MADISON – The amendment approved by the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Agriculture today that targets large-scale solar development is a serious setback to Wisconsin’s long-term energy and environmental goals.
Wisconsin has set a statewide goal of achieving 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050, established under Executive Order #38 in 2019. Reaching that goal will require the ability to develop major energy infrastructure, including responsibly sited large-scale solar, wind, natural gas, and nuclear, to meet growing electricity demand while maintaining reliability and affordability.
“This amendment moves Wisconsin in the wrong direction,” said Thad Nation, Executive Director of FRWD. “It injects uncertainty into the process, discourages investment, and makes it harder to plan and build the energy infrastructure we need to keep power reliable and bills affordable.”
At the center of the concern is the amendment’s impact on the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) and its ability to provide consistent, statewide oversight for critical energy projects. Weakening PSCW authority risks fragmented decision-making, longer delays, and increased costs at the exact moment Wisconsin needs coordinated planning to support economic growth, electrification, and long-term emissions reductions.
FRWD supports an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Wisconsin’s clean energy future depends on expanding the full portfolio of generation and infrastructure needed to serve homes, farms, and businesses reliably and affordably.
Community solar can play a role, but it cannot replace the scale of generation required to meet Wisconsin’s future needs. Moving policy away from utility-scale development risks higher costs and higher rates for families and businesses, and puts Wisconsin’s 2050 goal further out of reach.
If Wisconsin is serious about carbon neutrality by 2050, lawmakers must preserve the tools needed to get there: strong PSCW oversight, balanced energy policy, and the ability to build large-scale energy projects when and where they are needed.
About FRWD
FRWD is committed to advancing reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy solutions for Wisconsin. We support policies that strengthen the grid, enable long-term planning, and keep communities powered for decades to come.
