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Scuba

(53,475 posts)
Thu Oct 30, 2014, 02:18 PM Oct 2014

Wisconsin: Walker Failure File #1: The Dirty Truth About Our Clean Jobs

http://conservationvoters.org/the-dirty-truth-about-our-clean-job/

Solar and wind power are booming industries around most of the country. Nationwide, there was a 27% increase in solar power produced last year, with 4,300 megawatts of energy being generated. But what was Wisconsin’s share of that growth? A measly 2 megawatts. Yes, you read that right. Two megawatts. Walker’s Wisconsin simply isn’t open to solar and wind business.

It’s been clear from the beginning that Governor Walker is in the dark when it comes to clean energy and the jobs associated with it. In his very first budget, the governor eliminated Wisconsin’s Green-to-Gold program which gave money to manufacturers to offset the costs of retrofitting plants to reduce energy costs. This move undermined Wisconsin’s job creators who used the money saved in energy costs to grow their businesses.

Governor Walker gave Wisconsin workers another blow when he eliminated the Renewable Energy Grants and Loans Program, which gave money to in-state companies developing the next generation of technologies to grow our domestic renewable energy industry – and put Wisconsinites to work.

And that was just the beginning. Governor Walker and his administration are creating hurdles left and right to choke Wisconsin’s wind and solar energy industries. In 2011, Governor Walker waged an attack on wind energy that was so extreme, even his own party couldn’t get behind it. Denise Bode, executive of the American Wind Energy Association, said that the proposal was, “adding a new regulatory barrier and putting a ‘closed for business’ sign on Wisconsin for wind development.” The proposal imperiled up to $1.2 billion in renewable energy investments and more than 1,100 jobs by imposing the greatest restrictions to wind turbines in the country. Although the proposal died, the impacts have been lasting. Job creators in the wind industry understood that Walker’s Wisconsin is anti-wind, so companies left the state and took 1,000+ jobs with them.
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