Four Lakes Label to Break Ground in the Sun Prairie Business Park on August 21 (Sun Prairie Star)

Western States Envelope & Label will break ground on a new 36,400 square foot facility at 861 Progress Way in the Sun Prairie Business Park on Thursday, Aug. 21. The company's Four Lakes Label & Printing, currently located at 5702 Femrite Drive in Madison, will move its Madison plant and employees to Sun Prairie when the plant is complete in late February or early March, according to Eric Schmidt, the current Madison plant manager who will also manage the new Sun Prairie plant.

When examining Sun Prairie, Schmidt said the company looked at several Madison area communities, but eventually settled on the Sun Prairie Business Park for several reasons. Among them was the community's low electric rates offered by Sun Prairie Water & Light as part of Wisconsin Public Power Inc. A survey of employees determined that many of them lived in the Madison area, which meant the company should continue to look within the area for a new facility. The firm eventually settled on Sun Prairie and the Sun Prairie Business Park site on Progress Way, Schmidt said, because the 6.2 acre site will allow the plant to expand four times on the property as the company's business expands.

Click here for the full article in the Sun Prairie Star Online.

Sun Prairie's Madison Kipp Corporation Receives $50,000 Energy Efficiency Grant from WPPI (Corrected Press Release)

WPPI has awarded a $50,000 grant for energy efficiency projects to Madison Kipp Corporation (MKC) in the Sun Prairie Business Park. As a customer of Sun Prairie Water & Light, MKC will receive funds to replace two existing air compressors with a new high efficiency variable speed drive air compressor to regulate air pressure with reduced cost.

WPPI’s RFP for Energy Efficiency is aimed at making electric energy saving projects a worthwhile business investment for large power customers. Large commercial and industrial customers of WPPI’s member communities are invited to submit competitive proposals for cost-effective, energy saving upgrades to equipment and systems within their current facilities.

“These grants help control energy costs by reducing inefficient uses of energy,” said Jake Oelke, Assistant Vice President of Energy Services. “As interest continues to grow, more people are discovering cost-effective solutions to keep electric bills down for the long term.”

The RFP for Energy Efficiency program is designed especially for large power customers to assist in funding energy savings projects with initial investments that prevent the upgrades from being cost effective. Projects that include electric savings of 25 kilowatts or more can be submitted for rating. Energy efficiency project funding also continues to be available through WPPI’s Efficiency Improvement Incentive program, which is open to any WPPI member retail customer with a valid commercial, industrial, municipal or agricultural electric account.

WPPI anticipates awarding up to $500,000 in additional RFP for Energy Efficiency grants this year, with $250,000 in funding available for each bidding cycle. The most recent round of bidding was completed in July, and incentive grants will be awarded in August. A subsequent round of bidding will close on Nov. 7, with awards granted in December.

Click here for the original press release from WPPI.
Click here for more information on the RFP for Energy Program.
Click here to go to the Wisconsin Public Power Inc. website.
Click here to go to the Sun Prairie Water & Light website.

Sun Prairie Water & Light Earns Award for Reliabilty (Sun Prairie Star Online)

Congratulations to Sun Prairie Water & Light (SPWL), who was recently honored by the American Public Power Association (APPA) for providing its customers with the highest degree of reliable and safe electric service. Of the more than 2,000 public power utilities in the nation, SPWL is one of 84 to earn the Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) recognition. RP3 recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciples: reliability, safety, training and system improvement.

Click here for the full article from the Sun Prairie Star Online.