Dear Neighbors,
Over the last year, we have heard a great deal of talk from radical Democrats in Congress promoting what they call the “Green New Deal”. Their proposal is a package of policies that would remake the U.S. economy costing trillions of dollars. Supporters hope to eliminate all U.S. carbon emissions, which is virtually impossible to achieve.
The plan is unrealistic and would severely damage America’s economy resulting in unreliable and expensive energy production with no measurable help on the environment.
This past legislative session, some of the Green New Deal’s ideas made their way to St. Paul and were strongly supported by Governor Walz and House Democrats. One specific proposal was to make Minnesota’s electricity sector 100 percent free of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
A study released in March by the Center for the American Experiment found that increasing Minnesota’s renewable energy mandate to only 50% by 2030 would cost the state $80.1 billion in meeting this standard and put the reliability of Minnesota's electrical grid at risk.
The Star Tribune reported that during the stretch of -30 degree temperatures this past winter, only 4% of electricity was being generated by alternative energy! Minnesota needs reliable low-cost baseload electricity for our citizens, farms, and businesses. Alternative energy provides intermittent non-base load electricity that fails to help the environment and drives up electricity costs exponentially.
According to the above-referenced study, this would increase electricity prices by more than 40% and cause the electric bill for the average Minnesota household to increase by $375 per year.
Such drastic and radical changes to Minnesota’s energy policy would have little to no demonstrable impact on the environment.
Thanks to Republicans none of the Democrats’ radical energy initiatives became law this year.
We can do better than what Democrats have proposed. Minnesota can have reliable, efficient energy and a clean environment without needlessly raising energy costs on consumers and causing irreparable harm to our economy. Nuclear, hydro-electric, and clean coal can deliver environmentally friendly energy while lowering the cost of electricity. The theory of “global warming” and the proposed changes to address its impact enriches the few at the expense of the many while doing little to nothing for the environment.
As always, I urge you to contact me if you have any legislative questions, concerns, or ideas. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-4229 or via email at rep.glenn.gruenhagen@house.mn.
Thanks and have a good weekend,
Glenn