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Understanding Wisconsin's Renewable Energy Standards

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Michael Leland, Flickr

The regulatory body in Wisconsin charged with making sure utilities are meeting the state's sustainability mandate is the Public Service Commission.  

The commission oversees all public utilities in the state, including electricity, water, natural gas, utilities that combine water and sewer service, and some elements of local phone service.

The PSC also has to approve applications for new power projects and for rate hikes.

As part of our Project Milwaukee: Power Switch series on the promise and realities of clean energy in Wisconsin, Bob Norcross joined us to talk about the state's current clean energy standard.

Norcross, who is the administrator of the Natural Gas and Energy division of the PSC, explains that for utilities that generate electricity, ten percent of that power is required to come from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, or biomass.  It's a standard utilities are required to meet by 2015, but he says most of them have already attained that level.