We Energies Customers Demonstrate Against 'Anti-Solar' Proposal

OAK CREEK, WI — Community members gathered at Bender Park in Oak Creek this weekend to protest coal and other fossil fuels at a local “Hands Across the Sand” event at Bender Park.

Attendees called on We Energies to withdraw their proposal to impose a new fee on rooftop solar panel installation and use, and for the utility to make the switch from coal to clean, renewable energy sources.

In a speech to the group, Pastor Jonathan Barker of Grace Lutheran in Kenosha stated, “I am horrified by the way We Energies treats our lake, that they are willing to dump mercury and poison the fish that bring both life and sustenance to us. I’m also outraged that they are putting forth this idea to raise an exorbitant fee on rooftop solar. I’ve got a 4.4 kilowatt system on my garage. When I crunch the numbers that they are proposing, it’s jaw-dropping. It is horrendous to me that they would want to attempt to kill the rooftop solar market at this time when we need all hands on deck for this transition to renewable energy.”

Rep. Greta Neubauer of the 66th Assembly District representing Racine encouraged those who had gathered to continue pushing for transformative change. “Many of you have been in this fight for a long time. Some of us are newer to it. But you all understand that this is a long and hard fight. The systems that we are taking on have a lot of power and it is not going to be easy to turn things around,” stated Neubauer. “But, at the same time, we are seeing an incredible moment right now in the climate movement in the United States. We are seeing increasing pressure on companies like We Energies and others across the state. The work you are doing does matter.”