Looking back at Minnesota’s energy policy

Since last week, Minnesota’s state policy has been under enhanced scrutiny. It’s worth reviewing now what Minnesota’s disastrous energy policy. Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling, formerly of Center of the American Experiment and now of Always On Energy Research, have posted a comprehensive rundown.

I encourage you to read the full piece at Energy Bad Boys, but here’s a few highlights of the energy policies that have been enacted in Minnesota since 2019:

  • In 2019, a 20-cent increase (or 70 percent!) in the gas tax was proposed. That increase would have made Minnesota’s gas tax the 4th-highest nationwide. Our economist John Phelan documented the proposal in 2019.
  • In 2018, a mandate was proposed that would require 50 percent of Minnesota’s electricity to come from wind and solar by 2030. The goalposts then shifted to a 100 percent carbon-free mandate by 2050. What passed was a mandate for 100% wind and solar by 2040.
  • American Experiment’s modeling found that the mandate would cost $313 billion through 2050. For families, that is an average increase in electricity bills of $1,642 per year, rising to $2,934 per year by 2040.
  • Industrial customers would see an average increase in electricity costs of $222,387 annually, and after 2040, costs would rise to $397,450.
  • American Experiment’s modeling also shows that a Minnesota grid powered by wind, solar, and battery storage would experience a 55-hour blackout in winter.
  • In 2019, Minnesota decided to follow California’s Zero-Emissions (ZEV) mandate, which took effect this year for model year 2025. The goal is that by 2035, all new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in California are zero-emissions, and Minnesota signed up to do the same. However, that’s much less practical in Minnesota given that extreme cold zaps the batteries of EVs and significantly drains their charge.
  • Another proposal advocated in 2022 was the adoption of California’s “Low Carbon Fuel Standard,” which American Experiment estimates would increase prices by 39 to 45 cents per gallon by 2040. Annually, Minnesotans could see an average increase of $350 to $476 in gasoline expenses.