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Posted: 7:52 PM May 5, 2007
Proposed State Budget Changes Requirements for Renewable Energy
Panel removes cap on hydroelectric power used to meet mandate
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee amended the state budget proposal to remove a cap on how much hydroelectric power utilities could use to meet the state's renewable energy mandate.
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A law passed last year requires that 10 percent of Wisconsin's electricity come from renewable power sources such as wind turbines and solar panels by 2015.
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The amendment would allow state utilities to import hydroelectric power from dams in Manitoba, using a new high-voltage transmission line that is under construction between Wausau and Duluth, Minnesota.
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The change was approved by the committee on an 11-to-5 vote and will now be considered by the full Senate and Assembly.
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It was suggested by the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation in Green Bay. Charlie Severance, the utility's manager of electric resources, says relaxing the rule makes sense because the price of wind-power projects has escalated so much in recent years.
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But Keith Reopelle, program director for the conservation group Clean Wisconsin, says the plan to change state law could slow efforts to develop "homegrown" renewable energy.
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(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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