Despite gains in certain areas, Minnesota is still behind its current goals to reduce carbon emissions. But those in the clean-energy sector see big opportunities in 2023.

Groups pushing for a quicker transition to these sources feel the upcoming legislative session could pave the way for key decisions to accelerate progress.

Amelia Cerling Hennes, director of communications and public affairs for Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, said all the market pieces are there for the state to jump into the fast lane that leads to more non-fossil sources.

She said that should compel lawmakers to adopt a revised state goal of 100% clean energy by 2040.

"That's an important signal to businesses in the state," said Cerling Hennes, "saying, 'Hey, we are committed to this.'"

Cerling Hennes said the timing is right, with clean-energy costs at record lows. And the International Energy Agency now predicts that in a couple of years, renewables will replace coal as the largest source of electricity.

Regional utilities have made efforts to help with Minnesota's transition, but wonder about meeting the proposed goal while balancing affordability and reliability.

In trying to establish more progress, advocates say the Legislature could help by updating building standards for new development.

Becky Wacker is an area manager with Trane, an HVAC and energy services company. She noted that in a colder climate, homes and buildings use a lot of natural gas for heat.

She said that contributes to these structures accounting for 40% of carbon emissions. But there's emerging alternatives.

"Moving towards the electrification of heat in Minnesota, the technology is here," said Wacker. "There's great technology around heat pumps, heat recovery chillers, etc. There's also great thermal storage options."

Wacker said federal policy, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, gives states more tools to work with in embracing these technologies.

Meanwhile, advocates continue to push state lawmakers to approve matching funds for clean-energy projects provided by the federal infrastructure law.

As for reducing transportation emissions, Minnesota is pulling together resources to add more electric vehicle charging stations.

But Cerling Hennes suggested that the state can still dip into its large budget surplus to create an even more enticing market for consumers.

"Putting more money to build out EV charging networks so that consumers feel like if they do get an electric car," said Cerling Hennes, "they can go anywhere in the state and charge because there is still that, kind of, range anxiety that exists."

Environmental groups are pleased with an Iowa Utilities Board ruling that requires MidAmerican Energy to make planning studies public for its Iowa Wind PRIME project.

The massive green energy project is expected to add more than 2,000 megawatts of wind energy and 50 megawatts of solar energy to the power grid.

But some groups say the public should be able to see the background studies, including what MidAmerican might do with its coal plants.

Sierra Club Senior Attorney Laurie Williams said Iowans deserve to know if the $3.9 billion facility is a reasonable alternative to other green energy solutions.

"I think it's a powerful statement of accountability," said Williams. "MidAmerican is a monopoly utility that recovers rates from captive customers. And what the board is saying is the public deserves transparency into how the utility is making decisions about how it plans to meet electricity needs."

MidAmerican says the Wind PRIME project is part of the utility's plan to provide 100% renewable energy for its customers without raising rates.

The company still operates a half dozen coal-fired power plants.

MidAmerican also operates 36 wind projects with more than 3,300 turbines across Iowa.

The company says in addition to providing more renewable energy, Wind PRIME would offer customers rate stability.

But Williams said other utilities are required to provide more information to the public, to make sure they're spending money wisely - and MidAmerican should not get a special exception.

"Not all of the information in these studies should be privileged or confidential," said Williams. "The high-level information contained in the study doesn't warrant a 'trade secret' designation."

Iowa is among the nation's leaders in wind energy production, which makes up 58% of the state's electricity generation.

By Francesca Mathewes for Reasons to be Cheerful.
Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Take a stroll around Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood on a sun-filled spring afternoon and it’s pretty much guaranteed you’ll come across Romanesque-style greystones, classic brick three-flats and the sound of children deep in an after-school game of kickball echoing from the back alleys. What you might not be expecting is the brightly-colored mural emerging out of a vast, vacant lot along South Michigan Avenue — and, more significantly, the massive electrical battery that lies behind that painted cinder block wall.

That battery is but one part of the Bronzeville Community Microgrid, which combines rooftop solar, natural gas-fired generators and batteries to produce and store energy at a local level. Once fully operational, it will, in effect, render the entire neighborhood “energy independent,” giving it the ability to disconnect from and reconnect to Chicago’s citywide grid at will.

This will earn it the accolade of becoming the country’s first neighborhood-scale microgrid, (although its founders, Commonwealth Edison, or ComEd, point out that there could be other initiatives in the works of which they are unaware), with energy experts suggesting it could serve as a model for utilities and communities across the U.S.

Earlier this year, the project, which is funded in part by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, passed efficacy tests demonstrating that the basic design of the system works, although it still faces a number of engineering and permitting hurdles. Once those have been cleared, the microgrid will be able to power more than 1,000 homes, businesses and public institutions such as hospitals.

This kind of self-sufficiency will likely prove increasingly vital. Like many cities, Chicago’s first electrical grid began taking shape well over a century ago. These grids have become increasingly rickety as they age, and climate change is only exacerbating their deterioration. Last year, millions in the U.S. faced power outages amid heat waves, hurricanes and winter storms. 

To mitigate this, ComEd has sought to improve electric grids throughout the region over the last 10 years, including through the development of the Bronzeville microgrid. This has happened alongside more recent investments in national energy infrastructure, such as the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, signed into law last winter, which includes $65 billion for electric and grid infrastructure — the largest such investment in the country’s history. 

As part of the investments in the nation’s energy systems, microgrids are increasingly being recognized for their ability to create energy security at the community scale. Their value proved critical in northern California in 2019 when 13,000 people sought refuge — and functioning electricity — at a microgrid-powered casino owned by the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe as wildfires led to blackouts across the region. 

Bronzeville’s neighborhood microgrid offers more than energy resiliency, however — it has also become a blueprint for reducing communities’ contribution to climate change. This is due to the fact that the system gives its operators the ability, at scale, to introduce more renewables into its energy mix while reducing “line loss,” the electricity lost as it travels across power lines.

“Some estimates have said we lose up to 50 percent of electricity production through line loss,” says Yami Newell, a Bronzeville resident and the associate director of community projects at Elevate, a nonprofit that focuses on equitable solutions to community climate change issues. “So the shorter you can make the distance between where energy is generated and where it has to be delivered, the more significantly you reduce the problem.”

Getting connected 

A key aspect of the Bronzeville microgrid that could multiply its impact is its connection to an existing microgrid in the neighborhood, housed at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Previously, the IIT grid only serviced the surrounding campus. By connecting it to Bronzeville’s, ComEd is able to expand the reach of the grid to the entire area.

The “clustering” effect created by connecting the two microgrids allows them to share energy. So, if one has generated more electricity than it requires at that point in time and the other doesn’t have enough, then the one with excess can transfer that power to the other, keeping all customers in service without needing to tap into the less efficient citywide grid.

As no microgrid has ever been built on this scale in the U.S., getting to this point hasn’t been without challenges. In addition to significant delays due to engineering issues and the City of Chicago’s arduous permitting process, ComEd initially struggled to win the acceptance of the wider community.

Reasons for the latter are linked in part to the disinvestment and financial redlining the neighborhood has faced for the last 70 years. More recently, the community has seen an increase in investment by commercial and real estate developers. While celebrated by some, for many others this represents a story unfolding in cities across the country — one where shiny new developments and amenities are superimposed on communities without buy-in from the people who have been there the longest. 

In response, ComEd has been working with the community, including an advisory board of local leaders and residents, to help educate people about the purpose of the initiative and ensure it meets the needs of local residents.

One outcome of this collaboration was ComEd’s integration of local history and arts into the installation of the grid by commissioning a mural to be painted onto the sides of its battery box. The mural features the South Side Community Arts Center, located nearby the battery storage site, as well as prominent Black leaders from the neighborhood including journalist Ida B. Wells and inventor Lewis Latimer.

This addressed concerns that the battery storage site, located in the middle of a residential block, created an overly industrial-looking eyesore and disrupted the historic nature of the surrounding area. 

“That’s where the emphasis of the mural came into play — to improve the aesthetics of the battery energy storage site, but also, more importantly, to draw attention to the community,” says Cory Foster, the administrator of ComEd’s diversity enrichment program and external affairs manager.

In addition to gaining buy-in, Newell points out that initiatives like the Bronzeville Community Microgrid have the potential to create direct opportunities for local residents.

“When it comes to the jobs that exist to maintain and to build out all sorts of infrastructure around these kinds of projects, the goal is … prioritizing folks who are from those communities,” she says. “As we see more projects like this come online, including renewable projects, who’s going to fill those jobs? Will the people that are working there look like the people who live there? I think Bronzeville gives us an opportunity to say, yes, we can do that.”

Like other urban areas in Chicago and across the country, Bronzeville is dealing with a multitude of community issues, including public safety and population loss, in addition to more recent concerns around public health and job loss arising out of the pandemic. 

But local Alderman Pat Dowell sees the neighborhood microgrid as a step forward in establishing forward-thinking energy solutions and making sustainability a political priority. 

Already forthcoming in Bronzeville are new permits that will allow ComEd to install electric charging stations along major thoroughfares, which Dowell hopes will increase the amount of electric vehicles in the area. 

“We’re being forward thinking about how we can adapt to the changes that we see coming,” she says.

Conservation groups in Texas want the Environmental Protection Agency to continue its push for tighter restrictions on methane emissions at oil and gas well sites, especially in the Permian basin.

The group Environment Texas testified at recent EPA hearings. It cites flaring as a major concern, the process of burning methane into the air at well sites instead of capturing and using it.

Michael Lewis, a clean air and water advocate with Environment Texas, said flaring is not only damaging to the environment, but harmful to humans - especially those who are nearby.

"Methane, especially in Texas, causes health problems," he said. "If you live close to these sites, you have a higher rate of leukemia, higher rate of lymphoma, higher rate of cancer. It's not uncommon to see even radio-nucleotides, so literal radiation."

Lewis said wells are often located in economically disadvantaged areas where people have few options to avoid the pollution they emit. The EPA has also proposed rules to encourage oil companies to pursue recent advancements in methane-mitigation and leak-detection technology.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. But beyond emissions, advocates are also calling for stricter pipeline regulations.

In Texas, Lewis said, there are tens of thousands of miles of gas and oil pipeline, "much of which is still unregulated. And pipeline leaks. We don't have enough inspectors, we don't have people going out and checking them. Now, with some of our new equipment that's out there, such as drone monitoring, we can be checking this stuff."

The Environmental Defense Fund has said the EPA's proposal to tighten rules on emissions is a step in the right direction, the group wants to see stronger action to end pollution and reduce flaring.