ST. PAUL – Saying the plan is doomed to fail due to the blackouts that will likely happen during Minnesota’s winters, State Representative Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) voted against a House Democrat proposal that forces Minnesota’s electric utilities to generate or acquire 100 percent carbon-free energy by the year 2040.
“Very simply, this bill will make our state’s energy more unreliable and much more expensive for everyone in this state,” Torkelson said. “The network that supplies our energy will have to be reworked dramatically to implement the new alternatives at a significant cost, and the legislation refused to allow every alternative to be considered.”
A report from the Center of the American Experiment (CAE) estimates that the Walz/Democrat plan to move to 100 percent carbon free electricity by 2040 will cost $313 billion, or nearly $3,900 per family per year.
The potential gain according to CAE: averting 0.00096 degree Celsius of warming by the year 2100.
Torkelson said the type of radical policies Minnesota House Democrats are pushing already are causing havoc elsewhere. While everyone has heard about the rolling blackouts in California, Germany is also having major problems as it is rationing electricity as electric vehicles and heat pumps threaten the collapse of local power grids. In fact, Germany has now resurrected its coal-fired power plants to ensure the country has enough energy to get through the winter.
Torkelson does not want Minnesota to face these power problems during our excruciating winter seasons.
“The goal of carbon-free energy by 2040 is unattainable, especially when House Democrats refuse to allow modern nuclear resources to be part of the solution while other countries have implemented and embraced them,” Torkelson said. “Completely gutting your state’s current power grid is not as simple as flipping the light switch.”