Baker Tilly is pleased to announce that it has signed a grant with the Department of Administration, Wisconsin State Energy Office (SEO).
Under the grant, Baker Tilly will conduct research, prepare a strategic plan for the generation of energy from both agriculture and cheese production feedstocks, implement a process for education and demonstration purposes, and perform educational outreach to various audiences, including farmers, manufacturers, policy makers, and financial institutions. The key goal of the grant is to create a win-win situation for Wisconsin’s cheese manufacturers and dairy farmers by demonstrating that processing waste, as an alternative energy source, generates new sources for revenue and allows operational growth when current growth is constrained by waste management challenges.
America’s Dairyland is home to 1.26 million cows and more than 12,000 registered dairy herds.* Regardless of size, all dairies must address the issue of manure as an inevitable by-product of dairy farming and its potential as a pollutant and source of greenhouse gas (GHG). In addition, Wisconsin is home to more than 125 cheese producers.* Whey permeate and other cheese production waste can have its own unique economic and regulatory challenges related to municipal disposal and/or land application.
The grant was awarded to Baker Tilly’s renewable energy practice, which provides accounting, tax, finance, regulatory compliance, and project development consulting services to various stakeholders within the renewable energy industry such as manufacturers, developers, project owners, and financial institutions. Baker Tilly’s renewable energy practice is currently assisting more than 40 different renewable energy projects across the United States with combined energy production exceeding 5,000 MW of potential capacity.
The Wisconsin SEO administers the State Energy Program funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Petroleum Violation Escrow (PVE) funding for Wisconsin, both of which are sources of funds for this grant.
With staff totaling more than 1,300, Baker Tilly provides a wide range of accounting, tax, assurance, and consulting services. Ranked as the 16th largest** firm in the country, Baker Tilly serves clients from offices in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Washington D.C., and throughout Wisconsin.
* According to Wisconsin Agriculture Statistics Service (WASS), April 2010
**According to the 2011 Accounting Today "Top 100 Firms."
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All company references to Baker Tilly in this press release must be listed as Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. No shortened version of the company name is permitted. All references to Baker Tilly International do not require modification.
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