Gov. Tony Evers today signed Executive Order #195 creating the Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation to advise on creating the state’s first-ever Green Innovation Fund. The Green Innovation Fund and its partners will leverage public and private financing to invest in projects that provide environmental and clean energy solutions to businesses, reduce pollution, lower energy costs for families, and expand access to clean, affordable energy options.
“Wisconsin is ready for bold and urgent solutions to the climate crisis, and creating the Green Innovation Fund will not only help propel our state forward towards our clean energy goals and enable our state to leverage federal funding available under the Inflation Reduction Act, but it will establish Wisconsin as a leader in innovative technology and clean energy,” said Gov. Evers. “This Commission is an important step forward in doing that and to ensuring this Fund is successful in building a sustainable, clean energy economy for the future.”
The Green Innovation Fund will be the first environmental and clean energy fund in Wisconsin. Commonly referred to as “green banks,” similar public and private entities have been established in other states, including Colorado, Illinois, and Nevada. Both the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change, which Gov. Evers established in 2019, and the state’s Clean Energy Plan released last April recommend the state of Wisconsin evaluate options for a “green bank” to support projects in Wisconsin. In addition to private financing for the Fund, the federal Inflation Reduction Act created the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and allocated $27 billion in competitive funding for states and nonprofit entities that collaborate with community financing institutions, such as green banks, to support projects that will combat the climate crisis, invest in innovative clean energy development, and create good-paying jobs. Additional details on the Fund will be available in the coming months.
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