DePaola supports wind siting reform bills

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Ross DePaola, a member of the Madison Peak Oil Group and RENEW Wisconsin, submitted comments on wind site permitting reform:

March 4, 2008

Senator Jeff Plale
Rep. Phil Montgomery

Subject: AB 899/SB 544 Wind Siting Reform Bill

Dear Senator Plale and Rep. Mongomery,

I am writing in support of this legislation to require the Public Service Commission to promulgate common rules for wind-powered generators.

Wisconsin is a State that is heavily dependent upon coal energy for electric generation.
Figure 1 from the 2006 version of Wisconsin Energy Statistics clearly shows how the mix of energy used for electric generation comes primarily from coal. In addition to this, note that as our appetite for electricity grows, the overwhelming response has been to increase coal consumption, either domestic or imported.

As a consequence for our increasing use of coal, Wisconsin’s emission of CO2 has increased as shown in Figure 2.

If there is any chance that we may begin to reduce our dependence on coal, we must encourage the development of indigenous, renewable and carbon-free technologies such as wind and solar. . . .

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