C’Mon—Wisconsin Needs Clean Energy!
Exploring win-win aspects of an alternative energy transition
A Virtual Public Issues Forum in the Climate Crisis Series
Video of Forum
Join us for this forum as we explore the win-win aspects of Wisconsin’s alternative energy transition. Wisconsin’s aging energy systems send approximately $14.4 billion out of our state each year to purchase fossil fuels. That money can be redirected for instate use when WI shifts to renewable energy sources and efficiency upgrades. But WI taxpayers will benefit most if the multi-pronged transition is designed to ensure a win-win outcome for all rather than a “winner take all.” Guest speakers will sketch out our energy transformation from a full palette of possibilities, addressing key questions: What are the barriers to progress? Who is training the workforce for clean energy jobs? What’s in it for rural communities? How can we ensure benefits are shared evenhandedly by all and protect our natural world? And how do system-wide energy efficiencies get buy-in from local governments and consumers?
Speakers:
Sam Dunaiski is the Distributed Renewable Energy Program Director for RENEW Wisconsin. Sam manages all of RENEW's solar-energy programs and conducts policy analysis on non-utility sources of renewable energy. Before joining RENEW, Sam was an operational meteorologist, creating weather forecasts for airports, utilities, and the media.
Sam Dunaiski Slide Presentation
Scott Coenen is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum (WICEF), a non-profit organization that launched in fall 2017. Previously Scott worked in the Wisconsin State Capitol on the legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, gaining valuable policy writing experience. Selected as one of the 2019 recipients of Midwest Energy News 40 Under 40 leaders in the clean energy economy, Scott is dedicated to educating and informing conservative leaders on an “all of the above” energy strategy that includes emerging clean technologies and advancing a conservative, pragmatic vision of a renewable energy future.
Dr. Kenneth Walz has taught science, engineering, and renewable energy at Madison Area Technical College since 2003, where he serves as the Director of the Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education funded by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Walz earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin while performing research on advanced lithium-ion batteries with Rayovac and Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Walz is an alumnus of the Academies Creating Teacher Scientists Program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and he also spent time as a visiting scientist with the University of Rochester Center for Photoinduced Charge Transfer. Dr. Walz has been recognized as Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and as the Energy Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education.
Kenneth Walz Slide Presentation
Moderator:
Carol Barford, Director of the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), LWVDC Member, Climate Crisis Subcommittee