I read Mike Hooper’s op-ed, “Natural gas plants will deliver reliable energy We Energies customers depend on,” and I have to ask: How do new gas plants at Paris and Oak Creek align with We Energies’ own 2021 Pathway to a Cleaner Future report?
That report, freely available online, promises a transition to a clean energy system using “multiple strategies to improve the reliability and resiliency of the electric power system”— yet a very small percentage of their electricity mix comes from renewables. How does building more fossil-fueled plants support that transition? It doesn’t. How does building more fossil-fueled electricity generation in the form of the Paris and Oak Creek gas plants move closer to their own stated goals?
Rhetorical questions. I don’t expect an answer from We Energies President Hooper or Chairman of the Board Gale Klappa. No, they are too busy locking their ratepayers into expensive new generation projects and decades of more health-crushing and environment-slagging emissions, and reaping the financial rewards.
Instead, I’d recommend We Energies representatives focus their efforts on scaling up renewable energy or investing in energy-efficiency programs. This would reduce energy demands and save ratepayers money or trips to the emergency room for asthma attacks caused by their pollution.
I can envision a healthier, cleaner and more affordable energy future for Wisconsin. Mr. Hooper, can you?
Amanda Richman, Milwaukee
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: We Energies not living up to its own goals. Wisconsin needs renewable energy. | Letters
Reporting by Letters to the Editor / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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