The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

As America approaches its 250th birthday, Wisconsin has an opportunity to shape the next chapter of its economic story. The decisions we make today about energy, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure will determine whether our state remains competitive while keeping electricity affordable for families and businesses.

After recently driving across America with my son, one lesson stood out. Whether in Wyoming, Utah, Iowa, California, or Wisconsin, people want many of the same things: good-paying jobs, thriving communities, affordable energy, and opportunities for future generations.

Those hopes are shaped by many decisions, but few are more important than how we produce, deliver, and pay for energy.

Most families are not thinking about climate policy or utility regulation. They are thinking about monthly electric bills, housing costs, job opportunities, and whether Wisconsin will remain an attractive place to live and invest.

A recent Wisconsin Conservation Voters poll found that 84 percent of Wisconsin voters are concerned about rising electricity costs, ranking utility bills alongside groceries as a major financial stress.

That is why Wisconsin’s clean energy transition should be viewed first as an affordability strategy.

It is also an economic development strategy, a manufacturing strategy, and a workforce strategy.

More than 75,000 Wisconsinites already work in clean energy. Wisconsin manufacturers supply components used throughout the nation. Electricians, engineers, construction workers, and skilled tradespeople are modernizing our energy system while helping businesses and homeowners reduce operating costs.

This is not tomorrow’s economy. It is today’s.

Unfortunately, federal energy policy is moving in a different direction.

The Trump administration recently announced a $700 million taxpayer-funded effort to extend the operation of aging coal plants, including one in Wisconsin. At the same time, it has proposed spending approximately $2.5 billion to buy out offshore wind leases representing roughly 13 gigawatts of generating capacity while redirecting support toward fossil fuel development.

These decisions have real consequences for Wisconsin.

Consumers are increasingly being asked to support aging coal plants through both their electric bills and their tax dollars. Extending the life of obsolete facilities delays investment in technologies that are often less expensive, more reliable, and better positioned to serve future demand.

Wisconsin has already invested billions in aging coal infrastructure. Continuing to extend the life of facilities in Oak Creek, Sheboygan, and Beloit risks creating additional stranded assets that customers could be paying for long after those plants no longer make economic sense.

Wisconsin utilities should continue retiring aging coal plants, honor their clean energy commitments, and invest in lower-cost resources that improve long-term affordability and reliability.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is creating unprecedented demand for electricity.

Two proposed Wisconsin data centers alone could require nearly four gigawatts of power, more electricity than every Wisconsin household combined.

AI represents an extraordinary economic opportunity, but it also raises fundamental policy questions.

Who pays for new power plants?

Who pays for transmission lines?

Who pays for grid upgrades?

The answer should not be Wisconsin families, farmers, or small businesses.

Large energy users should pay the full cost of the infrastructure they require. Utilities should be transparent about those costs, regulators should protect ratepayers, and communities should have meaningful opportunities to participate before billions of dollars in new infrastructure are approved.

Wisconsin does not have to choose between economic growth and environmental responsibility.

The best energy policy delivers both.

It lowers costs, strengthens energy independence, creates jobs, improves reliability, protects natural resources, and keeps Wisconsin competitive.

Wisconsin has everything it takes to lead: innovative businesses, world-class manufacturers, skilled workers, strong local governments, and practical problem-solvers.

As policymakers consider the next generation of energy investments, several principles should guide every decision: protect ratepayers, require large energy users to pay their fair share, accelerate investment in lower-cost clean energy resources, and ensure communities have a meaningful voice in projects that will shape Wisconsin for decades.

The clean energy transition is not happening because it is partisan.

It is happening because it works.

Wisconsin now has an opportunity to build it, power it, and prosper from it.

John Imes is co-founder and director of the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative.