Wisconsin green pricing bids

Wisconsin Electric received about a dozen bids from suppliers of renewable energy -- including wind -- for its green pricing plan. The Midwest utility, which announced the request for proposals for 5 MW in January, hopes to make a final decision on suppliers in mid March, says Chris Schoenherr, the utility's senior local affairs representative. In addition, some 2300 customers had signed up to pay more for clean power as of mid February. The utility hopes to have boosted that number to 6000 or even 7500 subscribers -- who would use some 5 MW -- by mid summer, the one year anniversary of the programme, using direct mailings and telemarketing. Under the second phase of this programme, known as "Energy for Tomorrow," customers can buy up 25%, 50% or all of their power from green sources. This year, those sources are to include wind, PV-solar, geothermal or landfill gas. In the programme's first year of operation, only biomass and hydro were offered.