NAACP Wants Less Urban Air Pollution, More Minority Access To Jobs In Energy In Wisconsin

The NAACP released a report saying that it would like less air pollution in urban areas and for racial minorities to have better access to jobs in the renewable energy sector.

The civil rights group has released a 50-state report on energy policies, looking at things like renewable portfolio standards, energy efficiency, and hiring and minority business requirements in the energy sector.

The group says Wisconsin is importing too much coal, could be doing more with renewables, and isn’t helping enough black people find jobs in renewable energy.

The NAACP’s Jacqueline Patterson says more employment in solar energy seems especially doable. “Solar, whether it’s rooftop solar or utility-scale solar, is definitely a viable option,” she said.

Patterson says she’s also been in meetings in Madison to look at ways to increase urban jobs in transmission and storage of wind power generated in rural areas. She says coal-fired power plants in Madison and Milwaukee have switched or will switch soon to natural gas. She says that fuel is cleaner, but is not without local and global environmental problems.