Growing the BioEconomy in WI

After leaving the snowy cornfields of Iowa, we headed East through beautiful hill country and the Great River valley, eventually arriving at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison. We started out our day at the hilltop offices of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, where we met with Secretary Rod Nilsestuen and his top policy director, Gary Radloff. The Secretary shared his strong optimism for growing Wisconsin’s bio-economy, tying together the strong agricultural and forest products industries in the state with its vibrant manufacturing sector. This means not only producing new biofuels made from cellulosic crops and wood products, but also developing new bio-based products that begin to replace conventional petroleum-based feedstocks. These efforts not only promise to add new jobs and economic opportunity within the state, but also prevent energy dollars from leaving the state. The Secretary also shared his strong commitment to encouraging local ownership in the new bioeconomy, emphasizing the additional value-added to local communities when dollars are kept, and then largely spent, within the local community.

Mr. Radloff discussed with us the state’s innovative policy strategy for growing the bio-economy. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle recently announced a $450 million initiative to create 17,000 high-end jobs in bioindustry and renewable energy. The initiative consists of a creative public, private investment strategy to encourage new biofuel and renewable energy investments, including: production of biofuels and bioproducts, E-85 and biodiesel fueling stations, and new renewable technology research. $80 million of public funds would be used to leverage more than $370 in private investments, through loan guarantees, low-interest loans, tax credits and grants. The plan drew on the recommendations of the Wisconsin Consortium on Biobased Industry, a 20-member panel established by Governor Doyle. For more information about bio-based initiatives in WI, see: http://power.wisconsin.gov/