Governor Jim Doyle continues to push for green jobs and energy efficiency, while plugging efforts so far. Doyle says with federal stimulus funding the state has created the “green to gold” program, in which Wisconsin’s biggest manufactures have borrowed $20 million to become more energy efficient.
The goal is for the companies to pay the money back after seeing savings in energy use. The state will then reinvest the money for similar loans. Doyle says Wisconsin is only state doing this type of clean energy investment.
Wisconsin is also unique in offering a type of tax credit to encourage private investment into research and development, according to Doyle.
Gov Doyle (:25)
The governor says it’s time to seize the opportunity to make Wisconsin a leader in renewable energy. Currently, he says the state spends $16 billion dollars a year for coal, petroleum and natural gas usage; “Every dollar we spend for fuel that comes from those sources is a dollar that leaves Wisconsin.”
Four years ago the state adopted a standard of 10-percent renewable energy sources in Wisconsin by 2015 and now Doyle wants the standard upped to 25-percent by 2025. He admits it seems like a long ways away but energy producers and firms will need to look “into the horizon” with long term investing.
Doyle spoke at the Gateway Technical College’s Horizon Center in Kenosha, the future home of the advanced propulsion center, where he emphasized the need to move the Clean Energy Jobs Act and Core Jobs Act forward.
Contributed by Tom Karkow-WRJN