Dear Friends,
It’s been another busy week in St. Paul with many committee meetings and bill hearings. In addition, we had a few bills come to the House floor, including one major bill I’d like to highlight.
On Thursday, the House majority brought HF 7 to the floor for a vote. Among its many components, this bill will require Minnesota electric utilities to generate or acquire 100 percent carbon-free energy by the year 2040. The bill passed on a fully partisan basis with all DFL votes.
This bill contains extreme and dangerous energy mandates that will put Minnesota on par with energy policies like those of California, Germany, and the UK - all of whom have been experiencing energy deficiencies including blackouts, brownouts, and energy rationing. The bill pushes for rapid adoption before we have the technology capable of supporting that adoption. It’s like attempting to take off in an airplane before you know it can support the weight it’s carrying.
Does everyone remember the rather funny - but not so funny - government actions coming out of California last fall? The governor announced that California will require every new vehicle purchased in that state to be electric by 2035 - and then a week later a heat wave hit and the state’s electrical grid operators asked electric vehicle owners to limit charging their vehicles.
Why would we want to copy unsound California energy policies that will push Minnesota into unreliable and unaffordable energy? Yet that’s what this bill does. This is dangerous. Blackouts in California weather are uncomfortable; blackouts in harsh Minnesota winters are life threatening.
What happens to our businesses, including farmers, when energy becomes unreliable? Think about local businesses like Mrs. Gerrys and our grocery stores who need reliable energy to keep food from spoiling, or farmers with livestock that need to be kept cool or warm. Blackouts will be devastating to these businesses.
I think we can all agree that we want to take good care of our planet by adopting cleaner energy sources. I know I do. However, common sense would dictate that the path we choose to clean energy must also maintain reliable and affordable energy. Otherwise, that path ends on a cliff - a dangerous, unworkable, and extreme cliff.
I have spoken at length on this issue with local Freeborn-Mower Electric Coop officials as well as state and electric grid experts. According to grid operators, Minnesota is already on the cusp of an electricity shortage and grid unreliability. It is clear that our state must focus on a balanced portfolio of power sources that includes many types of energy - wind, solar, natural gas, hydro, nuclear - and yes, some coal for a time - in order to maintain a reliable energy grid. We must take a common sense progression toward the reduction of fossil fuels that will not put our state and its citizens in jeopardy.
I was a NO vote on HF 7 - the blackout bill. This bill will make energy in our state unreliable, unaffordable, and unsafe. Minnesota can do this smarter. We can and should adopt a clean energy plan that maintains clean, affordable, and reliable energy, and one that is guided by common sense and the technology at hand.
Visit with Albert Lea Officials:
I enjoyed visiting with city of Albert Lea officials who were in St. Paul this week to talk about legislative issues that impact the city. I spent a good amount of time with city manager, Ian Riggs, along with city council members Larry Baker and Sherri Rasmussen, discussing important issues like the bonding for the city wastewater treatment plant, DNR issues with the bridge for the bike trail, the importance of keeping local costs and property taxes low, and more. I always enjoy talking to “boots on the ground” people like this. Thank you for coming to St. Paul!
Until next week…
Peggy