Business and Marketing Projects

General Projects

Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Katy Matthai
Custer, WI
Date of award: 7/9/2002
Award amount: $13,700
Expanding Renewable Energy Through Technology
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association is requesting funding for improvement of their Web site. Funding will streamline the Web site and allow for content that is more educational. E-commerce will also be added to help generate revenue for this renewable energy educational nonprofit organization.

Sandstrom Enterprises, Inc.
Nancy Sandstrom
Bayfield, WI
Date of award: 3/18/2003
Award amount: $1,610
Garden House Marketing Initiative
Pinehurst Inn at Pikes Creek seeks funding support to effectively market our newly constructed Garden House as a primary example of renewable energy sources, practices and materials.

Seventh Generation Energy Systems, Inc.
David Blecker
Belleville, WI
Date of award: 8/19/03
Award amount: $7,000
Seventh Generation Energy Systems will work with a consultant to develop and design marketing materials (letterhead, brochures, business cards, website, tradeshow exhibit booth), and will also enhance technical skills by attendting EMS Vestas E-15 turbine installation training in Minnesota.

Asset Renewal Services, Inc.
Sam Hope
Milwaukee, WI
Date of award: 12/6/2002
Award amount: $12,500
Project Finance Fund
Various stakeholders have expressed interest in our concept of a Project Finance Fund serving the renewable energy industry in Wisconsin.

This project will complete the steps prior to raising capital. While not explicitly raising capital at this time, these steps are a necessary requisite for determining investor acceptance.

The Energy Solutions Company
Daniel De Buhr
Greenfield, WI
Date of award: 4/14/2004
Award amount: $5,000
Market Awareness Project
This grant will help The Energy Solutions Company Market Awareness Project; the objective of the project is to make participants in the market aware of the company's skills and present involvement in existing projects.

Light Energy Systems
Burke O'Neale
Madison, WI
Date of award: 12/22/2002
Award amount: $12,000
Business and Marketing Development
This grant will assist Light Energy Systems to complete our first year's business development and marketing. This includes a business plan with organizational outline, marketing plan and pro-forma financial statements; print and internet advertising; marketing materials and promotional show representation; research into warehouse space and equipment; and business management training.

Radiant Unlimited
Don Jahnke
Wausaukee, WI
Date of award: 7/1/2002
Award amount: $1,988
Tradeshow Booth Development
Develop a solar hot water system display booth for exhibiting at tradeshows.

Wind Projects

Cooperative Development Services
Mary E Myers
Madison, WI
Date of award: 9/26/2003
Award amount: $16,570
Wind Turbine Cooperative
This project has developed a business plan for Community Wind Turbine projects that allows for the participation of small investors in ownership of wind turbine projects. The business model involves a partnership between a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) of small investors and a larger corporation that could utilize federal tax incentives.

The project was led by Cooperative Development Services. The report details the business model and includes case study analyses of turbine development on two potential sites in South Central Wisconsin. The report is available by contacting Michael Vickerman at RENEW Wisconsin at 608.255.4044 or at mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
     Community Wind Business Plan Summary
     Community Wind Final Report

Collaborative Energy Ventures, LLC
Mark Daugherty
Madison, WI
Date of award: 4/28/05
Award amount: $9,000
Implementation of Community-Based Wind Power Businesses in Wisconsin
In 2003, Cooperative Development Services (CDS) of Madison developed a generic and replicable model business plan for community wind projects in Wisconsin with Focus on Energy funding. This model business plan is a thoroughly researched and detailed reference document describing a variation on the "flip" structures successfully employed in Minnesota.

The primary goal of the present project was to remove uncertainty arising regarding several aspects of the newly developed "Wisconsin flip structure" and thereby facilitate the implementation of community wind projects in Wisconsin.
     Community Wind Final Report

Midwest Windgineering
Gary Koster
Muskego, WI
Date of award: 3/9/2003
Award amount: $15,000
Secure Vendor Dependability
This grant will help organize a windpower component vendor base in Wisconsin to supply foreign turbine manufacturers entering the North American market.

Sun & Daughters
Mark Yeager
Eagle River, WI
Date of award: 9/7/2002
Award amount: $8,797.41
Turbine Installation and Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems Training
This project provides training and experience in Building Integrated PV and Jacobs 20 kW wind turbines for Sun & Daughters. The funding will also help Sun & Daughters showcase a PV installation at their business.

Timmerman's Talents
Todd Timmerman
Schullsburg, WI
Date of award: 4/3/2003
Award amount: $550
Bergey Dealer Training Workshop
This grant will helped Todd become a Certified Bergey Dealer. He attended a three-day workshop consisting of both classroom and field training in Norman, Oklahoma.

Ritger Wind Energy, LLC
Ed Ritger
Random Lake, WI
Date of award: 7/21/2004
Award amount: $3,500
Monitoring & Data Gathering
Ritger Wind Energy LLC proposes to install monitoring equipment on an existing tower for the purpose of gathering wind resource data useful for the planning and development of utility scale wind turbing projects in the Northeast Ozaukee/Southeast Sheboyan area.

Bioenergy Projects

Virent Energy Systems (formerly ACR Energy systems)
Mark Daugherty
Verona, WI
Date of award: 4/25/2002
Award amount: $15,000
Development of a Comprehensive Business Plan for ACR Energy Systems (renamed Virent Energy Systems)
The purpose of this project is to develop a comprehensive business plan for ACR Energy Systems (ACR). ACR is a Wisconsin startup company based on technology developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which converts renewable biomass to hydrogen fuel. This hydrogen fuel can then be used to generate renewable electricity.

Biogas Projects

Procorp, Inc.
Linda Englander
Wauwatosa, WI
Date of Award: 8/9/2005
Award Amount: $10,000.00
Renewable Energy Business and Marketing Plan using Biocore
A business and marketing grant was implemented to develop and roll-out a product designed to provide renewable energy advantages to industrial and municipal entities requiring wastewater treatment. The product in development is referred to as "Biocore"" and utilizes proven membrane technology, dissolved air floatation (DAF) units or rotary drum screen units for solids/liquid separation. Biocore is a joint effort between Procorp and Filtration Engineering (hereinafter referred to as the Biocore Group). The Biocore process integrates the hydraulic mixing components of the complete mix anaeraobic reactor to the bioreactor. This configuration offers substantial economic advantages to the client via significant capital and operational savings while producing a valuable renewable energy source.
Procorp Business and Marketing Grant

Solar Electric Projects

Great Earth Energy, LLC
James Wagner/Gary Wagner
Madison, WI
Date of award: 11/20/2002
Award amount: $ 8,000
Process Biomass (animal waste, etc) into methane gas and carbon products
To develop a business plan for Great Earth Energy (GEE) LLC. GEE will manufacture and market a renewable energy system to animal producers in Wisconsin and other states. These producers will generate income from generating electricity generation and carbon product sales. In addition, odor and volume of animal waste is reduced.

John R. Young
Madison, WI
Date of award: 12/13/05
Award amount: $4222.00
The primary goal of this project was to determine whether established financial engineering principals used successfully in the real estate development world could be applied to alternative energy development, in particular, whether a third party ownership model could be the basis for a new alternative energy development business.
Alternative Energy: Third Party Financing and Development

Collaborative Energy Ventures, LLC
Mark Daugherty
Fitchburg, WI
Date of Award: 8/9/2005
Award Amount: $7,500
Solar Electric System Marketing, Finance, Sales and Installation
This report begins by examining traits and characteristics that can be used to identify specific groups of potential customers for solar electric systems. A strategy was developed for addressing both general and customer group specific end-user barriers. As part of this strategy a web page was set up at: www.collaborativeenergy.com. System financing and project economics were then discussed for typical residential, non-profit and commercial solar electric installations. One interesting result is that due to the combination of State, Federal, and utility incentives and decreasing system costs as a function of system size a "sweet spot" with the lowest solar electricity cost for commercial systems emerges in the 10 to 25 kw range. The report concludes with an examination of third-party ownership models that have the potential to reduce system costs under some circumstances. Due to the interplay between Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations and Wisconsin utility law these third-party models do not appear to be available for Wisconsin solar electric systems located at non-profit sites at this time. While third party ownership models are available to for-profit sites such sites are typically better off purchasing a solar electric system directly.
PV Project Final Report

Harvestar Energy
Dean Wolff
Brookfield, WI
Date of award: 3/10/2003
Award amount: $820
PV Contractor Certification Workshop Attendance
This grant will provide funding to assist with the fees and travel expenses involved in attending a PV contractor certification workshop in Michigan February 3-7, 2003.

Joel H Goodman
Dodgeville, WI
Date of award: 10/14/2002
Award amount: $6,000
Building Integrated Active Solar Technologies
This project will prepare marketing and educational materials (printed, slide presentations, and electronic) for building integrated active solar technology: design services; project development for technical feasibility studies; and student design projects. An aim is to communicate to developers, architects, engineers and students - building integrated active solar energy technology possibilities, offer design services, invite participation in the development of technical feasibility studies, and offer design and engineering student projects to educational centers in Wisconsin. A public presentation will be prepared for Madison.

To visit Joel's website click here.

Solar Hot Water Projects

Jack Bates Inside Sales
Don Jahnke
Wausaukee, WI
Date of award: 8/1/2002
Award amount: $1,900
Renewable Energy Fair Booth
This project included setting up and manning a solar hot water systems display booth. (Note: this program no longer funds renewable thermal activities.)

Solar Mining Company
Richard Lane
De Pere, WI
Date of award: 4/7/2003
Award amount: $20,000
Marketing and Sales Plan for Commercial and Industrial Solar Thermal Energy Systems Utility
This grant will develop and implement a marketing, sales and finance plan for the installation of commercial and industrial solar thermal energy systems. Solar Mining Company plans to develop a very specific list of prospective clients that have the use patterns that will make any solar thermal energy system economically attractive. They will also develop a financial structure that allows contractors to install any system for only a connection fee and the energy produced is paid for when used.