Plug in for the future. Plug in for the future. MGE began piloting plug-in electric hybrid vehicles in 2008. MGE employees are testing this new technology to see how it can help consumers better control energy use and reduce our dependence on foreign fuel sources. Our Toyota Prius and Ford Escape can be charged by plugging into standard household electrical outlets. The vehicles can then travel 30 to 40 miles before engaging the gasoline fuel system.
MGE is participating in a federal Department of Energy study that tracks the performance, electricity use and emissions from plug-in vehicles as we use them throughout our community.
John Coleman, MGE's business ally manager, watches as Joshua Block of Waunakee, Wis., checks out how MGE's plug-in Prius works. MGE employees drive the plug-ins to test them as typical commuting vehicles.
MGE's new 10-kilowatt urban turbine, located in McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg, Wis., has a rotating helix that sits on a 30-foot pole. It is designed to fit well into a residential landscape.
Demonstrating technology. MGE is in the forefront with a variety of pilot technology projects. We locate these projects in public places so the community can learn first-hand from these renewable energy innovations. In 2008, we installed a 42-foot-tall urban wind turbine in a popular Fitchburg park. This vertical axis turbine is one of only a few in the U.S.
We also built one of the largest solar-powered lighting projects in the country. The 9.25-kilowatt solar system features 5-foot-by-5-foot solar panels on 37 light poles along a bike path bordering the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Energy improvements. MGE offers grants that help rejuvenate neighborhoods and provide affordable, energy-efficient housing. MGE has awarded more than $760,000 in Neighborhood Revitalization Grants since 1998 to fund energy-efficient designs, equipment and construction.
Recently, MGE worked with Stone House Development on a new apartment building. "The expertise and assistance that MGE provided through the Neighborhood Revitalization program has proved invaluable. It allowed us to maximize the energy efficiency of this development, which has significantly reduced energy costs for us and our residents," said Rich Arnesen, vice president of Stone House Development.
Rich Arnesen, vice president of Stone House Development, checks high-efficiency water heaters in the new 76-unit Park Central Apartments on Madison's east side.