Safe bet is to act now to reduce fossil fuel use. Go renewable says RENEW.

In a weekend editorial the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted RENEW's executive director Don Wichert:  

While national leaders dither, local officials and families can start doing things to reduce human impact on climate change

It's possible that this summer is just a fluke; that the heat waves and drought that are wreaking havoc for farmers and others are an anomaly, and that the weather will return to "normal" next summer or maybe the summer after that. That it's just summer and it's hot, and that this really isn't part of a trend that climate scientists have been predicting.

But that's not the way to bet. . . .

"The extreme weather and heat waves are costing lives, hurting farmers and families, and inaction is wasting tax money," said Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison), member of the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee in a news release. "We need to take cost-effective steps to reduce greenhouse air pollution, create jobs and protect lives like my Jobs, Energy and Tax Savings Act (AB 117) to reduce energy costs at the 9,000 state facilities by 30% to 75% and cut the risk of extreme climate change."

"We know that using more renewable energy and more energy efficiency creates more jobs here and produces far less green house gases than the fossil fuels they replace," said Don Wichert, P.E., Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin. "Access to renewable energy can be increased by reducing upfront costs through private ownership, by creating fair and consistent electricity policies, and by reinstating utility renewable energy commitments."

It's also the message being pushed by a retired Marine colonel and former strategic adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who argues that sustainability and climate change are national security issues. Local leaders need to start the shift to more sustainable practices such as regenerative agriculture techniques and advanced manufacturing because "D.C. isn't going to do anything," Mark Mykleby, author of "A Natural Strategic Narrative," he told the Editorial Board Thursday.

The science says climate change is happening now, not just in computer models or overactive imaginations but in the real world. From rising sea levels to droughts to tornadoes and wildfires, there is a growing list of anomalous events that indicate climate change is already upon us. And the safe bet is to start acting now to mitigate the human effect on climate change at the international, national and local levels.

RENEW says renewable energy can reduce greenhouse gasses

From a presentation on July 11, 2012, at a Capitol news conference in the state Capitol:

Pathways to Increase Renewable Energy

1. Allow private companies to sell renewable energy to home and building occupants if the renewable system is on private property;
2. Allow fair and uniform net energy billing and interconnection policies;
3. Increase Focus on Energy funding for renewables;
4. Reinstate utility renewable energy commitments;
5. Increase renewable energy requirements.

PSC chairperson highlights Focus on Energy achievements on Earth Day

A news release from the PSC:

MADISON – Public Service Commission Chairperson Phil Montgomery today marked Earth Day by recognizing the achievements of the Focus on Energy program, which for 10 years has worked successfully with businesses and residents across Wisconsin to advance renewable energy projects and efficient energy use.

“Using energy wisely means saving money, cutting pollution and increasing the reliability of our utility services,” Chairperson Montgomery said. “I want to thank Focus on Energy for being part of a balanced approach and making significant gains that make Wisconsin a better place to live and do business.”

Focus on Energy programs saved Wisconsin approximately 2.8 million megawatt hours and $380 million in energy costs in 2010. In turn, emissions were reduced as follows: 8.7 million fewer pounds of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide; 10.7 million fewer pounds of sulfur dioxide; 6.65 billion fewer pounds of carbon dioxide and 42 fewer pounds of mercury.

The Public Service Commission oversees the Focus on Energy program, which was created in 2001 and is supported by an independent fund established by utilities and their ratepayers.

More about Focus on Energy, including information on participating and a library of product and equipment data, fact sheets, case studies, technology updates, industry best practices and more, can be found at: www.focusonenergy.com.

Earth Day Economics: A Green and Prosperous Future

From an article in the Shepherd Express by Doug Booth, a retired Marquette University economics professor, a founder of the Driftless Area Land Conservancy, and author of The Coming Good Boom: Creating Prosperity for All and Saving the Environment Through Compact Living:

The astounding success of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, under the tutelage of a true Wisconsin hero, Sen. Gaylord Nelson, marked the coming of age of the environmental movement in this country. Environmental victories in the 1970s included the passage of such landmark legislation as the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts. Earth Day ushered in a new environmental era, and today the quality of our lives is much improved for it.

Unfortunately, our work remains unfinished.

Our single greatest environmental threat today is global warming brought to us by the burning of fossil fuels to power our cars, heat our homes, grow our food and fabricate and operate all our wonderful consumer gadgets. Scientists tell us that greenhouse gases from fossil fuels act like a "tea cozy" around the Earth, bringing forth dangerous environmental harms reported in the news on a daily basis—a shrinking polar ice cap, rising sea levels, more powerful storms, droughts and wildfires.

Reducing Fossil Fuel Consumption
Bringing global warming to a halt can be accomplished with a simple act—freeing ourselves from the environmental tyranny of fossil fuels. Some will say this is easier said than done, but doing so will bring on what I call a "good boom" that will lift all our boats. The "good boom" will be an economic expansion created through compact urban living, clean energy, more grassland and less corn, green cuisine, letting forests grow old and more. It will also help us address global warming. . . .

Wind and Solar Are the Future's Power Sources
Necessary to moving beyond fossil fuels is a switch to truly clean sources of renewable energy. Notwithstanding Gov. Scott Walker's attempt to bring wind energy to a screeching halt with onerous regulations, both wind and sun are the primary energy sources of the future. For example, California lawmakers recently approved a rule requiring utilities to derive one-third of their power from renewable energy sources within 10 years. As we do more of anything in our economy, its cost inevitably falls. This is happening already for both wind and solar energy. The Great Plains is on track to becoming the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, and throughout the Midwest industrial belt, old factories are quickly being refitted to produce wind generators and solar panels. Despite the naysayers, the wind and solar energy revolution is under way, bringing forth an abundance of new jobs—windsmiths, solar panel installers, weatherization specialists, solar engineers, wind and solar equipment fabricators and, here in Milwaukee, urban farmers.

To be sure, the fossil fuel industry will resist going quietly and will defend to the death its right to pollute the atmosphere without cost. Eventually, the industry will lose this battle and will pay the public piper through some form of a tax on greenhouse gas emissions.

Wind generation reduces climate-changing emissions

From a report titled "The Facts about Wind Energy’s Emissions Savings" prepared by the American Wind Energy Association:

. . . four of the seven major independent grid operators in the
U.S. have studied the emissions impact of adding wind energy to their power grids, and all four have found that adding wind energy drastically reduces emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants. While the emissions savings depend somewhat on the existing share of coal-fired versus gas-fired generation in the region, as one would expect, it is impossible to dispute the findings of these four independent grid operators that adding wind energy to their grids has significantly reduced emissions. . . .

DOE data show that wind and other renewables’ share of Texas’s
electric mix increased from 1.3% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2008, an increase in share of 3.1 percentage points. During that period, electric sector carbon dioxide emissions declined by 3.3%, even though electricity use actually increased by 2% during that time. Because of wind energy, the state of Texas was able to turn what would have been a carbon emissions increase into a decrease of 8,690,000 metric tons per year, equal to the emissions savings of taking around 1.5 million cars off the road.

Xcel's CEO among those calling for a tax on carbon

From an article by Neal St. Anthony in the Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN:

Dick Kelly, CEO of Xcel Energy Inc., is irked that Congress hasn't raised his taxes.

"We need a price on carbon," said Kelly, who runs a multistate utility in the vanguard of next-generation efficiency and cleaner-energy programs.

Kelly, Duke Power CEO Jim Rogers and other utility executives have been expecting Congress to pass cap-and-trade legislation, which would effectively place a tax on carbon emissions. Both Xcel and Duke have moved expeditiously in recent years to modernize old coal-fired plants, switch to wind and natural gas, and implement conservation programs in a bid to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by up to 25 percent by 2025 and meet state mandates to reduce pollutants that climate scientists say lead to global warming.

"The industry could have worked with the 'Kerry-Lieberman' bill in the Senate, but the Republicans backed away and started calling it 'cap-and-tax,'" Kelly said.

So instead of providing incentives for the utility industry to invest in next-generation, clean-coal programs and promising carbon-diversion efforts, the U.S. Senate is now considering more rules and mandates instead. Kelly and Rogers think that's a mistake.

'Let's move forward'

"There is growing consensus in the electric utility industry to act now, so let's move forward," Rogers wrote earlier this summer. "Duke Energy and other electric utilities are already scheduled to retire and replace virtually all coal and other large power plants with cleaner and more efficient technologies by 2050.

"A clear and predictable federal energy and climate policy can accelerate these projects and put private capital to work more rapidly. It can also create millions of jobs. This would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but would also reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. That would improve air quality across the board."

Environmentalist Bill McKibben: We're losing climate battle

From an article by Nathan Vine in the Stevens Point Journal:

CUSTER -- Bill McKibben said he considered himself fortunate to be at the 21st annual Midwest Renewable Energy Fair.

Being in a Midwestern atmosphere that he characterized as "very clear, practical and ready to get things done," McKibben said it was a great backdrop for the theme of his keynote address at the fair Saturday.
McKibben, an internationally known environmentalist and founder of the 350.org campaign, said those who seek to fight the planet's climate problems face a difficult task.

"We're losing, and losing pretty badly to do what we need to make this planet work," McKibben said. "If we are going to win, it's going to take an enormous amount of that practical spirit."

In between being honored by a pair of standing ovations, and the announcement that the MREA had planted a tree in his honor next to others planted for founding members of the event and past speakers at the event, McKibben focused on the work that still needs to be done.

He pointed out that despite the obvious effects of too much carbon in the atmosphere -- which now stands at 392 parts per million, and which he hopes to reduce to 350 -- from the increase of global temperature to the pollutive effect on the oceans, political forces and the fossil fuel industry have successfully kept substantive change from being made.

"The only way we are going to have the kind of change we need is to radically increase the cost of fossil fuels," McKibben said. "To do that, we need to be engaging in the political battle that we haven't been able to."

McKibben has tried to rally support to that battle through his work with 350.org. In 2009, he and his team coordinated some 5,200 events in 181 countries in one day to bring awareness to the problem of carbon. This year on Oct. 10, they are planning a global work party, where people can take on environmentally friendly projects.

Energy Fair to host renowned author, June 19

From an article by Nicole Strittmater in the Wausau Daily Herald:

An environmental superstar will visit Custer this week to help inspire central Wisconsin residents to go greener.

Bill McKibben, who wrote the first book about global warming 21 years ago and recently created an international campaign called 350.org to solve the climate crisis, is a keynote speaker for the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair on Saturday.

"I very much wanted to come, particularly because the kind of people who will be at the fair are the kind of people we need to reach," said McKibben, 49, from his home in Ripton, Vt.

He spends the majority of his time traveling the world promoting his 350.org campaign, which draws its name from the parts per million of carbon that can safely be in the atmosphere. His focus is to get the planet from 392 parts per million of carbon, where it is currently, to 350 by encouraging people to take on environmentally conscious projects.

"We want all kinds of people who are good at doing practical things -- putting up solar panels, community gardens, starting bike programs," he said.

In 2009, he and his 350.org team coordinated 5,200 rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries in one day, which news outlets dubbed the largest globally coordinated rally of any kind.

This October, he's organizing a global work party. He wants people worldwide to do environmentally friendly projects, such as putting up solar panels Oct. 10.

Bill McKibben leads list of Energy Fair keynote speakers, June 18-20

From the announcement of keynote speakers for the Energy Fair of the Midwest Renewable Energy Associaiton:

On Saturday, June 19, 2010, join us to hear an inspirational keynote address from noted environmentalist, activist and author, Bill McKibben. Bill is the founder of 350.org, an international climate campaign. He frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstrations against global warming in American history.

Bill has written many books including The End of Nature and is a frequent contributor to various magazines including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside. He is also a board member and contributor to Grist Magazine. Bill has a new book out, Eaarth, that details how we can't continue the unsustainable consumer culture and gives us hope for a more sustainable future.

Visit Bill McKibben's website to learn more.

A Cruel Month for Renewable Energy

A commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
May 4, 2010

Renewable energy businesses and activists entered the month of April with high hopes of seeing the State Legislature pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), a comprehensive bill designed to propel Wisconsin toward energy independence, along the way creating thousands of new jobs and strengthening the sustainable energy marketplace. This comprehensive bill would have raised the renewable energy content of electricity sold in Wisconsin, while stepping up ratepayer support for smaller-scale renewable energy installations throughout the state.

Unfortunately, on April 22, the State Senate adjourned for the year without taking action on the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill, effectively killing the measure and leaving hundreds of businesses and individuals who campaigned for the bill empty-handed.

If life imitates poetry, then the line that opens T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land—“April is the cruelest month”—aptly encapsulates the evolution of a campaign that overcame many obstacles in the final weeks only to be undermined by the unwillingness of Senate leaders to schedule a vote on the bill. The sense of anticipation that began the month was swept away by a combination of personal feuds, extreme partisanship, and increasingly polarized public attitudes toward climate change. That the bill’s demise coincided with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day was seen by supporters as an especially cruel twist of fate.

It certainly didn’t help matters that the some of the state’s most politically entrenched constituencies banded together to fight CEJA at every stage of the process. Among the hard-core opponents were Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the Paper Council and the Farm Bureau. Their vociferous opposition scuttled bipartisanship, eliminating the possibility that a Republican legislator would vote for the bill.

Working hand-in-glove with vitriolic right-wing radio talk show hosts, the opposition supplied their grassroots faithful with a smorgasbord of exaggerated claims, hyperbole, outright fantasy, and pseudoscience. Though the analysis purporting to document the opposition’s assertions set a new low in academic rigor, it succeeded in its aim, which was to plant the seeds of fear among certain legislators about the ultimate cost of this legislation before the bill was even introduced.

Working just as vigorously for the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a broad spectrum of interests answered the requests for help. Whether they were one-person solar installation businesses or Fortune 500 corporations like Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls, CEJA supporters wrote letters, made phone calls, and corralled their legislators at the Capitol on several days during March and April.

In dozens of face-to-face meetings with their representatives, CEJA supporters made the case for this bill by bringing out their own experiences as business owners, farmers, educators, builders, and skilled tradesmen. They presented a local and highly personal angle to the clean energy policy debate that many legislators had not appreciated before. Their passion and energy were instrumental in giving this bill a fighting chance for passage at the end of the session. Unfortunately, the campaign could not overcome the pique of the Senate Democrats.

One legislator who kept pushing this ambitious bill up the legislative hill until the very last day was Assembly representative Spencer Black, who was one of the four principal authors of the measure. CEJA supporters are indebted to Rep. Black for his vigorous leadership and his determined efforts to round up support among his compatriots for passing this bill.

Two rays of sunlight did manage to pierce through the heavy clouds at the close of April, prompted by the dedication of the two largest wind turbines owned by Wisconsin schools. In each case, the school erected a 100-kilowatt Northwind turbine manufactured by Vermont-based Northern Power Systems. One serves Wausau East High School while the other feeds power to the Madison Area Technical College’s Fort Atkinson branch. The turbines will offset a significant fraction of the electricity consumed at each school.

Located well within the city limits of Wausau and Fort Atkinson, these 155-foot-tall wind generators eloquently testify to the breadth and depth of public support for renewable energy across Wisconsin. Next January, the Legislature will witness the return of clean energy supporters with similar legislation for strengthening Wisconsin’s renewable energy marketplace. In the meantime, we will be working hard to achieve a very different outcome.

END

Michael Vickerman is the executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a sustainable energy advocacy organization headquartered in Madison. For more information on Wisconsin renewable energy policy, visit RENEW’s web site at: www.renewwisconsin.org.

Wisconsin Democrats say no to Clean Energy on Earth Day

A news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:

MADISON -- Hours ago, the democratically controlled state Legislature failed the people of Wisconsin when it adjourned before taking up the Clean Energy Jobs Act.

"It's ironic that on Earth Day, our Democrat-led state Legislature effectively killed a vital piece of clean energy legislation," says Keith Reopelle, senior policy director, Clean Wisconsin. "Senate Democratic leaders Jeff Plale and Russ Decker's refusal to schedule the bill for a vote guaranteed the bill's demise."

The Clean Energy Jobs Act would have created more than 15,000Â jobs for Wisconsinites. Just yesterday, Wave Wind, a wind energy service provider in Sun Prairie, sent an open letter to the state Legislature noting that the delayed passage of the bill forced the company to lay off 12 employees. Had the bill passed, Wave Wind would have created 100 new high-quality jobs.

"The world is transitioning to a clean energy economy, and Wisconsin is getting left behind," says Reopelle. "Wisconsin has now lost the manufacturing and design jobs that would have been created by the bill  to China, California and Illinois."

The bill also would have lowered energy bills for homeowners and businesses with its renewable energy and energy efficiency provisions, allowing Wisconsin to make incremental but critically important steps toward reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and increasing our energy independence.

"It is a travesty that Wisconsin's Legislature missed the opportunity to take action on such an important bill for the health of our state's economy and environment," says Reopelle. "While today's inaction is definitely a setback, thanks to the hard work of our allies in the Legislature and coalition partners, we have laid the foundation for future clean energy legislation and remain hopeful that Wisconsin will soon return to its forward-thinking roots."

###

Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin's clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and polluters accountable.

Utilities in business coalition urge passage of Clean Energy Jobs Act

From a news release issued by CREWE, a coalition of the following organizations -- Alliant Energy, Xcel, We Energies, Madison Gas and Electric, WPPI Energy, EcoEnergy, Johnson Controls, C5•6 Technologies, Axley Brynelson, Orion Energy Systems, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Poblocki Sign Company, Emerging Energies of Wisconsin, MillerCoors, American Transmission Co., DTE Energy Services, Kranz, Inc. and Greenwood Fuels:

(MADISON, Wis.)—The coalition for Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE) today urged the State Assembly to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) in order to create thousands of jobs and reduce electricity costs for Wisconsin consumers and businesses.

“The amended Clean Energy Jobs Act provides even more benefits than the original version, so our representatives must make the obvious choice and pass this bill,” Thad Nation, executive director of CREWE, said. “In fact, a recent survey shows that business leaders are eager to undertake energy efficiency efforts as a means of saving money and growing their respective businesses.”

CREWE member Johnson Controls surveyed more than 1,400 executives in North America and found that improving energy efficiency in buildings is their top priority. According to the Public Service Commission, the energy efficiency provisions in the new CEJA are likely to save Wisconsin ratepayers billions of energy dollars over the next several years.

The Assembly will vote on the bill Tuesday.

Among the amendments, a more aggressive energy efficiency policy will keep electricity affordable and target Wisconsin’s manufacturing, large commercial and and institutional sectors, which in turn will produce
many high-quality, well-paying jobs, Nation added.

Legislators Fire Duds at Clean Energy Jobs Act

A commentary by Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin:

Immediate release
April 15, 2010

More information
Michael Vickerman
RENEW Wisconsin
608.255.4044
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org

Statement of Michael Vickerman
Executive Director – RENEW Wisconsin

Legislators Fire Duds at Clean Energy Jobs Act

In an April 13 statement, Reps. Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem), Phil Montgomery (R-Green Bay), and Scott Gunderson (R-Waterford) contend that the substitute amendment for the Clean Energy Jobs Act, released earlier this week, will drive up electric rates across Wisconsin. As ammunition for their argument, the representatives point to recent requests in Iowa to raise electric rates, which they attribute to the state’s renewable energy policy.

The argument advanced by these three lawmakers is truly absurd, given the facts of the situation. In the first place, Iowa’s Alternative Energy Production (AEP) law, which dates from 1983, requires the state’s two largest electric utilities to add a mere 105 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity between them. By 1997, both utilities had achieved full compliance with that law. That mandate has not been increased or modified since that time.

Fast forward to April 2010. Windpower capacity alone in Iowa now totals 3,670 MW, and the Hawkeye State is now the second largest producer of wind-generated electricity in the nation behind Texas. According to the Iowa Policy Project, windpower accounted for 14% of the state’s electric output in 2009. Additional information on windpower development in Iowa can be accessed here.

The vast majority of Iowa’s windpower capacity was built for reasons other than complying with the state’s renewable energy policy. Iowa utilities invested in windpower because it is the lowest cost generation option available to them. Here’s what MidAmerican Energy Company, Iowa’s largest investor-owned utility, says about its windpower assets.

MidAmerican began building wind turbines in 2004 and has made the investment without raising customers’ electric rates. The price of electricity per kilowatt-hour … for MidAmerican customers is lower today than it was in 1995, and the company has committed to not seek an electric rate increase to become effective until 2014, which is nearly 20 years without a rate increase.

Given MidAmerican’s experience with windpower, it is clear that the allegation from Reps. Huebsch, Montgomery and Gunderson was spun without any apparent connection to reality. The proper place to file a claim this ludicrous is in a manure digester, where it can be broken down into usable energy.

It’s worth pointing out that a significant percentage of Iowa’s wind capacity serves Wisconsin utilities, among them Madison Gas & Electric (MGE), which owns the 30 MW Top of Iowa 3 installation and purchases additional supplies of wind-generated electricity from independently owned facilities there. These facilities were constructed after 2006, the year Wisconsin’s current renewable energy standard was enacted. Yet MGE’s residential ratepayers have seen annual rate increases of only 1.5% in the last four years. Compared with other expenses, such as college tuition, health insurance premiums, and vehicle registration fees, electricity cost increases have barely been noticeable.

Windpower’s rapid growth in the Upper Midwest has also contributed to the reduction of fossil fuel consumption, resulting in lower natural gas prices. That benefit is passed through directly to Wisconsin energy users in the form of lower heating bills. Indeed, over the last 12 months, overall energy costs declined measurably for most Wisconsin households and businesses, thanks to the prolonged slump in natural gas prices.

There is no surer way to control energy bills than to reduce the state’s reliance on imported fossil fuels through increased conservation and substituting renewable resources wherever practical. The choice before the Legislature is clear cut and momentous. Either it can embrace a 15-year commitment to invigorate the state’s economy through sustained investment in clean energy or it can decide to coast along on current energy policies until they lapse several years from now and lose their force and effect.

We at RENEW believe the Clean Energy Jobs Act will propel the clean energy marketplace into an economic powerhouse that will generate jobs and help Wisconsin businesses remain competitive. We strongly support the passage of the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill as amended.

--END--

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

Study: Amended Clean Energy Jobs Act even better for state

From a news release issued by the Advocates for Renewable Energy, a coalition of organizations, including RENEW Wisconsin:

Act Will Save Wisconsin Utility Customers at Least $1.2 Billion

The Public Service Commission (PSC) released a study today finding that the Clean Energy Jobs Act substitute amendment will save Wisconsin electricity customers at least $1.2 billion over the next 15 years, and could save Wisconsin electricity customers up to $6.4 billion over that period, compared to the business as usual approach. The study is based on the energy cost savings of provisions included in the Clean Energy Jobs Act substitute amendment released on Wednesday.

“The PSC study confirms that the Clean Energy Jobs Act will save Wisconsin residents and businesses money,” said Vicky Lipinski of Procorp Enterprises, a water and wastewater treatment solution company in Milwaukee. “Sustainable energy solutions reduce costs for businesses and allow them to be more competitive and create jobs.”

The study finds that average customer electricity bills will be lower in 2015 and 2020 under all scenarios with the Clean Energy Jobs Act compared to the business as usual approach. These savings will be realized by customers even without any federal carbon regulation. When modest federal carbon regulation is assumed, the cost savings of the Clean Energy Jobs Act are even greater.

“Our continued reliance on fossil fuel generation provides great uncertainty in the energy market, as costs of coal and natural gas are highly variable and unpredictable,” said Shaina Kilcoyne of the coalition Advocates for Renewable Energy. “As the PSC study demonstrates, renewable energy provides stability and predictability, as well as cost savings for residents and businesses.”

The study is further proof that the cost concerns alleged by opponents of the bill are without merit. The Clean Energy Jobs Act will reduce energy costs, create jobs, and improve our economy.

“The Clean Energy Jobs Act will move our state forward and establish a stronger, healthier, more sustainable Wisconsin economy,” said Kilcoyne.

Groups urge passage of new version of Clean Energy Jobs Act legislation

Diverse groups lined up to support passage of the rewritten version of Clean Energy Jobs Act legislation when the new provisions were announced on Tuesday. Group already releasing statements of support include:

+ Clean Wisconsin.
+ AFL-CIO
+ Wisconsin Business Council
+ Clean, Responsible Energy for Wisconsin’s Economy (CREWE)
+ Wisconsin Environment
+ WPPI Energy.

According to the bill's co-authors the highlights of the bill make the following changes:

+ Increases the use of renewable resources to meet the state’s future energy needs, requiring 25 percent of Wisconsin’s energy needs are met by renewable sources by 2025, creates new opportunities for Wisconsin.
+ Establishes graduated statewide electricity savings goals that lead up to a 2 percent reduction by 2015 and annual reductions of 2 percent thereafter, this will help reduce energy costs to businesses and homes across the state.
+ Large conservation and efficiency projects that meet workforce standards could count toward a portion of the RPS, which accelerates savings and provides options for utilities to create jobs.
+ Supports the development of small scale renewables such as solar, wind and manure digesters through expanded Focus on Energy grants and loans that will now total $25 million per year each year for a four year period. This will allow Wisconsin Companies to grow their business and create more jobs.
+ Modifies, but not repeal, Wisconsin’s moratorium on nuclear power plants. The language has been tightened to remove the threat of constitutional challenge by tying those changes to the state’s traditional regulatory authority over the need and siting of any plant.
+ Adjusts several transportation provisions, including the elimination of the California vehicle emissions standard; the proposed low carbon fuel standard tied to decisions in other states; and boiler efficiency standards that could cause conflict with EPA regulations.

The co-authors also asked the Public Service Commission to update its cost analysis of the legislation, taking into account the changes made in the substitute amendment.

Wisconsin's scaled-back global warming bill unveiled

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A revised state clean energy and global warming bill unveiled Tuesday scales back the scope of the bill but retains a commitment to expand use of renewable energy and open the door to construction of nuclear reactors in Wisconsin.

The revisions, obtained by the Journal Sentinel, were drafted in response to concerns raised by business groups and politicians that the original bill was too unwieldy, too controversial and potentially too costly.

Jettisoned from the package were mandates concerning transportation fuels, including a requirement that Wisconsin require greater use of low-carbon transportation fuels such as biofuels.

To reduce the overall cost of the package, the bill allows energy efficiency gains to count toward a portion of a mandate that 25% of Wisconsin's electricity come from renewable power sources by 2025.

A combined energy efficiency and renewable energy standard is also part of federal legislation that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last year.

The state bill would allow one-fifth of the mandate to come through energy savings, most likely from major energy saving initiatives by factories and other big energy users.

Another change responds to concerns raised by utilities concerning a mandate that had been in the earlier bill concerning small renewable energy projects around the state. The mandate has been replaced with expanded funding for small renewable energy projects. The new proposal states a preference that much of that money be allocated toward manure digesters on Wisconsin dairy farms.

The latest version also underscores the consequences of the weak economy and declining sentiment for taking action on global warming.

Doyle signed an executive order creating the task force in April 2007 - well before the collapse in the economy. In December 2009, after details were known, many business groups attacked it and said the recommendations would harm the energy-intensive manufacturing sector.

But some other industries and companies, notably Johnson Controls, the state's largest public company, said the bill would create jobs and align the state to take advantage of emerging trends in sustainability.

At the same time, the public appears less concerned about climate change. A national Gallup Poll in March showed that the percentage of respondents who believe the seriousness of global warming is "generally exaggerated" has increased from 35% to 48% in two years.

"As introduced, the Clean Energy Jobs Act would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and help keep rising energy bills in check," said Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, said in a statement. "The substitute amendment represents a compromise that will still accomplish all of these goals, but to a lesser degree than the original bill."

Clean Wisconsin is still reviewing the details of the changes.

"As we understand them, the changes in the substitute amendment will result in even more jobs and lower energy bills in the next few years by increasing short-term commitments to energy efficiency," Reopelle said. "However, paring back the renewable energy standard will likely result in less rate relief in the long term, because renewable energy helps hedge against the rising cost of fossil fuels."

Will clean energy help Wisconsin’s job prospects?

From an interview conducted by Lisa Kaiser in the Shepherd Express (Milwaukee):

One of the biggest questions posed by the state’s proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act is whether it will produce more jobs in the state or force manufacturers to cut their workforce because of increased energy costs.

Last week, Randall Swisher, former executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, spoke at the Green Energy Summit in Milwaukee about the economic advantages of renewable energy. Prior to his visit, Swisher explained to the Shepherd why Wisconsin should embrace homegrown renewable sources of energy like wind power.

Shepherd: Texas is the leading wind producer in the country, the result of a fairly aggressive, deliberate strategy by that state’s policy-makers. Are there any lessons that can be learned from Texas’ experience?

Swisher: Partly, that the public supports going in this direction. The second lesson that we learned is that, when you put a lot of wind [power] on the system, it’s a lot more cost-competitive than people realize. The technology works and it’s not as difficult to integrate it into the electric utility system as a lot of people seem to believe. Because the wind doesn’t blow all the time, people sometimes think this could never amount to much or it’s going to be very difficult for public utilities to utilize it. You know, none of that is true.

Also, Texas has done a good job in terms of understanding that if you want to access the wind resource, you’ve got to ensure that you can deliver the power to where people need it. And that means that transmission is important to the future of wind in this country, and Texas is really leading the way with that. They’re spending like $5 billion building transmission lines over the next few years to access wind resources in west Texas. And the thing that’s particularly amazing about it is that the benefits to consumers of getting those lines built and getting the extra wind in the system would save customers about $2.5 billion a year. So they’ll pay for the line in about two years.

Shepherd: What’s your take on the impact of the Clean Energy Jobs Act on energy costs and jobs in Wisconsin?

Swisher: I’ve looked at some of the analyses and it seems like almost every analysis that has been done—other than the analysis that was commissioned by the major industrial customers [Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC)]—demonstrates that in fact [the bill] won’t have a severe impact on the economy and will be a net source of jobs. So you begin to wonder about the assumptions that were at the heart of the study that the major industry groups commissioned.

But [the WMC study] clearly doesn’t square with the facts as I understand them about the relative cost-competitiveness of wind and other renewables to meet the needs of the state over time. This is something that we found time and again. We did this on a national basis in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy. They did an analysis of what it would cost and whether it is feasible for wind to provide 20% of the nation’s electricity within a 2030 time frame. It showed that not only was it cost-competitive with other generation sources like gas or coal and nuclear, but because of the fuel cost savings, it was a net economic benefit. I think what we found on a national basis is going to be true in a state like Wisconsin as well.

Some compromise reached in Clean Energy Jobs Act

From a report by Chuck Quirmbach on Wisconsin Public Radio:

(STATE CAPITOL) A key lawmaker says some compromises have been reached in the global warming bill now in the State Legislature. But he says more deal-making is ahead.

During the last couple of weeks, legislators have been working behind closed doors trying to agree on changes to the Clean Energy Jobs Act. At an energy forum in Milwaukee, Senate author Mark Miller said some agreements have been reached. The Madison-area Democrat says there are deals on idling of trucks, reducing carbon in transportation fuels, tariffs for utilities purchasing power from renewable sources, and whether to link Wisconsin car fuel efficiency standards to California's. He says the golden state plan is gone.

Miller says the plan to reduce carbon in fuels ran into a lot of opposition, and wasn’t a major part of the bill. The changes are good news to the Democrats leading candidate for governor, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Barrett says any new carbon in fuels standard would also have hurt the state.

Sen. Miller says lawmakers are also trying to accelerate job creation goals in the Clean Energy Jobs Act. He says he's hoping to announce final compromises next week.

Over 200 businesses pledge support for Clean Energy Jobs Act

From a news release issued by Clean Wisconsin:

Regionally Diverse Large and Small Businesses Among Supporters

MADISON -- In a show of support for the Clean Energy Jobs Act, the Wisconsin business community delivered a letter signed by over 200 Wisconsin businesses to state legislators today highlighting the economic and job-creation benefits of strong energy efficiency and renewable energy policies.

"As businesses currently working in the production, installation and maintenance of energy efficiency and renewable energy systems we understand better than anyone that clean energy policies create jobs and stimulate local economies," read the letter. "By enacting statewide policies that will help Wisconsinites make their homes and businesses more energy efficient or invest in renewable energy, the state Legislature will create thousands of jobs and help support local businesses like ours..."

Studies have repeatedly demonstrated the job-creation potential of the Clean Energy Jobs Act. A recent study from the Office of Energy Independence estimates that the bill would create over 15,000 jobs in the state.

"Wisconsin’s businesses support the Clean Energy Jobs Act because they recognize its enormous potential to create jobs and aid economic recovery," said Keith Reopelle, senior policy director at Clean Wisconsin. "With strong renewable energy and energy efficiency policies, Wisconsin can become a leader in the production of clean energy technologies."

"Clean energy policies like those in the Clean Energy Jobs Act help businesses like Wave Wind grow," said Dionne Lummus at Wave Wind Energy located in Sun Prairie. "Increased demand for renewable energy means an increased demand for our services, which translates to more jobs and economic growth in Wisconsin."

A report released this morning by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that securing 25 percent of the state’s renewable electricity by 2025, a main provision of the bill, is affordable and easily achievable. In fact, the report illustrates that generating 25 percent of Wisconsin’s current electricity load would require only 5 percent of the state’s renewable energy potential.

Colorado increases renewables and distributed generation requirements

While the Wisconsin legislature considers a renewable portfolio requirement of 25% by 2025, Colorado will soon have a requirement of 30% by 2020, according to an article by Kate Balbraith on a New York Times blog:

In a bid to propel his state to the forefront of the new energy economy, Colorado’s governor is expected to sign one of the most aggressive renewable energy requirements in the country on Monday afternoon.

The new law requires 30 percent of large utilities’ electricity to come from renewables by 2020. The previous requirement was 20 percent by 2020.

The higher target “will continue to position Colorado as a national pacesetter for creating jobs, strengthening our economy and protecting our environment,” wrote the governor, Bill Ritter, in an op-ed article in a Colorado newspaper on Sunday.

About half of all states in the country have renewable energy requirements, known as a “renewable portfolio standard.”

California’s rule — the most aggressive — requires big utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020, and 20 percent by 2010. However, the state is likely to fall short of the 2010 goal — showing that targets are easy to establish but more difficult to meet.

Mark Stutz, a spokesman for Xcel Energy, which serves about 70 percent of Colorado’s population, said that the utility supported Colorado’s increased target. The new law also requires that “distributed generation” — small, dispersed electricity sources — equate to 3 percent of each utility’s electricity sales.