‘Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit’ helps local communities address climate change

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 10, 2020

CONTACT: Kate Beaton, Western Organizer, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, 715-257-4275 (office), 715-252-2544 (mobile/text), or [email protected]

EAU CLAIRE – Wisconsin Conservation Voters, in collaboration with the Sierra Club, and RENEW Wisconsin, released the Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit: Developing a Clean Energy Plan for Your Community today to empower local communities to address climate change.

Towns, villages, cities, and counties in Wisconsin are building the renewable energy economy and leading the way in confronting climate change. The Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit recognizes the leadership in Wisconsin communities and the opportunities to expand these efforts across the state.

As part of its statewide launch, Wisconsin Conservation Voters and local clean energy leaders, including Western Organizer Kate Beaton, Eau Claire City Council Member Andrew Werthmann, Steve Terwilliger, member of the Eau Claire Sustainability Advisory Committee, and Jared Schroeder, Project Developer for Next Step Energy addressed members of the media and the public across the state to announce the release.

As concern over climate change and its impacts deepens, local communities across Wisconsin are eager to develop and implement clean energy plans. Often, they struggle with how to begin from a technical perspective and how to engage their communities.

“Smaller communities often lack the staff to conduct clean energy assessments and make recommendations,” said Kate Beaton, Western Organizer for Wisconsin Conservation Voters. “This toolkit is a comprehensive resource for those considering a commitment to clean energy.”

The Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit is a comprehensive guide to energy policy options in Wisconsin. The toolkit is a resource designed to help guide communities of varying sizes and with differing resources as they consider, craft, and implement clean energy policies, and how to ensure the greatest return on potential clean energy investments.

“We've already seen how impactful local clean energy can be to our community,” Eau Claire City Council member Andrew Werthmann said. “I'm so excited to see this resource come to the Chippewa Valley and to Wisconsin. I think it'll be a huge asset to other communities who want to follow Eau Claire's lead. It will be immensely helpful to help our own community achieve our goals too."

The Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit provides information to help local communities including:

• How to understand current state policies and regulations that impact energy use in Wisconsin
• Guidance on how to commit to clean energy
• How to build support in the community for clean energy policies
• How to establish a baseline of current energy use in the community, and how to set benchmarks to track progress toward long-range goals
• Defines equitable carbon reduction strategies that protect vulnerable communities when making the transition to clean energy, and how to ensure all impacted constituencies have a voice at the decision-making table
• Provides an overview of various financing options available to local governments to pursue clean energy

View and dowload the toolkit here: https://www.wicleanenergytoolkit.com