From November 2010 to March 2011, the news was filled with Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to scrap the proposed high speed rail system. What upset me most was not a deep love for trains, a desire to be more European or the excitement of being able to cheaply and easily visit my best friend in Milwaukee. What really got me was the fact that Walker was throwing away two things that are very important to the people of Wisconsin: opportunities for jobs and energy efficiency.

Now, not even a year later, Walker and his administration are looking to repeat this move by cutting down industry and clean energy to the detriment of Wisconsinites.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Walker has scrapped legislation on the regulation of windmill farms on the state. The original rules, which were hashed out over the span of a year by bipartisan legislators, tackled controversial wind-power issues like noise pollution. The bill was tabled by Walker earlier this year, just as it was about to go into effect, and sent back to the Public Service Commission. Seven months later, the PSC has gotten nowhere as energy developers twiddle their thumbs waiting for the go-ahead.

So what does this mean for Wisconsin? Nothing good. 

First, there’s the economic toll: Five major wind farms have suspended or cancelled their development, costing the state $1.6 billion and about 1,000 temporary or full-time jobs. 

“There are companies who want to come here, who want to bring those jobs here, but they don’t,” the bill’s author, former state Sen. Jeff Plale, said in the WSJ. “They bypass us for Minnesota, they bypass us for Iowa, they bypass us for South Dakota.” 

The economy is getting worse, not better, and while he could be supporting solid job creation, Walker snubs clean energy while insisting small pet projects will fill the job gap.

Second, there’s the energy efficiency issue. Without a doubt, energy independence should be a top priority. Admittedly, though, there are problems with wind power, mainly the noise levels associated with turbines. Currently, turbines must be placed approximately 1,250 feet from the nearest residence. However, the governor took it upon himself to increase this distance to 1,800 feet, or more than six football fields. Why would Walker go to such lengths to cut down renewable energy? Perhaps it was the $400,000 in campaign contributions he received from wind industry critics and real estate groups. This seems like a petty reason to be downright frigid to a socially responsible industry that could create clean energy for Wisconsin homes.

Before Walker’s intervention, the PSC had spent a significant amount of time laying down groundwork that was acceptable to both Republicans and Democrats as well as the wind industry and its critics. 

“It has been a deliberate decision by Gov. Walker,” said Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said in the article. “They are going to kill wind energy in this state.” 

At least Walker could justify derailing the train by saying it would cost the state valuable budget money. In this case, however, there is no such excuse. Wind power is an independent industry that does not receive substantial government funding, and in a state that has a reputation as being difficult for business, we can’t afford to lose these significant investors in the Wisconsin economy.

As Walker continues to cut down opportunities for job creation, he continues to look more and more foolish. Perhaps a Don Quixote comparison is fitting here. Walker, a self-important man, is embattled by personal convictions and delusions of a long-gone world of the gentry, so he takes out his frustrations on fictitious demons that are, in fact, just windmills.

Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in human evolutionary biology, archaeology, and Latin American studies.