The Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel presented opinions on both sides of the Global Warming Bill currently before the Wisconsin Legislature.  One, the official position of the Editors, cited a government study that promised new jobs.  The opposing view (Global Warming Bill Kills State Jobs) from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce’s Scott Manley cited an independent study and common sense.

 Great caution should be used when considering a study produced by the very people trying to pass the legislation, especially when the results aren’t backed up by common sense.  For instance, few people would believe that forcing consumers and employers to pay billions of dollars in increased rates for gasoline, electricity and countless other products would help our state create new jobs.

 Manley puts it well in his column:

 “Higher electric bills will not create jobs. Making gasoline more expensive will not create jobs. Significantly increasing the cost of doing business in Wisconsin will not create jobs. Taking more money from Wisconsin families will not create jobs.”

 The telling line in the Journal Sentinel Editorial comes near the end:

 “Certainly, whatever can be done to mitigate the costs and any possible loss of jobs, needs to be done.”

 Why would we have to “mitigate the…loss of jobs” in a bill intended to create them?

Kenyon Kies, former WUI Executive Director and current member of the Board of Directors, has written a novel filled with international suspense and mystery.  Amazon.com calls “The Braemar Malediction”:

“A Gripping Tale with Fast-Paced Action! The forces of good and evil clash as disgraced former British Secret Service agent John Maitland stumbles onto a sinister international conspiracy which threatens to reshape the future of world politics. Action moves rapidly between the United Kingdom, Washington DC, Jamaica, France, Russia and Vatican City. It climaxes in a scenic forest near the quiet city of Braemar, deep in the heart of the Scottish Highlands. Ironically, rather than changing the future, Maitland’s ordeal uncovers a shocking revelation which will require the rewriting of history as we have known it!”

 Congratulations, Kenyon!

The largest source of carbon-free energy available to Wisconsin is nuclear energy.  Producing that energy in Wisconsin can keep energy dollars here.  That is why the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force recommended lifting the ban on new nuclear energy.

 In place of the outright ban, this bill bans production of nuclear energy beyond what is needed for in-state use. 

 “If this bill is about jobs, they should encourage the export of new nuclear energy,” said Bob Seitz, Executive Director of Wisconsin Utility Investors, Inc.  “The ban means we can buy energy produced by highly paid workers in other states but can’t invest in this carbon-free, green energy source to sell outside of Wisconsin.”

 “The conclusion of the task force and the Governor is that nuclear energy should be considered as a safe, clean alternative energy source,” said Seitz.  “So why shouldn’t Wisconsin workers build and run a plant that can export that clean energy?”

 Lacking the wind, sun or hydroelectric potential of many western states, Wisconsin is likely to remain a net importer of carbon-free energy.  The more low-carbon energy that is mandated, the more will be spent employing workers in other states instead of Wisconsin. 

 The ban on exporting new nuclear energy will cost Wisconsin consumers and businesses much more because the cost of constructing the plant cannot be spread to consumers in other states.

 Utilities and policymakers across the nation are turning to nuclear energy as the only option for large-scale production of reliable carbon-free energy.  As drafted, the bill would prevent Wisconsin from competing for these highly paid “green jobs.”

 “Proponents point out that Wisconsin exports $16 billion for “energy resources,”” said Seitz.  “Nuclear energy should be an option to reverse the flow of energy dollars from our state.

 A nuclear plant capable of exporting power beyond Wisconsin’s needs would bring billions of dollars of construction work in addition to the hundreds of people who would have high quality jobs for the next 50 or more years.  Average pay for a worker in the nuclear industry is $62,000.

 “This bill will raise energy costs by billions of dollars, threatening existing jobs,” said Seitz.  “Nuclear is the only energy source capable of limiting energy costs and creating a significant number of jobs in Wisconsin.”

 Wisconsin Utility Investors, Inc is a grassroots organization made up of over 16,000 small, individual investors in shareholder owned utilities serving Wisconsin.  Most members invest for their retirement and to build and grow Wisconsin.

 “Our members have put their money where their mouth is,” said Seitz.  “They are proud to have invested in Wisconsin.”

 WUI strongly opposes this Bill as written.