St. Paul – Rep. Will Morgan (DFL-Burnsville) will introduce the Solar Energy Jobs Act of 2013, an ambitious plan to grow the industry and create thousands of jobs in Minnesota.
Rep. Morgan and State Senator Chris Eaton (DFL-Brooklyn Center), who will introduce the Senate version of the bill, made the announcement at Wednesday morning news conference at the State Capitol.
The bill will implement a 10 percent solar renewable energy standard, requiring utilities to meet the standard by 2030. More than 100 businesses in the solar industries already exist in the state. Implementing the Solar Energy Jobs Act will create more than 2,000 permanent jobs in the first after passage and thousands more over the life of the policy.
“Our goals with the Solar Energy Jobs Act are not only to strengthen the businesses that are already here but to attract new businesses, new companies to Minnesota that will invest in our state, invest in energy in our state and create jobs in our state,” Rep. Morgan said. “Our state can’t afford to be left behind; we need forward-thinking policies that promote growth in up-and-coming sectors of the economy.
If the Legislature passes Morgan’s bill, the new standard would bring more than $230 million in value-added investments to Minnesota in just the first year. Morgan noted that 16 states already have enacted solar energy standards.
“Of those 16, seven of those states were among the fastest growing solar states in America in 2011. In those states, solar energy created a context for investment, job growth and improvements in the industry. We believe by passing a 10 percent by 2030 standard will send a strong signal to the market and a strong signal to the industry. It’s a predictable signal; it’s an achievable signal for the long-term growth and expansion of installed solar capacity and solar jobs in our state.”
A January 2013 poll authorized by the Minnesota Environmental Partnership showed that 74 percent of Minnesotans support getting at least 10 percent of the state’s electricity by 2030.