Minnesota
MN GOP bill: Make utilities prioritize renewables when retiring fossil fuels
The “motivational bill” isn’t expected to pass, but its author hopes it will spur discussion about how Minnesota replaces retiring power plant capacity.
community solar
Community power scorecard docks Minnesota on clean energy policies
A recent scorecard by a think tank that proclaimed Minnesota’s community solar program to be the best in the nation says the state is missing out on other opportunities to help residents and communities access clean energy.
biomass
Despite promising advances, costs keep wood biocoal on backburner
A northern Minnesota research lab’s biocoal product is impressive but will likely struggle to overcome economic challenges facing wood fuels. At a research lab in the northwoods of Minnesota, scientists are roasting tree waste until it turns into something that looks and burns like coal — without the heavy metal pollution. The finished product is called “biocoal” or “torrefied biomass,” and a team of University of Minnesota-Duluth researchers hope it might someday displace coal to fuel power plants, reinvigorating the region’s forestry economy and reducing carbon emissions at the same time. The work at the Natural Resources Research Institute lab, about 200 miles north of the Twin Cities, appears to be the latest technical advance for woody biomass. The team’s facility is able to produce as much as 6 tons per day of the biocoal, which has energy values similar to coal.
nuclear
Xcel nuclear bill critic says upgrades would hurt region’s wind prospects
Always-on nuclear power plants make it tough for wind energy to compete at night when demand is low.
Volkswagen settlement
Minnesota aims for equitable urban-rural split on VW settlement spending
After rural lawmakers expressed concern about the distribution of settlement funds, Minnesota regulators propose a split based on where vehicles were registered.