Dear Editor,

My name is Matt Johnson and I am a Field Director at the Wisconsin Land and Liberty Coalition. We are a nonprofit effort focused on building education, awareness and support for renewable energy throughout the state of Wisconsin.

In the past few years, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and local governments have approved several renewable energy projects across the state of Wisconsin. Renewable energy projects are a significant benefit to local communities across the state of Wisconsin. Every large-scale renewable energy project creates hundreds of construction jobs which simultaneously increase economic activity in rural areas. Additionally, land lease payments can help farmers stay in business by providing a guaranteed revenue stream for decades. Every week, farms go out of business in Wisconsin and these projects are a way to help them stay operating through difficult economic conditions. If farmers want to voluntarily participate in a renewable energy project who is to say they shouldn’t be allowed to? It is their land and they should be able to develop it as they see fit.

Large renewable energy projects provide shared revenue payments to local communities. These wind and solar projects can vary in size but they often bring in several hundred thousand dollars in revenue per year split between the county and towns that house the project facilities. These projects can be a lifeline that provide revenue for decades. Revenue from the project could be used for vital community interests such as road improvements/maintenance, infrastructure development, and firefighters/EMS services/equipment that keep society functioning.

Fundamentally, these solar and wind projects are a chance to help farmers stay in business, increase revenue for vital community services and create hundreds of good paying jobs during an economic crisis. Rural areas across southwest Wisconsin stand to gain significantly if renewable energy projects are developed and approved.

Matt Johnson,

Wisconsin Land and Liberty Coalition