RENEW is dedicated to increasing access to the benefits of renewable energy for everyone in the Badger State. To accelerate the clean energy transition, we are focusing on the following key policy priorities:
Affirming the legality of third-party financing
Third-party financing is a solution to the barrier of upfront costs associated with renewable energy projects and makes ‘going solar’ an accessible option for low to middle-income homeowners, churches, government agencies, and nonprofits. Legal clarity on third-party financing is essential to expand access to clean energy. Learn more at wisolarcoalition.com.
Implementing fair and clear distributed generation policies
Breweries, farms, manufacturers, solar companies, families, congregations, and others produce clean energy that benefits the electric grid. RENEW is working to ensure that electricity is valued fairly by advocating for improvements on net metering, parallel generation rates, and interconnection rules. If we get these policies right, Wisconsin can reach its clean energy potential.
Expanding Community Solar
Community solar is a simple solution that enables residential, commercial, and large energy customers to shift to renewables and reduce energy bills. Presently, 21 states have policies supporting community solar, but Wisconsin lacks a similar framework. Learn more at wisolarcoalition.com.
Building A Roadmap for Wisconsin’s Zero Carbon Future
RENEW is partnering with Clean Wisconsin and GridLab to conduct a zero-carbon grid study for the PSC’s consideration.
Our analysis will help answer the following questions:
- What is the right mix of renewable resources in-state and out-of-state?
- What is a reasonable balance between utility-scale and distributed solar resources?
- How much transmission capacity is needed to achieve a zero-carbon future?
- What will be the health, jobs, and economic impacts as we make this clean grid transition?
Learn more about Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Plan HERE.
Submit a Comment in Support of the Silver Maple Solar Project
If approved, Silver Maple is expected to begin producing clean power by the end of 2025. As designed, Silver Maple would supply homegrown, affordable, emission-free electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 35,000 homes.
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Protect Rooftop Solar in Wisconsin
Net metering is a utility billing policy that enables customers who generate electricity from their own solar systems to receive a bill credit for any energy they export to the grid. This arrangement encourages residential and business customers to invest in solar...
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Regulators Allow Wisconsin Family to Host Third-Party-Owned Solar System
Public Service Commission affirms the legality of a private contract between a utility customer and a solar provider For a central Wisconsin family seeking to supply their home with affordable solar power, December 1, 2022, was a day worth celebrating. The Public...
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Supporters Of Clean Energy And Distributed Generation, It’s Time To Weigh In.
RENEW has assembled a team of experts to develop a comprehensive framework of Distributed Generation (DG) buyback rates as a counter-proposal to utility applications. DG buyback rates determine payments for ALL non-utility-owned electricity generation at the...
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Two Petitions Filed to Affirm Customer Access to Third Party-Financed Renewable Power Generated Onsite
On May 26th two petitions were filed at the Public Service Commission (PSC) seeking rulings to clarify the long-simmering issue of third party-financed renewable energy generation serving individual customers behind their meters. In one of the petitions (Docket No....
read moreRENEW’s legisltive focus includes clean energy financing, electric vehicles, community solar, third-party financing, net metering and energy storage.
Clean Energy Legislative Update • April 2025
ROFR or the Right of First Refusal is an effort to give in-state utilities the first right to build transmission lines, presumably to lower costs and keep competition out. However, having one source to build transmission seems to lack the much-needed support.
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Clean Energy Legislative Update • March 2025
The 2025 legislation is starting to heat up, there are plenty of legislative issues moving through the legislature
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Clean Energy Legislative Update • January 2025
Working with the state legislature is both an art and a science — utilizing expertise and seizing opportunities, as well as continuous relationship-building.
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Clean Energy Legislative Update • November 2024
Now that Election Day is behind us; some people are happy with the results, some are not. While others are still awaiting the results of narrow victories and anticipating recounts in others.
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Clean Energy Legislative Update • August 2024
Voters turned out at levels not seen in 60 years for this year’s primary to make their voices heard on several important statewide issues!
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Action Alert: Share Your Support for Whitewater Solar
Public comments are now open for Whitewater Solar, a 180-megawatt solar project in Jefferson and Walworth Counties. The project is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), and your voice can make a difference. This is your chance to tell the PSC why you support expanding solar energy in Wisconsin. The public comment period is open now through July 11.
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Action Alert: Support More Wind Energy in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s first 100+ megawatt (MW) wind energy project in more than a decade is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC). Badger Hollow Wind has been in development for nearly 10 years, and if approved, it would mark a major step forward in Wisconsin’s energy future. The PSC is accepting public comments on this project now through June 26.
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Action Alert: Tell Legislators Clean Energy Benefits All Americans
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed its version of H.R. 1, the reconciliation package, by a slim majority. The bill now moves to the Senate, where we have another opportunity to advocate for and protect clean energy.
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Help Ensure a Smooth Application Process for Badger Hollow Wind
The Badger Hollow Wind Energy project in Iowa and Grant counties, Wisconsin, will generate clean, Wisconsin-made energy to help meet our state’s growing electricity demand. Ensure the approval process for this project starts strong by submitting comments...
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Action Alert: Show Support for Wisconsin’s Largest Solar Farm
A more than 1,300-megawatt (MW) solar project, Vista Sands Solar, has been proposed in Portage County. If approved, Vista Sands Solar would be the largest solar farm constructed in the state of Wisconsin.
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Action Alert: Vista Sands Solar Development At Risk
A draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) created by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is before the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin regarding Vista Sands Solar Farm and is missing a discussion of solar’s impact on reducing carbon...
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Heartland Farm Sanctuary Celebrates a Bright New Chapter
On Friday, May 23, 2025, members of the Heartland Farm Sanctuary community gathered at their pastoral property in Stoughton, Wisconsin, to celebrate a milestone moment—the completion of a 50.22-kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar energy project that will help the nonprofit bridge compassion for animals with care for the planet.
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Solar Power Brings Energy Savings to Edgerton Seniors
On May 21, the community of Edgerton, Wisconsin, came together for a renovation celebration at Edgerton Retirement Apartments (ERA). This event, half a decade in the making, marked both the completion of a construction project and a turning point in how this rural nonprofit cares for its residents and the planet.
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Celebrating Solar Power, Community, and Sustainability
On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, community members, nonprofit partners, and renewable energy advocates gathered at the Forest Edge Apartments in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, to celebrate a milestone years in the making: the official ribbon-cutting of a 120-kilowatt solar energy system atop the Forest Edge Multi-Family Housing Project.
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The Gift of Light: Mt. Zion Energized by the Sun
On Sunday, April 27, 2025, Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, hosted an educational session on the house of worship’s process behind the installation of a new 39.6-kilowatt solar array.
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Honoring Earth Day through Agrace’s Clean Energy Upgrades
On Earth Day 2025, Agrace, a community-based healthcare organization dedicated to providing personalized care and support to individuals facing serious health challenges, celebrated a significant milestone in its commitment to sustainability. Agrace unveiled its 510-kilowatt solar array, symbolizing its dedication to environmental stewardship and its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2025.
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