| March 24, 2010 |  |
Proposed Increase in Wisconsin’s Renewable Electricity Standard is Easily Achievable, Report Finds
New Standard is Affordable, Would Cut Pollution And Boost State Economy
CHICAGO (March 24, 2010) — Wisconsin has more than enough potential from wind, biomass and other renewable energy sources to meet the proposed increase in the state’s renewable electricity standard to 25 percent by 2025, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The report found that increasing the renewable standard could save state ratepayers as much as $59 million on their electricity bills, reduce power plant global warming pollution 30 percent below current levels, and generate more than $2.4 billion in economic development in the state by 2025.
“Wisconsin has the potential to generate five times its current electricity needs from renewable energy, and it only needs to realize a small fraction of that potential to meet the proposed standard,” said Steve Clemmer, UCS’s Climate and Energy Program research director and the author of the Wisconsin report. “Instead of exporting dollars to import coal and natural gas, this standard would spur new local wind and bioenergy projects and keep more of Wisconsin residents’ energy dollars in the state.”
The 25-percent-by-2025 renewable standard is a provision in the comprehensive Clean Energy Jobs Act (AB649/SB 450) the Wisconsin Legislature is considering. Today, nearly five percent of the state’s electricity comes from renewable sources, and Wisconsin’s current standard requires utilities to obtain 10 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2015. In addition to increasing the requirement to 25 percent, the proposed standard would require utilities to obtain 40 percent of their renewable power from generators within Wisconsin, which would ensure new renewable energy projects are built in the state.
The UCS report found that the higher renewable electricity standard would help stabilize energy bills for Wisconsinites by hedging against future increases in coal, natural gas and electricity prices, and the impending costs of complying with global warming and other environmental regulations. Congress is currently considering legislation that would limit global warming pollution and require large emitters to reduce their emissions or buy carbon pollution permits.
Assuming that power plants burning fossil fuels will incur these additional global warming pollution costs in the near future, the UCS analysis found that the state’s 25-percent renewable standard could result in slightly lower consumer electricity bills by $34 million in 2015 and $59 million in 2025, compared with no renewable electricity standard. For an average Wisconsin household, electricity bills would be 33 cents per month lower in 2015 and 60 cents per month lower in 2025. Without a federal limit on carbon emissions, the 25 percent standard would result in a moderate increase in monthly utility bills.
“Getting a quarter of the state’s electricity from renewable energy is akin to taking out an insurance policy against rising fossil fuel prices and the costs of emitting global warming pollution,” said Clemmer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate and a former energy policy coordinator in Wisconsin’s energy office. “The stronger standard would also help stabilize utility bills, protect public health, strengthen the state’s economy, and create new jobs.”
By displacing electricity generated by coal and natural gas plants, new renewable energy spurred by the 25-percent standard would reduce global warming emissions by more than 13 million metric tons by 2025, according to UCS. That is 30 percent less than the amount of global warming pollution Wisconsin power plants emitted in 2007 and the equivalent of taking 2.1 million cars off the road. The 25-percent renewable standard also would cut emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants that contaminate the state’s air and water and are linked to asthma, learning disorders and premature deaths.
By 2025, the 25-percent renewable electricity standard would boost the state’s economy, the UCS analysis found, by generating $2.4 billion in new capital investment, $630 million to farmers and rural areas from bioenergy production, $36 million in new property tax revenues for local communities, and
$16 million in wind power lease payments to rural landowners.
“Requiring more clean electricity here in Wisconsin means more jobs that can’t be outsourced,” said David Boetcher, government affairs coordinator for Wisconsin International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers State Conference of Inside Locals. “When we pay for electricity, local residents, labor and ratepayers all benefit when that money is invested in Wisconsin renewables. The ratepayer money then stays in Wisconsin, generating jobs, tax revenue and income for Wisconsin residents.”
The report also found that the stronger renewables requirement would create five times more jobs in Wisconsin than producing the same amount of electricity from coal and natural gas. The projected 2,650 new long-term jobs produced by the 25-percent standard would be largely in the manufacturing, construction, operations, maintenance, agriculture and forestry sectors, according to UCS. Many of the jobs and economic benefits would be in rural areas, where most of the renewable energy facilities would be located.
“This proposed renewable electricity standard would provide a long list of benefits to Wisconsin residents, including new local energy sources, new high-skilled jobs, new income for farmers, and new revenue for rural areas,” said Ron Burke, UCS’s Midwest office director. “This standard is a smart, common-sense way to move away from dirty fossil fuels toward a clean energy future.”
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The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
