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July 2008 - Wisconsin's Governor Jim Doyle announced that the state has completed a renewable energy purchase of 92.4 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). The state has also implemented energy efficiency measures for its buildings and reduced energy consumption by 8% since 2005.
Wisconsin's renewable energy purchase helps achieve compliance with the state's Energy Efficiency and Renewables Act, signed into law in 2006 (2005 Wis Act 141), which requires key state agencies to purchase 20% of their energy from renewable sources by 2011. The renewable energy will be procured from Madison Gas and Electric, We Energies and Wisconsin Public Power Inc. The majority of the power will come from wind, solar, hydro and landfill gas sources located in Wisconsin.
The purchase represents 10% of the energy consumed by the Department of Health and Family Services, Department of Corrections, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Administration, Department of Public Instruction, the University of Wisconsin System and various other state agencies.
News Release - Governor Doyle Announces Record State Clean Energy Purchase
Contact - Brian Driscoll, 608-261-8146
May 2008 - Madison Gas and Electric's (MGE) green pricing program announced its residential participation has rapidly expanded during the four month period beginning in January 2008, when MGE made some changes in the program. Residential participation in the Green Power Tomorrow program went from 4,300 to nearly 12,000 customers during the period. More than 10% of the utility's residential customers are now participating in the program, and about 9.4% of all customers. Total sales for the program now exceed 135 million kWh per year.
The changes MGE made in January included a substantial drop in the premium for program participants, from 2.7¢/kWh to 1.0¢/kWh over the standard rate. Most residential participants are now buying enough wind energy to meet 100% of their needs, at an average cost of about $6 per month per household.
The expansion in participation was made possible by a significant increase in wind energy available to the program. In 2007, MGE increased its wind energy capacity from 11 to 87 MW, through a combination of new regional development and purchased power. MGE constructed a new 30 MW wind farm in Iowa and is purchasing wind energy from two other projects, one in Wisconsin and one in Iowa.
MGE also is doubling the amount of solar energy available in its pilot program, called Clean Power Partners. Under this program, customers can install solar photovoltaic systems on their home or businesses and then sell that energy back to MGE.
News Release - MGE Has Highest Green Power Participation Rate
News Article - MGE Customers Embrace Green Power
January 2008 - Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) announced that it has entered into agreements for an additional 75 MW of wind energy and is expanding its voluntary green power program. Under the utility's new Green Power Tomorrow program, customers can purchase wind energy for 50% or 100% of their electricity needs or in 300-kWh monthly increments at an extra cost of 1¢/kWh above standard electricity rates. The new program replaces the utility's former Wind Power Program and offers wind energy at a significantly lower premium. Under the earlier program, the wind energy was priced at a premium of 2.68¢/kWh over standard electricity rates. MGE plans to triple the amount of wind energy available to customers under the new voluntary program using a portion of the output from three wind farms that are slated to come online in 2007 and 2008 in Iowa and Wisconsin. Currently, 4,300 MGE customers voluntarily purchase a total of about 15 million kWh of wind energy annually.
News Release - MGE Moving Forward on Renewable Energy
March 2007 - Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) announced plans to more than triple the size of its green pricing program using new Wisconsin and Iowa-based wind energy resources that will come on-line in early 2008. With the program expansion, the utility also expects to lower the wind energy premium from the current 2.68¢/kWh to less than 1.5¢/kWh. Currently, about 4,300 customers participate in the wind energy program, representing 3.2% of the utility's customer base. MGE also plans to introduce a solar buyback rate of between 20¢/kWh and 25¢/kWh for customer-generators with photovoltaic (PV) systems.
News Release - MGE Customers Offered Program to Address Global Climate Change
News Article - MGE to Triple Green Program
September 2003 - Madison Gas and Electric Co. (MGE) announced that it will seek proposals for a new wind project of at least 10 MW in size to provide additional wind energy for its customers. MGE has operated an 11.22-MW wind project since 1999 and sold a portion of the output to customers as a premium green power product. However, the green pricing program is fully subscribed and the utility maintains a waiting list of customers wanting to participate in the program.
MGE expects that the improved economics of wind energy will allow the utility to lower the price of the green power product for all participating customers—MGE currently charges a price premium of 3.3¢/kWh for the wind energy. MGE has also set a goal to have at least 5% of its customers participating in the program.
News Release - MGE to Build Another Wind Farm
News Article - Utility plans second wind farm
MGE Contact: Laura Williams (608) 252-7131
July 1999 - Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) has completed construction of 17 wind turbines, totaling 11.22 MW, in northeastern Wisconsin that will provide green power to its customers. According to a July 1 article in the Wisconsin State Journal, more than 4,000 customers have signed up to purchase 7,000 blocks of power or more than one-third of the power available through the program. The utility is selling the power in 150-kWh blocks for $5.00 each — a premium of 3.3¢/kWh over the standard electricity rate. In addition, all customers are being charged about 20 cents more per month to help pay for the $15 million project.
News Release - MGE Energizes Largest Wind Farm in Eastern U.S.
November 1998 - Madison Gas and Electric announced that it received final local siting approval for an 11.22-MW wind farm that will serve customers of its "green power" program. The wind energy will be offered for sale in 100-kWh blocks to residential and business customers at a price premium of $4 to $5 per block. The local approvals allow the company to begin project construction with an expected operation date of June 1999.
News Release - MGE Starts Wind Farm - No longer online at www.mge.com
October 1997 - Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) announced that it plans to construct, own and operate an 11.25 MW wind farm in eastern Wisconsin that will be offered for sale in 100 kWh blocks to residential and business customers. MGE expects the price premium to be approximately $4 to $5 per block. The plans call for fifteen 750-kW turbines to be supplied by Northern Alternative Energy, a Midwestern wind developer. MGE expects to file for regulatory approval before the end of the year.
News Release - MGE Announces Largest Wind Project in Wisconsin - No longer online at www.mge.com
Madison Gas & Electric Contact: Laura Williams (608) 252-7131
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