As signs of climate change surface in Minnesota, policymakers and utilities are making a hard charge to transition to clean energy sources, but questions remain about whether the power grid will be ready.

Citing independent estimates, the U.S. Department of Energy said to meet demand for sources like wind and solar, the nation will need to expand transmission systems by 60% by 2030 and possibly triple them by 2050.

Amelia Cerling Hennes, managing director of the group Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, said the nation's current grid system is old, and was not designed for the newer approach to powering up cars, homes and businesses.

"As more of us convert to electric vehicles, and getting off of our natural gas-powered appliances at home; as we're electrifying things, we're going to need more electricity," Cerling Hennes pointed out. "The current system is just not going to cut it."

There has been promising news, such as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator last year approving $10 billion in projects to integrate more renewable energy. But Hennes warned completing a new transmission line can take up to a decade, and said there should be more urgency in permitting projects, without minimizing public input.

The process is playing out with a proposed transmission line project by Xcel Energy in parts of western Minnesota.

Molly Malone, manager of Minnesota community affairs for the renewable energy developer Invenergy, said they are putting together a wind project which would connect to Xcel's planned line.

"We're not only doing it because of the strong wind resource in the area, but also because there is transmission expansion happening," Malone pointed out. "That transmission expansion is critical to the development of our wind project. They go hand-in-hand."

Not only is grid space a deciding factor, but developers also have to navigate the many layers of approval, including regulators, local governments and buy-in from community members. Hennes noted not getting them all on the same page will make it harder to meet the state's zero-carbon energy goals.

"If we're going to have 100% clean energy by 2040, which is 17 years away, the window of time is pretty short," Hennes cautioned.

This spring, Minnesota lawmakers addressed certain permitting issues, but Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged efficiencies still need to be addressed next session. Around the U.S., the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said it takes five years for the average project to be completed.

A recently signed law expands New York City's solar property tax abatement. This four year tax abatement allows for the construction of solar generating systems with residential and commercial buildings in the city. Building owners would end up saving more than $62,000 per year. The new legislation expands the abatement from 20% to 30% starting in 2024.

Noah Ginsburg, executive director of the New York Solar Energy Industries Association, said this can help make up any lost progress in the city's goal to reach 1-gigawatt of solar by 2030.

"The city has made some good progress toward that goal, but I don't think they were on track to achieve that goal necessarily," Ginsburg said. "This expanded incentive we think puts us more on track to hit that goal. Our forecast is that this will help close that gap by about 95 megawatts, give or take."

While this bill has its own benefits, it can boost other climate legislation in the city. A bill has recently been proposed by City Councilmember Sandy Nurse to get 100 megawatts of solar on city-owned buildings by 2025. By 2030, the bill expands that target to 150 megawatts into private buildings.

Despite the benefits it poses, the abatement was only extended to 2034, at which point legislation will have to extend it again. Ginsburg said that is due to keeping the city's funding in line with federal programs, and added there are plans to introduce a bill to strengthen the state's residential solar tax credit.

"So, anywhere in New York State, today, if you install solar panels on your home, you're entitled to a tax credit of up to 25% of the cost of the system," he explained. "That incentive is capped at $5,000 per household, and that cap hasn't increased since 2006."

Ginsburg noted this proposed legislation would be an inflation adjustment to the incentive cap, and hopes to see the bill before the State Legislature in next year's session.


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New research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found making hydrogen from natural gas, so-called "blue hydrogen," is not much better than burning fossil fuels, and will waste billions in federal government spending.

David Schlissel, director of resource planning analysis at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and the study's co-author, said people should be paying attention to the issue because the federal government is banking on blue hydrogen technology he argued could worsen climate change instead of mitigating its effects.

"The government is planning to spend maybe upwards of $70 billion on subsidies related to hydrogen," Schlissel pointed out. "There are a lot of uncertainties with the technology, and with factors like how much natural gas, which is used in the production of blue hydrogen, how much is going to leak into the atmosphere."

In addition, the report found government agencies may be significantly understating the environmental impact of methane, the primary component of natural gas. Fossil fuel companies have said blue hydrogen produced from methane or coal can be manufactured cleanly and can be part of the solution to the climate crisis.

Schlissel contended U.S. Department of Energy models are also based on an extremely optimistic set of assumptions about future carbon-capture technology. Models currently estimate 95% or more of the carbon dioxide produced at blue hydrogen facilities will be captured.

"There is no facility in the world that captures anywhere near that much carbon dioxide," Schlissel countered. "And the testing that's gone on to date is relatively small scale."

According to the report, carbon dioxide emissions involved in fully compressing, storing and transporting the hydrogen to the site where it will be used is more than three times as much as the Department of Energy's clean hydrogen standard.

A proposal to allow utility-scale solar operations for Washington Township in Delaware County is meeting with some setbacks and one nonpartisan group thinks it is time for more discussion.

Almost 200,000 Indiana homes are powered by solar energy, but the Delaware County Commission issued a moratorium on solar development last year. It created a study committee for further review and then, the unexpected death of a commissioner delayed creation of a new ordinance.

Linda Hanson, spokesperson for the League of Women Voters of Muncie-Delaware County, said the community needs to use the city's resources economically and responsibly.

"We believe that natural resources should be managed as interrelated parts of life-supporting ecosystems," Hanson explained. "We need to conserve and protect those resources for future availability."

The League backs ending the moratorium and passing an ordinance to approve solar installations in the Muncie area, based on a responsible review of each proposal on its individual merits. Another hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.

Landowners in towns from Gaston to Matthews are voicing concerns about their property values potentially dropping if more solar farms are built. Some are also upset they were notified about a 2021 ordinance for another solar project, Meadow Forge, after it had been approved.

Hanson thinks the commissioners are leaning toward lifting the moratorium and allowing more solar development, with sufficient review.

"You try and look at how this can work responsibly, and that seems to be where we're getting pushback," Hanson observed. "When we track it, it seems to be coming from people who have investments in coal and petroleum."

Indiana is already home to the Mammoth Solar farm in Starke and Pulaski counties. The 13,000 acre facility is the country's largest. Built in 2021, the farm is expected to bring $1.5 billion in investment into the state over the next five years.


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