The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy spent Friday afternoon in the Milwaukee area, bringing money to the state, listening to leaders of the Forest County Potawatomi, and visiting with a wheelchair-bound woman who says government-funded weatherization of the home she shares with her husband has brought them more comfort.
Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced at a labor training center in Wauwatosa that Wisconsin will receive $10.2 million via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest in the modernization and hardening of Wisconsin's electric grid to protect it from current and future threats. Granholm says possible uses are to strengthen transmission wires or bury them underground. Electrical substations could also see improvements.
Granholm told the Wauwatosa event at the north campus of the Milwaukee Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee that "when disaster strikes, we want to make sure people can keep their power on."
She says selected projects will increase the skilled workforce by demonstrating partnerships with training providers, including registered apprenticeships. Also, the number of contractors trained to operate and maintain eligible resilience projects would be improved, with an emphasis on disadvantaged communities.
At the same time, six other states and three tribal nations will be sent about $67 million, in this second cohort receiving what are called Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants.
Granholm's visit with Potawatomi leaders took place at the tribe's Wgema Campus on State Street in Milwaukee, where there is a large solar power installation, and efforts have been made to improve the energy efficiency of the older buildings at the former Concordia College campus.
Granholm told a roomful of Native American children and adults that she appreciates "the emphasis on being one with this planet, with our land, our water and our air. I think that gives us all a strength and a feeling like we must, we have an obligation to leave our campsite cleaner than we found it."
Granholm also met privately with tribal leaders. Tribal Vice Chairwoman Heather Van Zile later told WUWM that the Energy Secretary discussed tax breaks the federal government is offering tribal industries and reservations. "It was great. It was a good visit," Van Zile said.
Later in the day, Granholm and Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) stopped at the Greenfield home of Jack and Laura Jorgensen. Earlier this year, with help from taxpayer-funded weatherization programs, the couple had workers install a more efficient natural gas furnace, housing insulation, a programmable thermostat and a refrigerator that uses less energy.
The couple qualified for the assistance because health problems now have Laura using a wheelchair, and Jack quit his job to help care for his wife. Laura Jorgensen told Granholm and Baldwin that, "Ever since we've had these (upgrades), I feel comfortable."
Granholm told the Jorgensens that thanks to the infrastructure law Baldwin supported, a major increase in weatherization money is heading to Wisconsin.
Granholm's visit was the latest by a Cabinet member to Wisconsin in recent months, with more officials likely headed to the state to help promote Biden Administration policies, as President Joe Biden runs for re-election.
It was also a chance for Granholm to get out of Washington D.C. The Associated Press recently reported that the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee is calling for an investigation of Granholm, "after she told the panel she mistakenly provided false information about her family's stock holdings in testimony earlier this year."
The DOE told AP that Granholm is committed to ethical conduct and transparency.
