By Frank Jossi for Energy News Network.
Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Joyce Foundation-Public News Service Collaboration

A coalition of labor and environmental groups is putting its support behind perennial Minnesota legislation meant to lift a barrier to building power lines in the rights-of-way of federal highways in the state.

NextGen Highways is a national collaboration that promotes co-location of utility infrastructure in existing highway corridors as a way to accelerate expansion of the electric grid.

The concept has widespread public support, according to the group's polling, but it also faces various legal, financial, and technical obstacles across the country.

"What we're trying to do in Minnesota - and in states across the country - is to identify barriers and work with our coalition partners to develop strategies to overcome those barriers," said Randy Satterfield, executive director of NextGen Highways.

One example in Minnesota is a state law requiring the Minnesota Department of Transportation to pay utilities if they are forced to move any assets, such as poles or towers, in federal highway rights-of-way. A pair of bills (House Bill 3900, Senate Bill 3949) would shift those costs to utilities instead, making it consistent with existing rules for state highway corridors.

Without that change, the state won't allow transmission projects to be built in its portion of federal highway rights-of-way. State transportation officials have proposed such legislation multiple times since 2012, but the bills have never succeeded amid opposition from utilities.

Many transmission projects already follow highway corridors, Satterfield said. They include several announced last year by MISO, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Three of those projects cover portions of Minnesota and follow highways for parts of their routes.

Not all transmission lines that share routes with highways are located within the public right-of-way. Some are built on adjacent private property instead, which still requires negotiations with hundreds of individual owners. When developers have the option of placing towers or burying lines within the public right-of-way, it can significantly streamline a project.

With clean energy's escalating growth trajectory, more solar and wind developers will request permission to build projects and power lines in rural communities, Satterfield predicted.

"I think we owe it to (communities) to at least consider utilizing existing linear infrastructure, like highways and interstates, for the transmission infrastructure," he said.

'This is a kind of low-hanging fruit'

Still, transmission developers wanting to take these routes often run into obstacles. Many state departments of transportation still recall a federal restriction, since rescinded, that did not allow transmission in federal highway rights-of-way, he said. Other states have no culture of allowing highway rights-of-way to co-locate with transmission.

NextGen Highways formed to advocate for transmission in highway corridors and to encourage states to remove any barriers to that goal. Minnesota is the first state where it has launched a state coalition to advance the concept.

"Transmission congestion is the biggest hurdle that we have to overcome to reach our 100% energy goals and to get more renewables and other forms of energy on the grid," said George Damian, government affairs director for Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, a nonprofit that is part of the coalition. "This is a kind of a low-hanging fruit. These rights-of-way owned by the state can be utilized for transmission."

Utilities, lawmakers and stakeholders continue to discuss the legislation. Theo Keith, Xcel Energy's spokesperson, said the utility has been "encouraged by the early conversations we've had with lawmakers and other stakeholders." Xcel has proposed hundreds of miles of transmission lines in road corridors and often shares easements with the transportation department, he said.

Keith cited the CapX2020 project as an example of Xcel and other utilities building a major transmission corridor adjacent to the Interstate 94 right-of-way.

"Building new transmission lines is critical to meeting our clean energy goals and those of the states in which we operate, including Minnesota's 2040 benchmark," he said.

Overcoming barriers

Minnesota can look to its neighbor in Wisconsin for an example of how highway corridors could be used for transmission. That state passed a law 20 years ago to make federal and state highway rights-of-way a priority for siting transmission. Satterfield, who once worked for a transmission company in Wisconsin, said the state's utilities built more than 200 miles of transmission projects on federal highways.

Wisconsin did not ask utilities to move poles or other assets on any of the projects, he said. Wisconsin's Department of Transportation coordinates and plans projects with utilities to avoid potential problems, such as highway lane expansion that could encroach on transmission lines.

In addition to changing the Minnesota statute on utility colocation on federal roads, the NexGen Highway Coalition wants the Legislature to consider a siting priorities law. The law requires utilities to consider existing transportation corridors, such as highways and railways, before opting for greenfield development.

Minnesota Department of Transportation Strategic Partnerships Director Jessica Oh said the agency had put forth five to six legislative proposals since 2012 to repeal the language in the statute regarding utility infrastructure near federal highways and will support continued efforts. Utilities opposed the measure because of the additional expense they might incur in projects, she said.

A change to the state law was also suggested in a report to the legislature based on permitting reform discussions held by the Public Utilities Commission, she said.

In studying Wisconsin's experience, the department learned the importance of early coordination with clean energy developers and utilities "is key to the success of the whole process." Minnesota transportation staff have conducted early planning sessions involving aerial encroachments on state highways with utility partners.

Oh said the department's "highest concern" around utility infrastructure has always been safety. Should the legislation pass, the transportation department will continue to work closely with utilities, especially since power lines will become instrumental in moving electric vehicles on highways.

Oh added Minnesota is among 11 states selected by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Transportation Research Board's National Cooperative Highway Research Program for a "moonshots" program for state departments of transportation. Oh leads the initiative in Minnesota to co-locate more transmission and broadband in highway corridors.

"We have a stake in this because of the electrification of transportation," Oh said. "I tend to think our fates are intertwined in energy and transportation."

Great Plains Institute convenes NextGen Highways, which partners with the Center for Rural Affairs, Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, Conservative Energy Forum, Fresh Energy, Laborers' International Union of North America-Minnesota and North Dakota, Mechanical Contractors Association, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the National Audubon Society.


Frank Jossi wrote this article for Energy News Network.


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Utility providers foresee a big rise in electricity demand which could lead to double-digit rate hikes if it is met with new natural gas-fired power plants, according to a new report.

PJM is the nonprofit independent system managing the power grid in Pennsylvania and 12 other states. It forecasts the need for 67 more gigawatts by 2039.

Sean O'Leary, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, said relying on natural gas for the increased power demand could drive up Pennsylvania's rates faster than the national average. He cautioned addressing the climate effects of increased carbon emissions later could make costs skyrocket even more.

"It costs almost as much to retrofit a gas-fired power plant so that it won't emit greenhouse gases as it costs to build the plant in the first place," O'Leary pointed out. "Right now, Pennsylvanians get about 60% of all of their electricity from natural gas."

O'Leary noted PJM anticipates needing around 100 gigawatts of new capacity, combining 30 gigawatts of retiring coal and older gas plants with additional demand, equating to about two-thirds of the system's current generation capacity.

The Institute's report recommended prioritizing renewable resources and called on PJM to reevaluate its demand projections, since it has a history of overestimating future needs. He added more than 90% of PJM's upcoming projects are solar, wind and battery storage, which underscores the growing role of renewable energy and efficiency measures.

"I think in total, there are more than 90 gigawatts, currently, of renewable resources currently queued up and wanting the opportunity to provide energy to PJM," O'Leary reported. "That should be the first place that PJM turns."

He added states like Texas have made enough progress on renewables, solar and wind power now supply almost one-third of the state's electricity. The report showed the growth in renewable energy has also seen rates come down significantly, surpassing Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, where it was once thought the natural gas boom lowered energy costs.

A new report contended Alabama needs to invest more in energy efficiency so it can do more to lower power bills and curb the effects of climate change.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's report, "Energy Efficiency in the Southeast," said Alabama trails other states in utility company energy efficiency investments. It found this leads not only to higher energy bills for customers, but increased carbon emissions contributing to the warming climate.

Eddy Moore, decarbonization director for the alliance, said there are multiple benefits to prioritizing energy efficiency.

"If we take energy efficiency seriously, there will be everyday cost savings, there will be delays of expensive investments," Moore outlined. "There's also a reliability benefit."

The report found utilities like Duke Energy in North and South Carolina outperform others in the Southeast, with Alabama Power at the bottom of the list.

Heather Pohnan, senior energy policy manager for the alliance, said the barriers to energy efficiency in Alabama include limited funding, minimal program investment and challenges in reaching low-income and rental housing markets. She noted federal funding, from sources like the Inflation Reduction Act, could be a substantial resource.

"The IRA includes tens of billions of dollars for energy efficiency," Pohnan pointed out. "It was a massive investment that includes tax credits, consumer rebates, loan programs and competitive grant opportunities."

She noted Alabama has yet to apply for key resources, like Home Energy Rebate funds. The future of the funding is unclear with the new leadership headed to the White House. But the report argued energy efficiency will be essential to bolster Alabama's power grid against the rising electricity demands of data centers and population growth and to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events.

Virginians are buying more electric vehicles and need more charging stations but they are not being built across the state equally.

House Bill 1791 would create the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Fund to help private developers install charging stations.

Del. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax County, sponsored the bill and said federal efforts to build charging stations focus on areas on or within a mile of an interstate. While it makes sense, he argued rural areas should not be left out of the transition to electric vehicles.

"The bill is sort of rooted in the notion that all Virginians and all parts of Virginia should be participating in the transition to clean energy and to clean cars," Sullivan explained.

Sullivan added an increase in charging stations in rural areas would help those traveling through communities and increase tourism. Last month, the president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association called for more charging stations for electric vehicles in rural areas.

This will be the fourth time Sullivan has introduced the legislation. The first two times, the bill did not make it into the budget. Last year, the legislation reached the House of Delegates budget but not the state Senate's. He is hopeful the bill will cross the finish line, with $25 million for the fund. This year's bill emphasizes building charging stations around state and national parks in the Commonwealth to increase tourism.

"We're glad a lot of people come into Virginia but we got people coming in from all over the country, certainly neighboring states and many of them will be driving an EV," Sullivan pointed out. "We want those who are driving EVs to feel comfortable that they'll be able to charge their cars when they come visit us here in Virginia."

The Virginia Automobile Dealers Association saw a 49% increase in electric vehicles purchased in 2023. Last year, electric vehicles accounted for nearly 9% of all new vehicles sold in the Commonwealth.


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