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State Representative Kurt Zellers
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5502
For more information contact: Austin Bleess 651-296-5529
OP/ED COLUMN
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: ENERGY
Fellow District 32B residents,
This year over 2,500 bills were authored by members of the legislature.
Some of these bills become laws, but many do not. In an effort to wade through all of these bills and give you an idea of what became law and what was vetoed by the Governor, I have started a series of email updates on the major issue areas. Some of these areas will include education, environment, transportation, healthcare, taxes, and public safety, just to name a few. As we go through this series I would encourage you to contact me with any questions you might have about these topics. And please contact me if you have a question or suggestion for a future email update.
This week’s email update is a recap of action taken to encourage energy independence.
Renewable Energy Standards
Minnesota has been a national leader for many years in the area of renewable energy, and this year the legislature passed, and the Governor signed into law, the highest renewable energy standards in the nation.
These New renewable energy objectives set standards for electric utilities to supply a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources such as wind, biomass, landfill gas, anaerobic digesters, solar and others. All electric utilities will be required to achieve a standard of 25% by 2025. Xcel Energy must achieve 30% by 2020 with 25% wind energy and 5% coming from other renewable sources.
To help assist in reaching this goal the legislature has set aside $4.25 million in grants to help develop other technologies. Some of these technologies include methane digesters, hybrid electric vehicle development, solar rebates, and Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) to connect citizens with resources needed to identify and help Minnesota communities determine their energy future.
Another source of renewable energy the state is putting money into is wind energy. The legislature did this by establishing then Rural Wind Development Revolving Loan fund to enhance wind energy development in
Minnesota. You can already see some of the progress of this in southern and western Minnesota. If you drive on I-90 you can see wind farms being built. Also many school districts around the state are looking into building wind mills to power the school building and provide extra revenue by selling the extra energy to the power companies.
Gasoline Alternatives
With gas prices hovering around three dollars a gallon and the cold winter knocking on the door everyone is feeling the pinch of the high oil prices. This year the legislature took some good steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Through a $3 million in additional appropriations for the 2008/2009 biennium the legislature continued to promote E-85 as a viable alternative to gasoline. Much of these funds are expected to be used as grants to help fuel stations install E-85 pumps. With over 350 E-85 pumps throughout Minnesota, we currently lead the nation in availability. We were hoping to have more than 1,800 E-85 pumps within a few short years, but it appears that goal will not be met.
Other Alternative Energy Sources
The legislature is working towards using other biomass as sources of energy. Some of the proposed sources are prairie grass, poultry litter, wood residue and forest trimmings. In Benson, at the Fibrominn plant, they burn poultry litter many operations around the state hauling their litter there. This plant produces 55.5 megahertz of electricity each day – enough to power around 50,000 homes.
Plasma Torch technology feasibility studies were also approved by the legislature this year. These studies focus on the concept of gasifying solid waste at 20,000 degrees Fahrenheit in an oxygen-starved environment. The goal is reducing organic materials to hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and inorganic materials to a molten slag.
More Options we could have taken
One source of energy that Minnesota could have taken would be to expand the use of nuclear power. This safe and clean so production could have been expanded by lifting the ban on building new nuclear power plants. Several states around the nation already use nuclear power to get most of their energy, with some European countries getting over 80% of their electricity from nuclear energy.
We also could have extended the Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ) program to include plants that produce bio-diesel. This would have helped Minnesota produce and promote bio-diesel at a higher level, while at the same time creating good paying jobs throughout our state. Ethanol producers are already included in the JOBZ program, including bio-diesel producers would make sense.
Helpful Links
If any of the initiatives you see here interest you and you’d like to learn more please check out the new website:
http://www.renewable.state.mn.us/
This website serves as a gateway to all of the valuable information on a renewable energy spread throughout state government.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the major programs and bills that were passed during this last legislative session to help make Minnesota energy independent. Looking at these options will assist Minnesota in being a leader and spur economic growth across the state by bringing in new business opportunities.
If you have any questions about specific areas that are not mentioned or if you would like a more detailed explanation of some of the areas I discussed – please feel free to contact me by replying to this email or calling my office.
Thank you again for signing up for these Legislative Updates! And, please email me with any questions or policy areas that you would like to see explained or discussed in a future Legislative Update. Thank you, again, for the privileged of representing you in St. Paul!
Best personal regards,
Kurt
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