From a news release posted on WQOW.com:
(Press Release)– In a visit to the Wisconsin Farmers Union main office, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Rod Nilsestuen (DATCP) discussed the importance of Governor Doyle’s Clean Energy Jobs Act designed to grow Wisconsin’s economy by creating clean energy jobs and helping businesses and consumers use energy more efficiently.
“Every year, $16 billion leaves Wisconsin to pay for fuel to run our vehicles and heat our buildings,” DATCP Secretary Rod Nilsestuen said. “We are not a state with coal, oil or natural gas, but we are a state with enormous manufacturing expertise, rich agricultural and forest land, and tremendous ability to research and innovate. The Clean Energy Jobs Act is designed to harness this potential to improve our economy, save money and confront climate change.”
Governor Doyle’s Clean Energy Jobs Act implements recommendations of his Global Warming Task Force to address climate change and grow the state’s green economy. The package would:
+ Require use of renewable energy sources for 20 percent of Wisconsin’s needs by 2020 and 25 percent by 2025. This will ensure more energy dollars remain in the state. Wisconsin currently spends $16 billion per year on imported energy to heat homes and fuel cars and trucks.
+ Increase energy efficiency and energy conservation efforts with graduated statewide electricity savings goals, leading to a 2 percent reduction in energy use by 2015 and annual reductions thereafter.
+ Create jobs, more than 1,800 in the first year, many of them construction jobs, according to new industry-recognized research. Economists and policy analysts estimate the package will create 800 to 1,800 new construction jobs per year through 2025 and more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs once the energy act provisions are fully implemented.