2015’s Best Renewable Energy Projects to Receive Recognition This Week

Immediate release
January 18, 2016

More information
Tyler Huebner, Executive Director
608.255.4044 x 1
tyler.huebner@renewwisconsin.org

2015’s Best Renewable Energy Projects to Receive Recognition This Week

The biggest and best renewable energy installations in 2015 are set to be recognized at Renew Wisconsin’s annual Renewable Energy Summit this Thursday, January 21st in Madison.  The recognition ceremony will take place at 12:45pm, during lunch.  The Summit will be held at the Monona Terrace in Madison; registration starts at 8am and the program runs from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

It was a breakout year for solar energy. Over three times as many solar panels were installed in 2015 as the prior year, and the most ever in the state: 7.5 megawatts worth, enough to supply over 900 Wisconsin homes’ annual electricity usage.

The recognition will be bestowed across three categories:

Community Solar, featuring five utility providers who instituted projects where customers can share in the solar production from one centrally located, larger solar array.

Noteworthy Solar Collaborations, featuring ten solar projects where creative teams, financing, or customer marketing were utilized to make the projects happen. 

Largest Installations, denoting the 31 projects with the largest power capacity that were installed in the year. (Note that some of these are also included in the above two categories.) This category features 30 solar projects alongside Statz B Dairy, where a
“biogas digester” was installed which converts cow manure into usable
biogas for electricity.

“Solar energy is growing at exponential rates across the country and we are pleased that Wisconsin is sharing in this American success story with the many great projects installed in 2015,” said Tyler Huebner, Renew Wisconsin’s Executive Director. “However, our Honor Roll shows another stark fact: as a state, we need to prioritize the growth of wind, bioenergy, and hydro power as well as solar in 2016 and beyond. These homegrown energy sources will make Wisconsin better for future generations.”

For more information on the 2016 summit program agenda, speakers, and registration, please visit http://renewwisconsin.org/2016_Summit/