— The state Public Service Commission is expected to make a decision early next month on a case related to third-party financing for small solar projects in Wisconsin.
That’s according to Nick Hylla, executive director of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. This organization is petitioning the PSC to declare third-party financed “distributed energy resources” shouldn’t be regulated as public utilities in the state.
Renewable energy advocacy group Vote Solar has a similar petition before the commission, which is grouping them together for public hearings.
According to an overview from the Environmental Protection Agency, third-party solar financing can include solar leases or purchase power agreements.
Under the lease model, customers sign a contract with an installer or developer and then pay to use the solar system over a certain time period rather than paying for the power it generates. Under a purchase power agreement, the solar system offsets the customer’s electric utility bill and the developer sells the power to the customer at a fixed rate that’s usually lower than what the local utility offers, the EPA says.
In a recent interview, Hylla explained the commission had previously issued guidance that third-party financing for these projects was illegal. He says that guidance has been used by utilities to prevent third-party financing for solar systems “by a number of entities” in Wisconsin.
The MREA has argued that guidance was “outside of the law” and the PSC doesn’t have statutory authority to regulate how customers finance rooftop solar projects, Hylla said.
“We’ve laid out the facts in front of the commission, and we’d like the commission to do their job and interpret state law and make a declaratory ruling based on their interpretation whether they think they have the jurisdiction to regulate the way a customer finances any kind of energy asset on their own home or business,” he said.
The MREA effort is supported by a number of organizations in the state including the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Sierra Club, Clean Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and others. Much of their arguments focus on the potential for expanding opportunities for more renewable energy options in the state.
But groups representing union labor and electric cooperatives have submitted opposing comments to the PSC raising concerns about the petition.
The Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association, which represents the state’s 24 electric distribution cooperatives, argues “third-party owners will have no obligation to provide safe, reliable energy at fair prices to consumers even though they are providing an essential service.”
The association says cooperative members who participate in such third-party financing may pay more for electricity “than they expect or than they otherwise would.” And it expresses concern that “such a significant change” to the electric industry is going before a state agency rather than the Legislature.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Building Trades Council, the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, the Wisconsin Laborers District Council and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 in Pewaukee issued a joint comment to the PSC urging commissioners to reject the MREA and Vote Solar petitions.
“The Commission’s past rationale for declining to issue declaratory rulings such as those sought in the petitions is still apt,” they wrote “Doing so would substantially change public policy and how power is generated, consumed and regulated in Wisconsin.”
In a separate submission, North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters General Counsel Burt Johnson says third-party solar developers working on projects in Minnesota — where such arrangements are allowed — have often relied on a “lower paid, lower skilled, transient workforce” made up of non-union workers.
“Because third-party solar developers typically employ transient, non-union workers to do their installations, third-party ownership arrangements have detrimental effects on union workers and local workforces,” he wrote.
See more on the Vote Solar petition here: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERFsearch/content/searchResult.aspx
See more on the MREA petition: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERFsearch/content/searchResult.aspx
— The president of Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan, Mark Stoering, will be retiring at year’s end after 33 years with the Minnesota-based utility company.
In a release yesterday announcing the departure, Xcel Energy President, CEO and Chairman Bob Frenzel said Stoering has had a “tremendous impact” on the company and the communities it serves.
“He has always been a great innovator and leader and has built a strong team that will carry on his legacy,” Frenzel said.
Stoering started with the company in 1989, and held several different roles in strategic planning, regulatory and government affairs and customer relations before becoming regional president for Xcel Energy’s Wisconsin and Michigan operations in 2010.
See the release: https://www.wispolitics.com/2022/xcel-energy-mark-stoering-retiring-after-33-years
— Inflation was the top issue of concern for Wisconsin registered voters tapped in the latest Marquette Law School Poll.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents to the latest survey said they’re very concerned about inflation, while 24 percent were somewhat concerned, 6 percent were not too concerned and 2 percent weren’t concerned at all.
The percentage of those very concerned about the issue peaked in June at 75 percent, and has hovered around 70 percent in the surveys conducted since then.
While inflation was second-highest on the list of top concerns for Republican respondents after accurate vote count, it ranked lower among top concerns for Democrats after abortion, gun violence, public schools and accurate vote count. It was the top concern for independents.
The latest survey interviewed 802 registered voters in the state by landline or cell phone between Oct. 24-Nov. 1.
See more results here: https://law.marquette.edu/poll/2022/11/02/mlsp74-press-release/
— The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce has announced Verona-based Epic as its newest “gold member,” recognizing the company’s inclusivity efforts.
Epic Diversity Lead Jesse McCormick says the electronic health records company’s goal is to build an environment where “staff of all identities and backgrounds are not only respected and safe, but can also thrive.”
“The LGBT Chamber continues to push for a more welcoming and inclusive business community in Wisconsin, and we’re proud to be a new member,” she said in the release. “This will give us the opportunity to learn, share what we’ve learned, and grow together with other businesses toward a Wisconsin that welcomes all.”
More than 40 other businesses are gold members of the chamber, which gives them a seat on its Leadership Advisory Council and other membership benefits.
See the release: https://www.wispolitics.com/2022/wi-lgbt-chamber-of-commerce-epic-joins-wisconsin-lgbt-chamber-as-newest-gold-member
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report … </b></i>
— The state Department of Health Services has launched a new program providing free telehealth consultations for adults with COVID-19.
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
Sign up here: http://forms.gle/o8FtqTLviGJPja8C9
#TOP STORIES#
# Study finds Wisconsin could see billions in economic growth and save lives with a clean energy economy
# More Wisconsin workers are organizing. How much leverage do they have?
# Generac CEO looks beyond ‘painful learning lesson’ to growth in solar industry
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– WCMA Board approves milk order reform concepts
– Wisconsin Farm Bureau begins search for next CAO
# CONSTRUCTION
– Fromm Nieman Brands shows plans for 28,000-square-foot taproom, restaurant along Milwaukee River
# ECONOMY
– Wisconsin’s housing shortage isn’t just a quality-of-life issue. It’s a workforce issue.
– Janesville business leaders, city staff share vision for next city manager
# EDUCATION
– Gregory Wesley named board chairman for Teach for America Milwaukee
# HEALTH CARE
– Abortion training is part of medical school curriculum, but some Wisconsin programs are having trouble providing it post Roe
– Schools are next in line to fight overdoses. This one now has Narcan.
# LABOR
– Screenprinters vote to unionize, but owner says he closed their shop
# LEGAL
– Warrant issued for La Crosse man accused of contractor fraud
# MANAGEMENT
– Kendra Whitlock Ingram to step down as head of Marcus Performing Arts Center
# MANUFACTURING
– Perrigo to buy Wisconsin baby formula plant, expand production in $170M investment
– Rockwell Automation CEO expecting continued manufacturing investment despite economic headwinds
# POLITICS
– School construction referendums to watch on Election Day
# REAL ESTATE
– Waukesha County house with infinity pool on Pine Lake sells for $15M in record-high sale
# RETAIL
– Kohl’s sells two properties in Menomonee Falls to Luther Group
– Why Northridge’s owner fights hard for the vacant, dilapidated site
– These Wisconsin grocery stores are offering the lowest prices
# TOURISM
– Foxtown Brewing plans downtown Milwaukee ‘dog district’ anchored by new taproom
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
Security Health Plan: Names Chris Buel as vice president of finance and chief financial officer
