There appears to be bipartisan support for changing the way
Wisconsin allocates renewable energy credits to utilities and companies that
produce electric power.
Under current law, renewable energy credits are only
available to utilities or companies that produce energy from facilities that
went on line after June of 2010. The proposed change would allow companies that
produce energy from renewable sources like hydropower or biomass to earn
credits even if their facilities were operating before 2010.
The change will largely benefit several paper mills that use
both fossil fuel and hydropower as well as wood chips. Keith Reopelle of Clean
Wisconsin says giving these mills credits encourages them to make more green
energy.
“To the extent that this results keeping some of the mills
on line longer, to the extent that it enables them to increase the amount of
co-firing they're doing – definitely I think a good policy,” says Reopelle.
However, both Clean Wisconsin and the group Renew Wisconsin
are also urging the state to increase the amount of renewable energy it
produces, as both Iowa and Minnesota are doing. Don Wichert of Renew Wisconsin
says Wisconsin once led the nation in its renewable requirements, but now out
of the 29 states that have established a renewable energy standard (RES),
Wisconsin is now dead last.
“If Wisconsin is serious about competing with Iowa and
Minnesota for new jobs and business opportunities, it needs to put itself back
on a growth track for renewables – and a higher RES is the best vehicle for
accomplishing that,” says Wichert.
Supporters of the proposed change in renewable credit
allocation acknowledge that it produces only a small incentive for new
investments in renewable energy production.
No comments:
Post a Comment