A Selection of Products
 

This report will examine the literature related to sustainable forestry, biomass production, and biodiversity. It will discuss existing and potential sources of feedstock in the state, examine the relationship between bioenergy-dedicated plantations and biodiversity, and suggest how these plantations could fit into the context of sustainable forestry. Expert interviews will provide individual perspectives and Wisconsin-specific information. In addition, two brief articles will discuss the components of a conceptual model and explore policy implications of biomass production for bioenergy in Wisconsin.

Phase I of this study involves interviews with farmers, system designers, utilities, and other interested parties on the successes and failures associated with implementing on-farm anaerobic digester systems. Phase II of the study will compare and contrast issues experienced implementing the dairy biogas projects awarded funds under the California Dairy Power Production Program to those of selected projects throughout the US awarded funds under the Farm Bill Section 9006 Renewable Energy Program. The intent of the comparison is to provide insight into the technological, programmatic, social, and regional factors that affect the success of these projects.

The symposium held in Saratoga Springs, New York in 2004 consisted of eight concurrent sessions over three days on topics such as vegetation management, cultural planning, endangered and threatened species, marine and aquatic environments, pipelines and pipeline management, avian power line interactions, wildlife, invasive species, technology, and siting and routing. The 120 papers and speakers’ remarks are being compiled and edited for publication as the official, peer-reviewed proceedings of the symposium.

State University of New York; Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

This project will provide an update to the 2001 Right-of-Way Environmental Stewardship Bibliographic Database. The original database included 805 scientific documents published from 1953 through 2001 on environmental topics as they pertain to land stewardship on rights-of-way. These materials will be reviewed and assessed for continuing relevance. New material will be incorporated and software updated.

Tools to Assist Energy Companies
in Communication with Local Planners and the Public

This project will produce two informational pamphlets—technical, but easily understood by a lay audience. The first will promote an understanding of electricity and the second, how future energy needs are an essential component in land use planning. Each product is intended to serve as a starting point for utility discussions with citizens and local planning agencies.

Written report—a summary of basic descriptive information on the recipients’ farming operation, AD design, and utility interface.

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Wisconsin Focus on Energy; Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

Written report—an integration and analysis of the existing data on aesthetics and the design of transmission-line structures. This document summarizes the relevant literature and places the research in a historical context.

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Written report—an evaluation of the options for processing timber industry residues into energy, fuel, and other value-added products using a proprietary fast-pyrolysis technology.

Center for Technology Transfer, Inc.; Timber Producers Association of Michigan and Wisconsin; USDA Forest Products Laboratory; Ensyn Technologies, Inc.; SC Johnson and Sons; UOP, LLC

Online bibliographic database—update of a 2002 compilation of published reports, in-house studies, and other relevant information on the valuation of property located near power-generation facilities and transmission structures.

Casebook update—update of first Agricultural Biogas Casebook sponsored by the Council of Great Lakes Governors in 2002, which highlighted the experiences of facility owners, regulators, academics, and service providers with installations of farm-scale anaerobic digesters and energy-generation systems in the Great Lakes states. This update provides extensive performance records for previously profiled systems, and documents new developments in system deployment and business models.

Clients Great Lakes Biomass State and Regional Partnership; WE Energies; Wisconsin Focus on Energy; Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board; NextEnergy; Blackhawk Hills RC&D; East Central Energy Cooperative

Written report—an integration of information from an extensive literature review and interviews with subject-matter experts that identifies patterns of ecological effects and delineates issues for future research. The report provides policy-makers and citizens with an objective "state-of-the-science" summary and an identification of research gaps.

Written report—a summary of the results of 38 interviews with leading researchers in the fields of epidemiology and exposure assessment for electric and magnetic fields (EMF). It examines the status of current and planned epidemiologic research on the possible health effects of residential or occupational exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) EMF. The researchers interviewed were those who have directly or indirectly played key roles in setting the world-wide EMF research agenda.

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Written report—A summary and explication of the major themes that emerged from the conference—the role of research, the effectiveness of risk communication, and the establishment of public trust—as interconnected issues affecting the contributions and implications of mobile communications for European business and society.

European Commission; GSM Association; Mobile Manufacturers Forum

Written report—data from early water-quality trading experiences in a number of states, including Wisconsin, were analyzed and results were used to draft recommendations on water-quality trading policy for the State of Wisconsin.

US Environmental Protection Agency; Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance

Survey of Electric and Gas Rights-of-Way Practitioners: Current Practices and Views of the Future

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Transmission Lines and Property Values: State of the Science

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)