GOP Bill Would End State Agency Renewable Energy Requirement

Wisconsin state agencies would no longer be required to purchase some of their electricity from renewable sources under a bill being pushed by Republican lawmakers.

Right now, six agencies, including the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and the University of Wisconsin System, are required to purchase at least 20 percent of their annual energy from renewable sources.

State Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, the lead sponsor of the bill that would end the requirement, told lawmakers at a public hearing that mandating renewable energy serves no benefit to taxpayers.

“I have seen many times where renewable energy has been used as a politically hot football with zero return on investment or it’s cost the taxpayers or whoever has been using it significantly more,” said Kapenga.

State agencies currently have contracts with four utility companies to cover the renewable energy requirement. According to the DOA, the state paid a roughly $5.6 million “premium” to cover those contracts in 2016.

Because one of the contracts would remain on the books until at least 2030, and because energy prices fluctuate, it’s hard to say whether Kapenga’s bill would save the state any money, according to the DOA.

Critics of the plan say Wisconsin set its standard roughly a decade ago to establish the state as a renewable energy leader.

“Goals send an economic signal to investors and companies that Wisconsin is committed to more local growth in renewable energy,” said Sarah Barry with the environmental group Clean Wisconsin. “This proposal sends the opposite message.”

If Kapenga’s plan were to become law, agencies would still have the option of purchasing renewable energy, but they’d no longer have to.

The other state agencies required to purchase energy from renewable sources include the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.