State takes ‘landmark’ step toward green power

"MN Legislature"

02/23/2007

BY DENNIS LIEN
Pioneer Press


Enough juice to power every existing household in Minnesota — every apartment, every farmhouse, every lake home, every suburban McMansion.

That's how much electricity from wind, solar, hydrogen, biomass and other renewable energy sources should be created over the next 18 years under a bill that Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed into law Thursday morning.

"This is a landmark moment for our state,'' Pawlenty told about 150 lawmakers, environmentalists, utility representatives and academics at the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota.

The law, touted as the most aggressive renewable energy standard in the nation, passed the Senate and House overwhelmingly with bipartisan support.

Under the law, most energy companies must generate a quarter of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025. But Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, the state's largest utility, must get to 30 percent by 2020, with 25 percent coming from wind.

That doesn't elevate the state to the highest standard in the nation. Maine, for example, gets much of its electricity from old hydroelectric dams and has had a 30 percent renewable energy standard for years.

But new renewable energy will be created at a faster pace here than elsewhere, said Steve Clemmer, research director for the clean-energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"Minnesota, by our estimate, would have the highest standard, in terms of its commitment to developing new renewable energy,'' Clemmer said.

Michael Noble, executive director of Clean Energy, a St. Paul-based nonprofit organization, estimated 6,000 megawatts of new energy will be created to meet the standard. If it would all be in wind, he said, 3,000 new wind turbines would have to be built.

He said that would be enough electricity to light up the state's 2 million households. They consume about a third of the state's electricity, with commercial and industrial buildings using the rest.

"This is incredibly aggressive, and no state can match that,'' Noble said.

The new law will lead to sweeping changes, according to Pawlenty and the bill's chief sponsors, Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, and Rep. Aaron Peterson, DFL-Appleton.

Now, almost three-fourths of Minnesota's electricity comes from coal-burning plants and almost one-fifth from nuclear power.

Renewable sources, as defined in the law, only provide 3 percent or 4 percent.

Over time, utilities will be required to meet specific incremental benchmarks.

Most, for example, must reach 7 percent by 2010, 12 percent by 2012, 17 percent by 2016 and 20 percent by 2020. Xcel Energy must hit 15 percent by 2010, 18 percent by 2012 and 25 percent by 2016.

Xcel, which supplies half the electricity in Minnesota, already gets 8 percent from renewable sources and will meet the new standards without customers feeling any pinch, said Dave Sparby, head of Xcel's Minnesota operations.

"We don't expect this to affect the price of electricity,'' Sparby said.

Mike Bull, the state Commerce Department's assistant commissioner for renewable energy, said Minnesotans can expect to see a burst of smaller, locally owned energy projects and new manufacturing opportunities over the next several years. Guidelines for utilities, he said, are flexible enough to encourage innovation.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, meanwhile, can delay or modify the timelines, but only if doing so is in the public interest.

"It won't allow things that hurt customers,'' Bull said.

Minnesota is the latest of almost two dozen states to adopt a renewable energy standard. But more work must be done, Pawlenty, Anderson and others stressed.

Several other bills, dealing with such issues as global warming and community energy, are still being considered this session.