House legislators OK an omnibus energy bill limited in scope

If the omnibus energy bill were a light bulb, most legislators seem to agree that it would be a dim one.

With its appropriations devoted chiefly to keeping the Public Utilities Commission and the Commerce Department’s energy division in working order, and policy changes limited to initiating a financial safety net for unexpected natural gas price spikes, SSHF7/SSSF2* — sponsored by Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka) and Sen. Nick Frentz (DFL-North Mankato) — is the smallest energy omnibus in recent memory.

But its measures proved relatively noncontroversial on the House Floor Tuesday, and it was passed by a 90-41 vote. Having been passed 35-32 by the Senate earlier in the day, it’s now on the way to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature.

“Going into this session, I had two goals,” Acomb said. “To pass a budget and to protect the gains we made last biennium in our transition to a clean energy economy. And we did both.”

Of the bill’s $47.44 million in appropriations for the 2026-27 biennium, most would go to the Commerce Department’s energy resources division, the largest outlays being for community solar gardens, Clean Energy Resource Teams and the implementation of energy benchmarking.

It also includes $3.8 million in new appropriations for the Public Utilities Commission, $3.19 million to reimburse costs incurred in responding to petroleum tank leaks, and $2.4 million for pre-weatherization.

The bill would also extend the availability of existing Solar Rewards appropriations through 2038 and maintain the requirement that 50% of that funding support low-income households.

The bill also includes $600,000 in outlays from the Renewable Development Account, a fund that Xcel Energy customers pay into to fund renewable energy projects in the state, such as those employing solar, wind or geothermal power. Xcel Energy pays into the account based upon how many casks of nuclear waste it employs at its Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear power plants.

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What Renewable Development Account money there is in the bill for the 2026-27 biennium includes extensions of appropriations for a solar array on Blaine’s National Sports Center ($4.2 million) and the University of St. Thomas Center for Microgrid Research ($3.2 million), the latter also receiving $400,000 in new funding.

Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R-Ghent), co-chair of the House Energy Finance and Policy Committee, lamented that policy changes in the Senate’s omnibus energy bill didn’t make it into the final version.

“The Legislature swung and missed an opportunity this session to really pull back, get out of the way and get our thumbs off the scales of energy production in the state,” Swedzinski said.

“I’m proud that we’ve defended against attempts to roll back our clean energy by 2040 law and to destroy our thriving renewable energy market,” Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park) said before turning to the topic of climate change. “Last week, Grand Portage hit an air quality index of 800, the highest ever recorded in Minnesota. … We’re going to be looking back in 10 years to 2025 as a time of cooler weather and fewer air quality index warnings.”