Report Argues Wisconsin’s Solar Energy Growth Has Been Hampered By Policy, Utilities

The author of a new study on the growth of solar energy in the U.S. says bad policy and big electric utilities are hampering Wisconsin’s growth.

The study by Environment America looks at figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association. The report said Wisconsin has partly gotten in on the solar boom, growing by three megawatts of solar-generating power between 2012 and 2013, though Wisconsin is still not in the top 10 states of solar energy per capita.

Study author Rob Sargent said solar provides a great value to the electrical grid “by reducing demand and peak time, and increasingly reducing the need for additional transmission or distribution.”

Sargent has joined other renewable energy advocates in criticizing some power companies for attempting to increase the fixed charge on customer’s bills because the solar customers are buying electricity. Power firms say they need someone to keep paying for the electrical infrastructure.

Sargent says if the state of Wisconsin would allow third parties to sell or lease solar power to customers, that would help Wisconsin rise in the solar rankings.