Governor Scott Walker blowing wind power jobs to Illinois Milwaukee Green Living

Wisconsin imports all its coal and oil, yet has the potential to produce all its energy using renewable
resources. Scott Walker continues to chase away cleaner energy options. Firmly entrenched in the
paradigms of fossil-fuel based automotive transportation, he single-handedly killed high-speed rail
between Milwaukee and Madison. Now Walker is setting his sights on killing wind-energy and has
has proposed legislation would require wind turbines to be constructed with a 1,800-foot setback
from neighboring property lines.
In response, Illinois Wind Energy Association (IWEA) invited wind power developers working in
Wisconsin to focus their efforts on Illinois, where Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois General
Assembly have worked to streamline regulations for the wind energy business.
"Even the strictest county setbacks in Illinois are nowhere near as extreme as what Wisconsin would
have if this bill passes," said Illinois Wind Energy Association (IWEA) executive director Kevin Borgia
in a press release issued Monday encouraging Wisconsin wind businesses to move to Illinois. "Illinois
has no statewide minimum setbacks."
Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, said to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
last week, "it is one of the most onerous regulations we have ever seen."
Developers in Illinois placed 498 MW of wind generating capacity in service in 2010, and almost 400
MW more should come on line in the next three to six months, In contrast, Wisconsin added only 20
MW of wind generation last year.

"Illinois' favorable regulatory climate for wind power will

create over three-billion dollars in economic activity in the
coming decades," Borgia said.
According to a recent study by Illinois State University, the
first 1,848 megawatts of wind capacity in Illinois:
Support local economies by generating $18 million in
annual property taxes
Generate $8.3 million annually in extra income for Illinois landowners who lease their land to wind
farm developers
Created approximately 9,968 full-time equivalent jobs during construction periods with a total
payroll of over $509 million
Support approximately 494 permanent jobs in rural Illinois areas with a total annual payroll of over
$25 million
A Department of Energy study found 11 states spend more than $1 billion on coal imports. Wisconsin
spends about $16 billion on imported energy - oil, natural gas and coal - coal accounted for $853

million, the 12th largest amount according to the report released in 2010.
According to the report released Wisconsin is also:
o The 5th most dependent on net imports as a share of total power use at 68 percent.
o Spent the 12th most on net imports relative to gross state product, 0.35 percent.
o Imported the 12th most in net weight, 25 million tons.
o Spent the 13th what is wed most on net imports per capita, $152 per person.
Although President Obama recently encouraged Wisconsin to continue to develop its renewable
resources and green energy potential, Governor Scott Walker appears to be committed to keeping
the state in the age of fossil fuels. Federal laws require that Wisconsin dramatically increase its
percentage of electricity coming from renewable energy and Illinois is staging itself as the wind
energy storefront to Wisconsin, even though the wind blows just as strongly in Wisconsin.