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State Representative Michael Beard
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-8872
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS COLUMN
EXPLAINING RENEWABLE ENERGY
By Mike Beard
District 35A, State Representative
With the passage of the “25/25” renewable energy law, Governor Pawlenty and the Legislature set the direction of Minnesota’s energy policy for the next 20 years. Simply put, the law requires that 25 percent of our electricity be produced from renewable energy sources by the year 2025. Hence, the bill’s “25/25” nickname, although Xcel Energy's mandate is actually 30 percent by the year 2020, so watch out for that!
So what is a renewable energy source? Wind, sun and flowing water are the three best examples. The most likely to be used here is wind energy gathered along the ridges of western Minnesota. But there are drawbacks to increased use of wind energy, including the lack of a transmission infrastructure and the fact that wind generation is actually "on line" about 25 percent of the time. Since most of us use electricity 100 percent of the time, I have grave concerns about how much it will cost us to build back-up facilities to use when the wind is not strong enough to meet our needs.
As I mentioned, most new wind energy will be gathered in other parts of the state. However, much of it will be needed for use here in the Twin Cities and right now we do not have the transmission lines to get the electricity here from its source. Transmission capacity will need to be built quickly if the state’s electricity producers are going to meet the 25 percent standard.
Many people are concerned about what these new standards will do to their electric bills. Short term, you probably won’t notice any change. However, in about 2015 when the progression toward renewable energy quickens and the transmission lines need to be paid for, there is the potential for noticeable rate increases.
To prevent significantly higher electric bills, we successfully included a law that allows the Public Utilities Commission to step in and halt any rate increase that Minnesotans could not afford or that would be injurious to our economy.
Many legislators, myself included, believe that government should avoid such direct control of the market. But when Republicans, Democrats, environmentalists, utility companies, the governor and the Chamber of Commerce come together in agreement it signifies that their proposal is one that deserves legislative consideration. It is not a perfect plan. The law only applies to energy used in Minnesota, not necessarily meaning the energy will be produced in Minnesota. We already import more electricity than any other state, so I was concerned about proposals that would've mandated provisions to ensure we start using more “homemade” electricity instead of sending our money to South Dakota or Canada, even though the homemade sources would probably be more expensive. In the end, it was a plan that I could support and I voted along with 120 other legislators to say “Yes” to the renewable energy standard.
There will probably be more energy bills coming through the Legislature this year. As they do, we must keep the dangers of over-regulation and too much government involvement in mind. There are many bad examples of what can happen when government inserts itself too deeply into any industry. We cannot afford - literally - to have our energy bills driven sky high by excessive, over-bearing government, no matter how good its intentions may be.
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