Madison, WI — Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm joined Congressman Mark Pocan, Governor Tony Evers, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Home Energy Auditor Teresa Coffman, and homeowner Cynthia Hirsch to observe a home energy audit demonstration in Madison. Secretary Granholm spoke about the cost-saving benefits of President Biden’s affordable clean energy plan, including tax credits and home energy rebates. Local organizations Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters and Ecolatinos of Wisconsin offered information on how best to take advantage of these benefits.
Under President Biden’s affordable clean energy plan, Wisconsin has received over $149 million for consumer home energy rebate programs, funding that will help Wisconsinites save on their home energy bills. The plan also includes tax credits for installing solar panels, upgrading heating and cooling equipment, and updating a number of appliances to improve energy efficiency.
This event came just days after Wisconsin’s four major utilities announced their commitment to using union labor for clean energy construction projects after signing an agreement with the state’s building trade unions. Good-paying, union jobs are at the forefront of the country’s new clean energy boom because the president’s plan incentivizes companies to create workshop development and apprenticeship programs that help drive up wages. Jobs created by the affordable clean energy plan are unionized at higher rates and have prevailing wage requirements.
Since the passage of President Biden’s clean energy plan in 2022, Wisconsin has received $920 million in investment for clean energy projects, spurring construction on utility-scale solar, wind, battery storage, and other clean energy technologies. Wisconsin’s utility companies’ announcement pledges that the thousands of jobs created by these construction projects will be union jobs.
