Embedded Files
Submitted to the Mesabi Tribune 11/10/2023 by Katya Gordon
The interests of Americans are merging around how we want to power our homes and cars—a fact that would be easy to miss beneath today’s political and global upheaval.
Everyone I know favors affordable, reliable energy. Increasingly, clean energy is also the cheapest and most dependable, for a litany of reasons. The monetary cost of wind, solar, and a growing array of alternatives (including nuclear and hydro) is dropping, and will drop even farther if enforced permitting reform brings timelines down for nuclear plant construction from its current 80-month average wait to the UK’s 54-month average. Add to this the possible BIG WIRES Act, which boasts bi-partisan sponsorship and paves the path for regions to connect across the country to increase reliability during regional storms, floods, heat waves, or other blackouts, and we are looking at significant improvement in our energy system.
Almost a hundred years ago we figured out how to streamline our transportation system with highways across state borders, to everyone’s benefit. We haven’t yet applied that knowledge to our energy supply. I don’t want us to wait for our first blackout crisis in the upper Midwest. Advocate for permitting reform now. Permitting reform will insure that clean energy gets a fair shot on the market and will soon enable our current energy system, with its price hikes and blackout vulnerability, to transform to what we all want—clean, reliable, and affordable energy to every household.
Katya Gordon
Two Harbors
By Pat Fettes. Published in the Isanti-Chisago County Star and the Forest Lake Times 12/7/2023.
We purchased an electric vehicle recently and we love it. It’s perfect for most of our transportation needs, and fun to drive!
Did you know many EVs have become more affordable with up to $7500 in tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act? Driving an EV causes less carbon pollution than a gas-powered vehicle as 55% of Minnesota’s electricity is currently generated from renewable and nuclear sources. People worry about “range anxiety” but honestly global warming scares me more. EVs aren’t perfect, but we appreciate being part of the transition to clean energy.
Some legislators want to slow the transition to clean energy, claiming it will cause power outages and cost consumers more. However, the cost for renewable energy has fallen, and the UN reports “Renewables are the cheapest form of power today.” Energy management and storage methods are rapidly advancing, making a reliable energy grid based on renewable sources possible. The BIG WIRES Act introduced in Congress will increase the grid’s resilience to threats like extreme weather and will accelerate our transition to cleaner energy. Considering the catastrophic costs of sticking with fossil fuels—more weather disasters, increased deaths due to heat/pollution, agricultural crises—clean energy looks better and better!
So, if you want to be a part of the transition to clean energy, consider driving an EV. And tell your legislators you want clean, affordable, reliable, and safe energy without delay; the BIG WIRES Act is a great start. Visit CitizensClimateLobby.org for more information.
Pat Fettes
Wyoming, MN
By Mary Haltvick. Published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press 11/19/2023.
Minnesotans want energy we can afford, energy that is always there 24/7 no matter what. And because we care about air quality and the effects of climate change, we want energy that is clean, carbon-free and safe for all.
In the early months of 2007, the Minnesota Legislature charted a newcourse for our state by passing an ambitious renewable energy standard(RES) for retail electricity sold in the state. A few months later it passed the Next Generation Energy Act (NGEA) requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by supporting clean energy and efficiency. Both bills passed with overwhelming support from both sides of the political aisle. It truly was a pivotal moment for Minnesota’s energy future and commitment to reducing carbon emissions. When Republican governor Tim Pawlenty signed the bills into law, he called them a “pathway to a better energy future.” He characterized them as policy that “benefits the environment, rural economies, national security and consumers.”
Fast forward and sixteen years later Minnesota is reaping the benefits. Utilities have successfully met the RES ahead of time, and we have a good chance of meeting the NGEA’s interim goal of reducing emissions 30% by 2025. Our state’s energy transformation continues at the same time we are creating clean energy jobs and keeping rates affordable.
This year’s Legislature was equally aspiring. It passed legislation requiring that 100% of Minnesota’s electricity be from carbon-free sources by 2040. Naysayers in both legislative chambers said it couldn’t be done, that it was
too ambitious. Rep. Zack Stephenson of Coon Rapids responded that it is not a good idea to bet against Minnesotans and their ingenuity. I think most Minnesotans would agree with him. We’ve been on this path since 2007, and we aren’t turning back. We can do this.
The Minnesota Legislature will reconvene in February of 2024. Tell your representative and senator that you want nothing less than a better future for the next generation, one that includes affordable, reliable, clean and safe energy.
Mary Haltvick
Shoreview, MN
By Michael Overend. Published in the Lake County Press on 12/1/23 and the Cook County News Herald on 12/1/23
Clean, Affordable, Reliable and Safe (CARS) is a good way to describe what renewable energy offers our families and communities.
A recent NY Times article detailed the amazing change that is happening in our US (and global) energy systems. Our public utilities are responding to economic market forces and rapidly transitioning to affordable and reliable renewables (wind and solar) and away from increasingly more expensive and polluting fossil fuel energy.
“Since 2009, the cost of solar power has plunged by 83 percent, while the cost of producing wind power has fallen by more than half…Today, solar and wind power are the least expensive new sources of electricity in many markets, generating 12 percent of global electricity and rising. This year, for the first time, global investors are expected to pour more money into solar power — some $380 billion — than into drilling for oil.”
Renewables provide an increasing percentage of our energy because of their growing cost-savings compared to fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) and they make our grid more reliable than the fossil fuels vulnerable to severe-weather equipment failures:
Using electricity to power our lives; LEDs for lighting, heat pumps for heating and cooling, water-heating and clothes-drying, induction stoves for cooking and electric vehicles for transportation dramatically increases our energy efficiency and lowers our costs for energy. The benefits of renewables in cost-savings and eliminating greenhouse gas and other air pollution make this transition a win-win-win for our family budgets, businesses, our environment and health:
The multiple advantages of moving from fossil fuels to 100% electricity generated from renewables to power our lives is called “Beneficial Electrification “ helping every US family and community. See RewiringAmerica.org to learn how the Inflation Reduction Act helps you benefit from Clean, Affordable, Reliable and Safe (CARS) renewable energy.
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