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STATE LAW SETS 2040 DEADLINE FOR ENERGY TO BE CARBON-FREE

The State of Minnesota recently passed a law requiring the state’s power utilities to use 100% clean electricity by 2040. It is the first state to do so. This means the state’s power companies must get ALL of their energy from carbon-free sources by 1940 (solar, wind, hydropower, hydrogen power, nuclear and biomass - which is energy generated from burning wood or other natural substances). In effect, this new law shortens the carbon-free requirement, previously promised by the state’s two main energy companies, by a full decade – from 2050 to 2040. WOW! It also means this will require a huge overhaul to its energy grid. The new law has a few other great provisions. First, the law provides for certain benchmarks the energy companies must reach such as 80% carbon-free energy by 2030, and 90% by 2035. The law “also stipulates that the energy companies would not be allowed to count any power generated from waste incineration plants built in low-income, majority-non-white communities. ”This is amazing! Let’s hope the law remains in place with any future changes in the state’s legislature and see if any other states are motivated to follow this precedent.