City of Sun Prairie becomes first Wisconsin municipality to achieve 100% renewable energy

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (WMTV) – The City of Sun Prairie is now the first municipality in Wisconsin to achieve 100% renewable energy for all city operations.

While sustainability experts say the change is good for the environment, it may also be better for your wallet.

From traffic lights to street lights, all city-powered infrastructure is now powered by energy that comes from natural resources.

“We are moving away from fossil fuels,” City of Sun Prairie Sustainability Manager Rose Daily said. “So from using oil and coal to power our electricity, to now using natural resources that we can tap into.”

Solar panels are not cheap upfront. Daily said the cost of the city’s most recent solar panel purchase was more than $800,000, though it was mainly funded by grants.

However, Daily said the high price tag comes with a high reward.

“Since we are consuming a lot of energy that we are now producing ourselves through our rooftop and ground mounted solar arrays, we paid for that investment upfront, and now we have significantly lower electricity bills,” Daily said.

According to Daily, since the solar panels and other renewable energy infrastructure were implemented in 2024, the city’s electricity bill dropped by $40,000.

Those lower energy bills for the city could mean lower taxes for residents, according to Daily.

Sam Dunaiski, Executive Director of Madison-based nonprofit RENEW Wisconsin, said Wisconsin is an ideal area for renewable energy, and said he hopes to promote its use throughout the Badger state.

“Wisconsin does not have a lot of the energy resources that historically we Americans have used,” Dunaiski said. “We don’t have coal mines, we don’t have gas deposits, we don’t have petrol fields or anything like that, so we spend billions and billions of our rate payer dollars each year sending money out of the state, out of the country to bring those fuels in so we can power our electricity.”

Dunaiski said he hopes to see a sustainability model like Sun Prairie’s across the state.

“[Renewable energy] investments will add jobs to our economy, it will make our air and our water cleaner and healthier, and it will also mitigate effects of climate change as well.”

Daily said the City of Sun Prairie has also seen more homes and businesses using renewable energy, too. She said they consistently issued over 40 solar permits a year since 2020.

The City of Sun Prairie said their next goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

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