From an article by Claudia Broman in the Ashland Current:
A commitment by the state to support a clean economy could result in Wisconsin residents having lower utility bills, more jobs and cleaner air, according to two separate studies released earlier this summer.
“Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s clean economy is in danger of losing a good deal of its steam as a result of policy rollbacks and funding cutbacks in the renewable energy arena,” said Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide organization advocating for public policies and private initiatives that advance renewable energy. “The short-sighted attacks we’ve seen in 2011 could throw the state’s clean economy into reverse next year.”
So far this year, RENEW says the state’s Legislature has reduced funding for Focus on Energy, suspended the statewide rule regulating the permitting of wind turbines, and weakened the state’s renewable energy standard by allowing utilities to count Canadian hydropower toward their requirements.