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Michael Vickerman
mvickerman@renewwisconsin.org
608.255.4044, ext. 2
State’s Renewable Standard Delivers Positive
Results
Most utilities already meeting 2015 targets
Most Wisconsin electricity
providers have already acquired all the renewable energy supplies they need to
meet the state’s 10% target in 2015, according to the Public Service Commission
(PSCW). The agency’s annual compliance review showed that nearly 9% of
electricity sold by in-state electricity providers in 2011 originated from such
renewable energy resources as sunlight, biogas, hydro, landfill gas and wind,
compared with 3% in 2006.
“By any measure, the
state’s Renewable Energy Standard (RES) has been an unqualified success,” said
Michael Vickerman, program and policy director for RENEW Wisconsin. “From the
standpoint of job creation, resource diversity, price stability, environmental
protection and revenue generation, the RES has delivered exceptional value to a state that is very
dependent on imported fossil fuels for electricity generation.”
Passed in 2006, the RES has
been the most powerful policy for driving growth in renewable electricity
sales. Yet with so many electricity providers already in compliance with their
2015 requirements, the prospects for new investments in home-grown energy
sources are uncertain.
“Right now, we don’t have a
policy in place for directing investments into clean energy after 2015,”
Vickerman said. “If we want to reap the economic and environmental benefits
that come with renewables, state lawmakers will have to extend the Renewable
Energy Standard or adopt a successor policy.”
“Investments in renewable
resources not only supply Wisconsin utility customers with clean energy, they
also generate work opportunities for local manufacturers and businesses,
additional revenue for local governments, and income for farmers,” said
Vickerman.
“Renewable energy should be
the cornerstone of an economic development strategy that aims to increase the
state’s workforce and expand investment opportunities,” Vickerman said. “We
look forward to working with the Governor and the next Legislature to put in
place a realistic, low-cost policy framework that maintains the momentum
building from the current RES.”
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