Republican lawmakers have drafted legislation that would allow Wisconsin residents and businesses to lease solar panels, something advocates say is critical to expanding access to renewable energy.
The bill authored by Sen. Rob Cowles, of Green Bay, and Rep. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, of Appleton, is intended to address ambiguity in state statutes over who is considered a public utility, which has allowed utilities to refuse to connect leased systems to the grid.
“Distributed solar is an economic driver, creating thousands of family-supporting jobs, and making Wisconsin businesses more competitive,” the lawmakers wrote in a memo seeking co-sponsors. “This de facto ban continues to hurt job creators looking to expand their businesses, employ Wisconsinites, and offer competitive options to interested households, hospitals, schools, and local businesses.”
The bill, which also applies to wind, hydroelectric, excess industrial heat and other renewable energy sources, comes as the Public Service Commission has repeatedly declined requests to clarify whether a company that leases solar panels is considered a utility and therefore subject to regulation.
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Cowles
“The PSC has spoken clearly that they want the Legislature to clarify,” said Jason Mugnaini, an aide to Cowles who says it shouldn’t matter how customers finance the cost of solar panels.
“Nobody asks you how you finance your new furnace,” Mugnaini said.
The issue has spurred at least two lawsuits: One from an Iowa company that was blocked from installing solar panels for the city of Milwaukee, and another from the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, which claims the PSC overstepped its authority by preventing non-utility companies from providing services such as financing.
Utilities have opposed such leasing arrangements, sometimes called third-party financing, on the grounds that state law allows only regulated utilities to sell electricity. A spokesman for the Wisconsin Utilities Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has lobbied against the proposal.
Heather Allen, executive director of Renew Wisconsin, said the bill would expand access to renewable energy, particularly for government and nonprofit organizations that can’t benefit from federal tax credits.
“Without clarity, Wisconsinites lack access to all of the financing options they need to meet their clean energy goals, create jobs, and manage energy bills while improving the resiliency of the electric grid,” Allen said. “Wisconsin must affirm the legality of third-party financing to facilitate the shift to clean energy for everyone.”
But a new study predicts fewer than 2% of rooftop solar panels are likely to be installed under current market conditions.
Scott Coenen, executive director of the Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum, said the bill would bring Wisconsin in line with the rest of the nation to allow consumers the freedom to pay for solar panels however they see fit.
“Right now, outdated and muddled laws make Wisconsin the only state explicitly preventing consumers from leasing solar panels,” Coenen said. “This artificial barrier disenfranchises consumers, businesses, local governments and communities across the state.”
Photos: The 1871 Peshtigo Fire
Peshtigo Fire

This new monument will be dedicated Friday outside the Peshtigo Fire Museum. The event will take place 150 years to the day of the fire that destroyed the northeastern Wisconsin city and surrounding region.
Peshtigo marker, 1951

Survivors of the Peshtigo Fire meet 80 years later in 1951 to dedicate a historical marker in Peshtigo on the 80th anniversary of the blaze that
Peshtigo Fire

A portrait of Father Peter Pernin hangs on the wall of the Peshtigo Fire Museum. Pernin wrote detailed and lengthy accounts of the fire.
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The tabernacle that Father Pernin saved during the Peshtigo Fire in 1871 is on display at the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo, Wis., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Peshtigo Fire

A monument dedicating the bridge in Peshtigo points out the importance of the river and the fundamental change the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 brought to the Marinette County community. Many people fled into the river in an attempt to escape the inferno.
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Visitors, from left, Vicki Morris, Bruce Topp and Bruce Morris all of Edgerton, Wisconsin, read through an exhibit at the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo, Wis., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Peshtigo Fire

A mass grave holds the remains of an estimated 350 victims of the 1871 Peshtigo Fire.
Peshtigo Fire

A large mural on the back wall of the Peshtigo Fire Museum attempts to depict the horror of Oct. 8, 1871, when a wind-fueled fire tore across northeastern Wisconsin. The massive blaze killed between 1,200 and 2,400 people, including 800 in Peshtigo. Many of those who survived fled into the Peshtigo River.
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A mural of the 1871 fire in Peshtigo adorns the side of Peshtigo Pharmacy on French Street in Peshtigo, Wis., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Peshtigo Fire

Visitors walk through the cemetery where many victims of the Peshtigo Fire are buried. Located next to the museum, the cemetery is also home to a mass grave filled with the remains of an estimated 350 people who died in the fire but who could not be identified.
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A petrified and charred Bible was found after the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 and is on display with a variety of other artifacts at the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo, Wis., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
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Volunteer curator Pauline King at the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo, Wis., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Peshtigo Fire

Wade Schenk stands on the porch of his home at 150 S. Beebe Ave. in Peshtigo. When fire tore through the city in 1871, the home, which was under construction, was charred but remained standing. It's the only structure that survived the devastating and deadly fire.
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Exhibits ranging from the Peshtigo Fire of 1871 to classroom and apothecary exhibits showing what life was like in Peshtigo around that time, fill the first floor and basement at the Peshtigo Fire Museum in Peshtigo, Wis., Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Peshtigo Fire

Artifacts from the home at 150 S. Beebe Ave. in Peshtigo include a charred piece of lumber. Pieces of charred wood remain on the home, which was under construction in 1871.
Peshtigo Fire

Pauline King, a volunteer docent, gives a tour at the Peshtigo Fire Museum. The tabernacle from the Catholic church, which can be seen behind King, was removed from the church by a priest. The tabernacle, which held the host and a chalice, was found days after the fire floating in the river.
Historical marker

A Wisconsin Historical Society marker in the Fire Cemetery in downtown Peshtigo tells the story of the Peshtigo Fire. Earlier estimates of the number of lives lost have been increased as the fire has been more closely studied. It's believed as many as 2,500 people were killed in the firestorm the night of Oct. 8, 1871. More people died in the Peshtigo Fire than any other wildfire in U.S. history.
Museum

The Peshtigo Fire Museum stands along Oconto Avenue in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. The museum houses artifacts and tells the story of the great Peshtigo Fire of 1871. The building was a church until 1963. Visit www.peshtigofiremuseum.com for more information.
Peshtigo Fire

An artist's rendering of the Peshtigo Fire, October 8, 1871. As wind-fed fire raged through town, people fled to the river.