Scott Walker, Republicans not big on saving money, reducing energy costs. Too liberal?

The Walker Authority appears to be making a dent in slowing the spread of wind energy in Wisconsin. But that attack pales in comparison when it comes to how fast state Republicans abandoned consumer efficiency programs. In fact we now lead the Midwest in being the least energy efficient.

Cap Times-Mike Ivey: A new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks Wisconsin 17th among the states ... ranked No. 9 among states in 2008 and No. 11 in 2009 and 2010 but slipped to 16th last year and continues to go in the wrong direction ... The full report is available here. Wisconsin now trails all neighboring states in the rankings -- which are based on factors such as its government energy-efficiency programs, clean transportation efforts and co-generation power plants.
Minnesota ranks 9th, Iowa 11th, Michigan 12th and Illinois 14th. The top-ranked energy states are Massachusetts and Vermont. Both have enacted aggressive energy-efficiency resource standards, including targeted annual reductions in electricity and natural gas use throughout the state.

Even predominantly red states have moved in that direction;

Oklahoma, Montana and South Carolina are also lauded in the report for significantly improving their rankings.

It was very clear, under Democratic control, Wisconsinites were in line to save on their energy costs and see job creation:

Shahla Werner, director of the John Muir chapter of the Sierra Club says Wisconsin was on the right track in 2010 when Gov. Jim Doyle proposed and the Joint Finance Committee approved increased funding for Focus on Energy, the statewide energy-efficiency and renewable energy program that provides funds for investment in energy use reductions ... those increases were eliminated in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget and funds were capped going forward. This came despite a legislative audit showing that every dollar invested in Focus on Energy brings in $2.30 in savings ... an independent study from the Energy Center of Wisconsin that showed increased funding would create between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs each year ... the 55 local jobs at Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. were lost or reassigned when the Walker administration granted the Focus on Energy contract to the Louisiana-based Shaw Group.

It's a job killer, isn't it? Thank Scott Walker, who appears to be using government to pick and choose winners, eliminating the kind of jobs that don't meet the approval of our Republican overseers.

Even after all the estimates are in, and we're seeing surrounding states pursue energy efficiency, it still doesn't amount to a hill of beans to the Walker Authority. They would rather live off Gov. Doyle's record than create their own:

But a spokeswoman for the state Public Service Commission took issue with the report, saying Wisconsin is looking at cost–effective solutions that create results ... PSC spokesperson Kristin Ruesch says “It’s important to note the ACEEE rankings are based on expenditures, not achievement. Perhaps if the group looked at achievements instead of spending alone, the value of Wisconsin’s prudent and cost-effective investment in energy-efficiency programs would be more clear. “