Despite a clear call from voters for power utilities to increase wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, industry executives agreed in Milwaukee that’s going to be expensive and complicated.

Many residents and businesses are intrigued by the idea of installing solar panels and wind turbines that would feed carbon- and pollution-free energy into major utility grids — with the goal of helping the environment, lowering their energy bills and perhaps even “selling” excess energy to the utility. But building the physical facilities and a fair pricing structure won’t be easy or cheap, panelists warned Tuesday at the 2015 Mid-America Regulatory Conference annual
meeting in Milwaukee.