Policy & Advocacy

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.

 

Our Current Priorities at the PSC

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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Legislative Watchlist

RENEW’s legisltive focus includes clean energy financing, electric vehicles, community solar, third-party financing, net metering and energy storage. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill: What It Means for Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Future

On July 4, President Trump signed the sprawling and controversial One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)—a massive budget reconciliation package with major implications for renewable energy development nationwide. While the bill is complex, its impacts on solar, storage, manufacturing, and project finance are substantial, and the timelines are tight.

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U.S. House Passes HR 1

Today, the U.S. House passed a reconciliation bill eliminating key clean energy tax credits. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This is a serious challenge for our industry, especially residential solar and small businesses.

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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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Action Alerts

Action Alert: Show 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: 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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Current Local Initiatives

Spring 2025 Solar for Good Grant Awards

The Solar for Good grant program has awarded over $160,000 in solar panel donations to Wisconsin nonprofit organizations for the Spring 2025 grant round. The 15 nonprofits will install 16 projects for a total of 813 kilowatts of solar electricity, leading to more than $1.9 million in renewable energy investments in Wisconsin. 

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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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