ST. PAUL – House Democrats on Thursday approved legislation Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said increases consumer energy prices, reduces power reliability and ultimately compromises safety.
The bill (H.F. 7) extends and increases Minnesota’s renewable energy standard to 55 percent by 2035 and requires electric utilities in the state to generate or acquire 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2040.
Swedzinski is the ranking House Republican on energy. He said a report from the Center of the American Experiment estimates 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. Swedzinski said the same study indicates the return on these massive consumer costs would be negligible at best, paying to potentially avert 0.00096 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100.
“House File 7 is not a common-sense, middle-of-the-road approach when it comes to energy policy,” Swedzinski said. “The House Democrats’ extreme agenda to force industries, businesses and families into an unreliable, more expensive energy network will cost Minnesota jobs, our economy and Minnesota’s future as an economic engine for our region.”
Reliability is another major concern with the House Democrats’ proposal, which Swedzinski called the “Blackout Bill.” The Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator currently has reported a 1,200-megawatt capacity shortfall, indicating Minnesota already doesn’t have enough reliable power-plant capacity online to meet expected peak electricity demand. Swedzinski added that MISO warnings of capacity shortfalls for peak periods will become more commonplace if our state continues to rely more on intermittent, weather-dependent energy sources as House Democrats propose.
Swedzinski indicated all blackouts are bad, but winter blackouts in Minnesota could pose great dangers that House Democrats are not taking seriously. He said he’d rather see Minnesota focus on diversifying the state’s grid, tapping into new nuclear technology and carbon capture and storage as lower-cost alternatives for reducing carbon emissions.
Republicans offered amendments intended to improve H.F. 7, including by allowing generation and transmission outfits to evaluate their own criteria on whether to modify or delay standard obligations. Swedzinski said this takes the decision-making away from the Public Utilities Commission and provides a more flexible, common-sense approach allowing for market-based solutions instead of government mandates.
“This bill usurps the power of locally elected officials by forcing co-ops and municipal electric to follow the will of bureaucrats in St. Paul instead of honoring the will of their members,” Swedzinski said. “This amendment at least taps the brakes on this extreme, ideological energy policy moving forward in the Minnesota House. Call your Senator and ask them to please have common sense and allow market-driven solutions that have an all-of-the-above approach to our energy future.”
House Democrats blocked that amendment and other Republican proposals before approving the bill and sending to the Senate for a vote.
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