the assumption thatit's “green”was premature.
“At the very least we should have the answers to[its emissions] before they build one,” Giegerich said. “But to go ahead andgive them credit as clean energy before we know that?”
