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Energy Ideas Touted; State Should Pursue Renewable Sources, Governor Says

Posted on: Saturday, 14 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By RICK ROMELL

Wisconsin should work toward greater use of renewable energy sources, and the federal government and oil companies should take several steps to help consumers, Gov. Jim Doyle said Friday.

Doyle and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection released a report stemming from a Dec. 1 hearing on oil company profits following last fall's Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The report calls for renewable sources to provide 10% of energy used in Wisconsin by 2015, and supports legislation requiring that regular unleaded gasoline contain 10% ethanol. An Assembly-passed bill containing the ethanol requirement is pending in the state Senate.

The report also says Congress should "fully fund" a program that helps low-income people pay for home heating and cooling. Money for the program is running low, the report says.

It says the federal government should review oil industry mergers and create a "strategic refinery reserve" to protect against weather- related energy disruptions.

Major oil companies should donate part of their profits to help Wisconsin families pay rising heating costs, the report says.

In a statement, Doyle said Wisconsin was doing all it could about rising energy prices and that President Bush and Congress should "get serious about energy conservation and the development of alternative fuels."

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and U.S. Rep. Mark Green, both Republican gubernatorial hopefuls, said Doyle was doing little to address energy costs.

Calling the oil company hearing a sham, Walker said in a statement that Doyle wanted to hold it in Wisconsin "so we could do something, and then his recommendations focus on Washington."

Both he and Green criticized the transfer of $109 million from the Public Benefits Fund, which is supposed to help pay for energy conservation efforts. The money has been switched to the general fund, the Wisconsin Works program and for local aid payments, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Walker also criticized Doyle for "the $1.1 billion raid on the segregated transportation fund." The state used borrowing to replace about $815 million of the transportation fund money, according to the fiscal bureau.

Copyright 2006, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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