Utility blocks solar firm from Wisconsin energy market

As solar energy has become more popular and cost-effective, this once fringe renewable source is now at the center of an energy turf war in Wisconsin.

At issue is a project in which an Iowa-based renewables company wants to partner with the city of Milwaukee to power seven municipal buildings with solar. Eagle Point Solar would help to finance the city’s project, taking advantage of federal tax breaks that local governments do not qualify for.

Eagle Point is suing the public utility, We Energies, for refusing to connect a series of solar arrays to each other. We Energies says it is simply following the law. The utility claims Eagle Point would essentially be selling electricity to the city within We Energies’ service area, which the utility argued would be illegal...

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Ken Notes: I have been following this one closely and see both sides here. I really want the utilities to become a major part of the renewable solution and believe they will. We need a reasonable policy for companies like Eagle Point to bring their product online but this policy should not penalize the public utility who maintain and balances the entire grid. I also do not believe the courts are a good place for this discussion.