A Brighter, Cleaner, Greener Future

Local entrepreneur says green jobs could light the way in a post-pandemic economy

Madison Magazine monthly Innovation column, November 2020

Before the COVID-19 crisis, clean energy jobs were growing one and a half times faster than overall employment in Wisconsin. The state had more than 76,000 of America’s 3.4 million such jobs, until more than 11,000 clean energy workers filed for unemployment this year. That workforce could help restart the economy, according to Sara Conzemius, co-founder of the clean energy consulting firm ILLUME Advising LLC, a 2020 Dane County Small Business Award winner.

“Wisconsin must focus on clean energy jobs to meet our state’s climate goals and expand employment opportunities,” Conzemius wrote in a recent op-ed supporting a proposed national clean energy jobs act. The idea that a cleaner, safer, more resilient energy infrastructure is good for business and communities is one she’s championed for decades — most recently with ILLUME, which she founded with Anne Dougherty.

To continue reading please pick up the November 2020 issue of Madison Magazine at area newsstands, or click through to the online version here.

—Maggie Ginsberg is an associate editor at Madison Magazine and a long-time award-winning freelance writer. Innovation is her monthly column for Madison Magazine focused on startups, entrepreneurism and innovative ideas coming out of Dane County, Wisconsin.