Press Release: Gov. Evers Announces Appointments to Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation

Commission will advise on the creation of the Green Innovation Fund to leverage public and private financing to invest in environmental and clean energy solutions

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced his appointments to the Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation. In April, Gov. Evers signed Executive Order #195 to create the Commission to advise on the state’s first-ever Green Innovation Fund, the first environmental and clean energy fund in Wisconsin. Both the Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation and the Green Innovation Fund are critical steps toward advancing the state’s goal to ensure all electricity consumed within the state is 100 percent carbon-free by 2050, as outlined by Gov. Evers in Executive Order #38.

“We’re working to ensure our state’s infrastructure, workforce, and economy are built for the 21st century, and that means we have to both address the climate crisis while investing in a clean energy economy that will generate thousands of family-supporting jobs, help lower energy and utility bills, and reduce our state’s reliance on out-of-state energy sources,” said Gov. Evers. “Our Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation will play a critical role in creating a Green Innovation Fund so we can work toward investing in and achieving our clean energy goals. I’m looking forward to the Commission’s work ahead and their important role in helping ensure Wisconsin is a leader in innovative clean energy industries and technologies.”

The Green Innovation Fund will help ensure that more Wisconsin families, businesses, and communities are able to utilize new technologies and maximize the impact statewide. Commonly referred to as “green banks,” other states such as Colorado, Illinois, and Nevada have established similar public and private entities. 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.

The 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. 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.

The Fund will be administered by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Administration to support the development and deployment of next-generation environmental and clean energy technologies and projects in Wisconsin, helping to create jobs and reduce energy costs for families and businesses. Additional details on the Fund will be available in the coming months.

Members of the Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation include:

• Masood Akhtar, president and founder of CleanTech Partners, Middleton
• Pamela Boivin, executive director and loan officer at Woodland Financial Partners, Shawano
• John Brogan, chief executive officer (CEO) at the Bank of Kaukauna, Kaukauna
• Andy Buck, director of Government Affairs for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 7, Oshkosh
• Antonio Butts, executive director of the Walnut Way Conservation Corporation, Milwaukee
• Sara Conzemius, founding advisor with Illume Advising, Madison
• Abigail Corso, chief strategy officer at Elevate Energy, Madison
• Sam Dunaiski, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, Madison
• Sandra Henry, president and CEO of Slipstream Group, Inc., Madison
• Kamaljit Kaur Jackson, vice president, programs and operations, for the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), Milwaukee
• Sean Kennedy, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources climate and resilience policy advisor, Madison
• Montre Moore, public involvement and outreach specialist at the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Milwaukee
• Mike Noreen, conservation and efficiency coordinator and city forester for the city of River Falls, River Falls
• Kara Pennoyer, chief of staff to Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Chairperson Rebecca Cameron Valcq, Madison
• Nicole Rakobitsch, director of sustainability at CROPP Cooperative Organic Valley, La Crosse
• Maria Redmond, director of the Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, Madison
• Ty Rohloff, vice president of food and agribusiness at Compeer Financial, Fort Atkinson
• State Rep. Katrina Shankland, Stevens Point
• Dean Warsh, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 494 and president of the IBEW Wisconsin State Conference, Milwaukee