Two Wisconsin utilities are increasing solar and wind power as they dramatically cut coal use to combat climate change

Wisconsin’s two largest public utilities are making bigger stakes in renewable energy and have pledged far deeper cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases than previous predictions.  

Madison-based Alliant Energy says it intends to stop burning carbon-intensive coal altogether in its electric power plants by 2050. 

Alliant and Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group recently said they are setting new goals to reduce carbon emissions by 80% from 2005 levels by 2050. 

That’s a shift from 2016 pronouncements when the utilities envisioned carbon dioxide reductions of 40% by 2030. (WEC Energy Group, which operates We Energies, says it now expects to reach the 40% goal by about 2023.) ...

...“I think that it is fair to say, going forward, it’s going to be solar, wind, batteries and some natural gas,” Krueger said....

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Ken Notes: An issue I do not talk about often enough is battery tech. This is an area Wisconsin and the UW System could play a huge role in developing...