June 2016
Big Global Warming Victory!
Public Utilities Commission Protects Customers from MN Power’s Aging Coal Plants
On June 9, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted unanimously to approve Minnesota Power’s 15-year resource plan, requiring additional coal retirements and additional investments in wind, solar, and energy savings. Many Fresh Energy members joined science policy director J. Drake Hamilton in asking the PUC to retire coal at Taconite Harbor 1&2 units on the shore of Lake Superior, and Boswell 1&2 in Cohasset, and to require more wind, solar, and energy savings from Minnesota Power. Fresh Energy successfully intervened in the case before the PUC, providing substantial evidence for the record in a coalition with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Sierra Club, and Wind on the Wires, known as the Clean Energy Organizations(CEOs).
Minnesota regulators approved Minnesota Power’s plan with big modifications including:
- Retiring Boswell 1 and 2 coal units no later than 2022;
- Requiring Taconite Harbor 1 and 2 coal units to be economically idled in 2016, and to cease coal operations by the end of 2020;
- Initiate competitive bidding for 100 to 300 MW of wind energy by the end of 2017;
- The PUC found that up to 100 MW of additional solar energy by 2022 is likely an economic resource for Minnesota Power;
- Signifying “that energy efficiency as a resource is real,” the PUC set annual average energy savings goals at 76.5 gigawatt-hours, almost 34 percent more energy savings than Minnesota Power proposed.
- The PUC required Minnesota Power to propose a demand-response competitive bidding process within 6 months, to investigate the potential for an energy efficiency competitive bidding process; and
- The PUC ordered that Minnesota Power not presume natural gas replacement for coal units, and include a full analysis of replacement options in the next resource plan, due February 1, 2018, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, distributed generation, and demand response.
Minnesota Power’s proposed 15-year business plan did not achieve the level of renewable energy increases or coal reductions that were least cost and in the best interest of Minnesota Power’s customers. Clean Energy Organizations and large energy users agreed that Minnesota Power and the PUC should proceed with caution in requiring new natural gas plants. The PUC decision is based on economic analyses by the Minnesota Department of Commerce that demonstrated that wind, solar, and energy savings are better for customers than continued coal operation.
Fossil fuels are costly to our health, the climate, and our economy. Minnesota Power filed its plan with no additional wind resources over 15 years, which means their customers would not get the advantages of the federal tax incentives for wind and solar renewed by bipartisan Congressional vote in December. Instead, the PUC required the company to initiate a request for proposals of 100-300 megawatts of wind energy by 2017.
Learn about historic opportunities to cut carbon – invite a Fresh Energy expert
Want to learn more about what your electric utility can do to cut carbon and grow renewable energy, and how you can help? Invite Fresh Energy to speak to your business or civic organization. Fresh Energy’s J. Drake Hamilton has a national reputation for delivering engaging presentations that are rich in information and inspire people to take action. She connects the dots between actions from Minnesota communities, business leaders and governments that meet the scale of the challenge. Contact J. Drake Hamilton at [email protected] or by phone at (651) 726-7562.
