Illustration by Tim Czerniakowski
Clean energy
I have always believed that a cleaner future starts with us and that we can create a brighter future for all by choosing easy, impactful renewable energy solutions. The fact is, making a positive impact on the environment has never been easier.
Thanks to major legislation passed by President Joe Biden, Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Democrats in Congress, a clean energy boom is sweeping our City of Milwaukee, the great state of Wisconsin, and the country. This new law creates good-paying jobs for Wisconsin workers and lowers energy costs for families. In other words, your household and community can be rewarded for helping the planet with lower utility bills, better comfort, and higher home value!
The groundbreaking federal legislation—the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) also known as President Biden’s Affordable Clean Energy Plan—provides nearly $370 billion to tackle the climate crisis, the largest investment in history. The nonprofit Environmental and Energy Studies Institute estimates that the IRA will reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 40% from 2005 levels, the peak year for U.S. emissions. In Wisconsin, the new law will bring an estimated $4 billion investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to the Badger State between now and 2030.
The expansion of clean energy could create as many as 24,000 good-paying jobs in Wisconsin and lower energy costs for families while improving resilience against climate-fueled extreme weather. Just last month, Ingeteam announced its plan to begin manufacturing charging stations at its Milwaukee plant, bringing 100 new jobs to Wisconsin.
This is on top of Governor Tony Evers release of the state’s first Clean Energy Plan, which lays out a path for reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to Clean Wisconsin, reaching net zero emissions by 2050 would add $16 billion to the state’s economy, save up to $4.4 billion in healthcare costs thanks to a reduction in pollution, create 68,000 good-paying jobs, and lower out-of-pocket energy costs to households across the state.
Our state needs to take advantage of this opportunity by building on previous investments in renewable energy, reducing emissions from buildings, vehicles, and transportation infrastructure; supporting local clean energy projects; and implementing measures that will protect communities from extreme weather linked to climate change. A Green Homeowners United report found that 510,916 homes in Wisconsin are eligible for the heat pump rebates provided in the Inflation Reduction Act. And these investments will be bolstered by incentives for strong labor conditions, ensuring good-paying jobs for Wisconsin workers and building the economy of the future.
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My family and I live in an old house on Milwaukee’s near West Side. We know it isn’t energy efficient and we want to make improvements to lower our energy usage and energy costs. But for years we haven’t known where to start. After following the federal legislation in Washington, we underwent a home energy audit to better understand how much energy our home uses, where our home is inefficient, and which problem areas and fixes we should prioritize to save energy and improve the comfort of our home. Whether it’s sealing old inefficient windows or installing better insulation, we now have a plan with estimated costs and cost savings that we can follow. Part of this plan is to take advantage of new federal incentives that reduce our initial costs. The efforts in Washington are making energy efficiencies in our own home more attainable and affordable. I encourage you to look into doing something similar, you may be surprised to learn how much support is available for your own project or home.
Beyond home efficiencies, there’s an exciting initiative paying big dividends in Milwaukee. A collaboration between Habitat for Humanity and Arch Solar will bring solar power to 35 homes across the City. In January alone, “Focus on Energy” provided $550,000 to pay for the installation of the solar panels. The group today is involved in many other ways to help even more families find affordable housing while saving on energy costs. Folks can learn more about how they can participate by visiting the Focus On Energy website. Countless other success stories are occurring across our City in which residents, activists, and businesses are joining forces in the fight against climate change.
The future of clean energy is happening right now and making a difference has never been easier, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. Still, much work remains.
