U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is on a two-day swing through Wisconsin promoting the Biden Administration’s clean energy programs.
At one of her stops in Milwaukee Wednesday, Granholm talked with Black residents in a neighborhood north-west of downtown.
WUWM was given exclusive media access to that meeting,
Here's how it went:
Granholm held a roundtable at the North Ave. offices of the Walnut Way Conservation Corp. with leaders of that non-profit organization and other city residents. Granholm says a big part of the Biden Administration’s energy plans is to give financial incentives to clean energy companies that are located in economically disadvantaged areas, pay the prevailing wage, and meet other requirements.
Granholm says companies and groups that receive or compete for Energy Department grants have to have a Community Benefits Agreement.
“Making sure the companies are not just checking a box. But that they’re having meaningful engagement and actually benefitting the community," Granholm says, adding that her department has just launched a pilot program in the Gulf Coast, in which a mediator helps amplify the people’s voices.
Melody McCurtis of the Metcalfe Park Community Bridges organization had an exchange with Granholm emphasizing listening to citizens.
McCurtis says, “We need to be safeguarded in being the experts of what we need. It needs to come from the top end when we’re saying, ‘Hey, is funding available? We want it to impact communities. We need to be seen as equal partners and experts, and it needs to be supported with dollars."
"Yes, yes," Granholm replied.
McCurtis says that her group will follow up and push the Energy Department to focus on disadvantaged zip codes.
“They have to deliver and we are going to stay on them to deliver what we need. They need to not be as broad when funds are available, and they come down. It needs to be more structured, so folks in my community are actually impacted. Those funds get to the places they need to get to," McCurtis says.
Granholm was also urged to expand eligibility for the Energy Department's low-income home weatherization programs, including for more senior citizens.
Antonio Butts, executive director of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., says, “Typically, with a lot of safety net social services, they are built around different qualifiers or thresholds that either allow you access or deny you access. And, a lot of those different qualifiers are more or less antiquated, especially when we think about current times — current conditions economically. So, where we are is in a place where folks are really deserving — in an economic status that really warrants the support — they’re not able to access it."
Granholm listened to those concerns from Butts and others. She also emphasized an upcoming Inflation Reduction Act program to help low to moderate income households with appliance rebates.
“But what we’re going to need is we’re going to need partners on the ground to be able to get the word out to people so they know that these are going to exist. Now, it comes through the state and Wisconsin has pledged to by June to roll out their program," Granholm says.
Granholm says the program, for example, might be able to help people replace a worn-out furnace or air conditioning unit with a more expensive heat pump — a more efficient device that transfers energy instead of mostly producing it with fossil fuels.
The energy secretary also spoke to labor and environmental groups at Discovery World, emphasizing the growth of green jobs. While not officially a campaign visit, Granholm spoke in front of a banner that read President Joe Biden, Investing in America.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin responded to the secretary’s visit with a statement saying state residents are paying more for gasoline than at the start of the Biden/Harris Administration and that "voters know they deserve better prices at the pump."
Thursday, Granholm was scheduled to be in Madison, demonstrating home energy audits.
