{"id":2312631,"date":"2024-06-24T04:55:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T09:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vxartnews.com\/?p=2312631"},"modified":"2024-06-24T07:15:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T12:15:26","slug":"federal-clean-energy-program-unlocks-benefits-for-wisconsin-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vxartnews.com\/2024\/06\/24\/federal-clean-energy-program-unlocks-benefits-for-wisconsin-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal clean energy program unlocks benefits for Wisconsin schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Along with new\u00a0tax breaks for families and businesses in return for investing in clean and more efficient energy, the federal government is for the first time offering support to\u00a0schools and other nonprofits that make those investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDirect support\u201d payments from the Internal Revenue Service will pay back school districts, churches and other nonprofit organizations for part of what they spend on energy renovations that cut their energy use and replace fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For schools the program represents an opportunity to make energy upgrades that many have had to skimp on, according to Nathan Ugoretz, secretary-treasurer of the Wisconsin Education Association Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As state school funding falls behind the rising costs public school districts face, \u201cfunding for maintenance and improvements have been put on the chopping block,\u201d Ugoretz said Thursday. School districts across Wisconsin have held referendum votes to raise property taxes to support ongoing expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis leaves no resources for overhauling outdated electrical systems or investments to cut energy costs,\u201d Ugoretz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ugoretz spoke at Forest Edge Elementary School, a Fitchburg school that has been singled out for its strides in improving energy efficiency. In 2021, the school, after operating for just one year, was recognized as the first Net Zero Energy school in Wisconsin \u2014 producing and returning to the power grid as much energy as it used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The BlueGreen Alliance, an advocacy group that combines the interests of the labor and environmental movements, chose the school Thursday for a presentation on how clean energy and energy efficiency tax credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act are available to more than just taxpayers, whether individuals or businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Direct IRS support that passes those tax credits on to nonprofits will help accelerate the spread of green technology to more users, participants in Thursday\u2019s event said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is a really, really big deal \u2014 not only because we get to model for our students what a clean energy economy looks like, but because utility costs for schools are one of the biggest demands on school budgets,\u201d said Kristina Costa, deputy assistant to President Joe Biden for clean energy innovation and implementation. \u201cAnd when energy costs go up, that leaves fewer resources available for everything else that students need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cutting those costs by boosting energy efficiency \u201cfrees up those precious dollars to improve our schools and in other ways to enrich our kids\u2019 education,\u201d Costa added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n