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.

During the 2021-2022 legislative session, RENEW’s focus included clean energy financing, electric vehicles, community solar, third-party financing, and energy storage. See the results of the session HERE.