A coalition of groups wants to see Wisconsin grow its energy independence from the ground up.
Sue Beitlich with the Wisconsin Farmers Union said the Homegrown Renewable Energy Campaign proposes four new policy initiatives: a crop reserve program for biomass, expanded use of renewables in schools and communities, a renewable energy buyback program, and a low carbon fuel standard. Beitlich and representatives of Clean Wisconsin , RENEW Wisconsin and the Michael Fields Agricultural Policy Institute provided details of the campaign during a Capitol press conference on Wednesday.
Also attending the press conference was Jamie Derr, a Dane County farmer who's already producing his own biodiesel from soybeans grown on his farm near Marshall. Derr a WFA member, said he displaced 25 percent of his diesel fuel usage this year, and hopes to eventually increase that amount to 75 percent.
The four policy proposals were all included in the final set of recommendations by the Governor's Task Force on Global Warming .