WED AM News: New report details Vista Sands Solar project impact; Broadcasters embracing AI in their operations

October 16, 2024

— A large proposed solar project in Wisconsin called Vista Sands would offset more than 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution in its first year of operations, equal to the emissions of more than 353,000 vehicles.

That’s according to a recent report commissioned by Pennsylvania-based developer Doral Renewables and submitted to the state Public Service Commission as part of the project application.

The proposed project includes 1.3 gigawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of battery energy storage in Portage County. If approved, the project would be the largest of its kind in the state, according to the report, putting out enough clean energy to power about 200,000 average Wisconsin homes.

Along with the CO2 impact, the project would also avoid 1,129 metric tons of particulate matter being released while averting 3,260 metric tons of “soil acidification” emissions and resulting in a significant decrease in other air, land and water pollution.

Meanwhile, report author Quantum Energy projects the Vista Sands Solar project would have public health benefits, equivalent to about 1,000 people getting an extra 2.5 years of healthy life due to lower exposure to environmental pollution.

Because the project would feed into the regional grid operator MISO, authors note it would help reduce emissions throughout its footprint. These impacts are linked to projected reductions in natural gas and coal generation, according to the report.

“Those emissions reductions, the majority of which are upwind of densely populated areas, reduce the amount of particulates and other pollutants that are in the air and end up in millions of people’s lungs,” report authors wrote.

Jon Baker, project manager for the solar site and vice president of development for Doral Renewables, says the project “will mark a significant and immediate step toward” addressing the impacts of climate change in Wisconsin and nationwide.

“The combined public health and ecosystem benefits are projected to produce approximately $630 million in economic gains in the first year, primarily attributed to the reduction in healthcare costs and ecosystem preservation services,” Baker said in a statement on the report findings.

Project partners are also touting an economic impact report from Strategic Economic Research showing the project would add about 500 jobs during construction and 50 permanent jobs. Related capital investments would exceed $1 billion in the first year, and the project would have about $6.5 million in annual utility aid to county and municipal governments.

See the report.

— Broadcasters in Wisconsin are using AI to gather information, forecast finances, add closed captions to breaking news content and more, according to a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

Anna Engelhart, general manager for WKOW-TV, spoke yesterday during a hearing held by the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Wisconsin. She oversees four TV stations in Madison, Wausau, La Crosse and Eau Claire, and also holds a position on the association’s board.

“AI has created many efficiencies across the facets of our industry,” Engelhart told the committee. “In the broad sense, AI helps broadcasters during the news gathering process, searching our own data such as story archives, sales records, employee information … and then with the technical ability to even broadcast our content.”

It’s also being used by broadcasting companies to project revenues and expenses, “saving time and providing more accurate forecasts,” Engelhart said.

She noted the broadcasting industry has become more complex as technology advances, and AI has helped to lessen the burden. That includes efforts to improve accessibility for news content.

Broadcasters are required to provide closed captioning for all TV programming, and as little as three years ago, companies needed to keep people on standby to caption information for breaking news and severe weather warnings.

“We have to pay those people, and they have to be ready at any hour of the day and be able to transcribe those broadcasts for us,” she said. “Now, we have programs in place that automatically generate those closed captions for us, which saves time and cost for us, to invest those dollars back into our industry.”

That transcription function is also being used to quickly create write-ups for on-air interviews that can be published immediately online, Engelhart said.

Meanwhile, marketing and creative teams are using AI to generate ideas and produce video and static advertisements and distribute them across multiple platforms.

While the broadcasting industry has embraced the use of AI, Engelhart argued final products “require the human eye and touch” to ensure information is accurate and complete. She also raised concerns about the use of AI in reproducing news content and devaluing it, as well as its potential for copying the voices and images of news anchors.

“Having someone replicate a respected journalist or anchor and use that likeness to promote biased thoughts and unsafe products reduces the public’s trust in our service by no fault of our own,” she said. “I do think we need some kind of protection for our content and the talent to curate and present that content, but I’m really concerned that too much regulation would interfere with our news gathering process.”

Yesterday’s meeting was the committee’s second-to-last before a final meeting in December, when members will assemble to put together their final report, according to Sen. Julien Bradley, R-New Berlin, who chairs the committee.

“Our focus and our duty is to determine whether AI should be or shouldn’t be regulated, and to take into effect what the impact would be on those other areas,” he said, adding it’s possible that “we take no action as a committee to introduce new laws, but rather we say, ‘We believe this is how the state should handle it, we believe these should be the guardrails.’”

Watch the video and see coverage of a recent AI discussion hosted by WisPolitics.

— UW Health has opened its new Eastpark Medical Center, about two weeks before the Madison facility will begin seeing patients.

The health system touts the seven-story, 475,000-square-foot facility as the largest medical facility in the country to be completed in 2024.

With more than 600 staff members, the center will provide more than 40 kinds of specialty care, ranging from radiology and dermatology to infusion therapies and multiple forms of cancer therapy.

One of these is proton therapy, a precision approach to treating cancer that uses a beam of charged particles to target cancer cells. Starting in early 2026, the Eastpark facility will be one of the first in the world to offer upright proton therapy, according to yesterday’s release. Cancer care offerings will be provided through the UW Health Carbone Cancer Center.

“Eastpark enables us to bring our specialists together in a new state-of-the-art building while expanding supportive services such as behavioral health, integrative oncology consultations and financial counseling,” said Dr. Lee Wilke, senior medical director of clinical cancer services at UW Health and professor of surgery at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

The center’s 73-chair infusion center will offer various settings for receiving therapies, including some being offered through clinical trials happening at Eastpark, the release shows. Betsy Nugent, senior director and chief clinical research officer at UW Health, says the hospital aims to “make the process as easy and comfortable as possible for any patient who chooses to participate in clinical trials.”

The announcement also highlights a program providing integrated specialty care for women, aimed at addressing conditions such as pelvic floor disorders, incontinence, gynecologic cancer and more.

After initial services including allergy, dermatology, pharmacy and radiology begin Oct. 28, the center’s clinical research unit, infusion therapy unit and others will open Nov. 11, the release shows. Other specialties including neurology and pain management and the specialty care for women program will start taking patients later in November.

See more in the release.

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— The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce is recognizing multiple companies for their positive impacts in the state through its annual awards program.

The group yesterday announced its 2024 Business Awards, which chamber President Jason Rae says are “setting a high standard for championing diversity and inclusion in the business community.”

Its LGBTQ Business of the Year is Pawstar, Inc., a Racine-based manufacturer of clothing and accessories. This award is for LGBTQ-owned businesses that promote diversity and inclusion internally and more broadly. The chamber is applauding Pawstar for its “commitment to supplier diversity and active presence within the LGBTQ+ business landscape,” as well as its participation in Pride events in Milwaukee and Kenosha.

The chamber’s Corporate Partner of the Year, WPS Health Solutions in Monona, has “made significant strides in recruitment” through DEI efforts, the chamber says. The announcement highlights its 2023 Pride Month Challenge, which got employees involved in related activities, as well as an employee resource program and more.

Meanwhile, the chamber’s Allied Business of the Year is Confluence Graphics, a Milwaukee-based commercial printer. The release touts the company’s “active engagement, advocacy, and support” of LGBTQ businesses, and its active membership in the state’s LBGT Chamber and other local chambers.

See more awardees in the release.

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