Minnesota Clean:
An Energy Security Declaration

Vision Statement

Energy and its use and misuse shape aspects of our daily lives today.  From the wars we choose to fight to the pollution we breathe and the global climate change we create, to the money spent to heat our homes and drive our cars, we all pay too high a price by being dependent on finite fossil resources.   Minnesota Clean:  An Energy Security Declaration will move us forward to energy self-sufficiency, growing our economy by transforming our state into energy exporters rather than the number-one electricity importer we are today.

While the U.S. federal government pursues an incoherent approach to energy policy and military aggression, we in Minnesota can and must demonstrate leadership to make Minnesota energy independent through conservation, energy-efficiency, and investment in clean energy.  

Energy policy should be evaluated and promoted using three Big E criteria championed within the business model -- Economic Development, Equity, and Environmental protection:

• Economic development policy considers the future pay off -- spend a little more now for a good return on the money later.

• Equity policies help everyone -- with a particular emphasis on underserved populations.  

• Environmental protection policy considers the Precautionary Principle minimizing or eliminating environmental harm even without scientific certainty.

Minnesota Clean:  An Energy Security Declaration stimulates economic development by conserving energy, promoting energy efficiency and investing in clean, renewable sources of energy.  Leaving out any one of these three concepts creates imbalance.  A Minnesota-led, market-based energy plan will create quality jobs and stimulate business growth.  Investments in energy efficiency yield two to ten times as many jobs per dollar invested as do investments in fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Minnesota Clean:  An Energy Security Declaration will achieve:

1. Energy independence

2. Sustainability

3. Economic viability

4. Rethinking, reorganizing and rebuilding our transportation systems

5. Universal participation by citizens and businesses

6. Analytical standards for scientific and technological discoveries
   

Definitions:

Energy Independence – Currently, Minnesota spends $20 billion per year to import oil, gas, coal, electricity and other forms of energy.  Energy independence will mean stopping or reversing that outflow of financial assets.

Sustainability - a balanced relationship between a population and the carrying capacity of that population's environment such that one does not affect the other.  Simply put, you can keep doing something forever without damaging or using up something else.

Economic viability – Businesses survive and thrive when they adapt to changing markets. 

Analytical standards – professionally advised administrative decision making outside of the political process.

The State of Minnesota proposes to achieve energy independence in Minnesota by the year 2030 with the following measures:
 

1.   Enacting a Renewable Energy Standard – Setting a 20% Renewable Electricity Standard by no later than 2020 stimulating heightened renewable energy economic activity.  Directives to state departments and agencies in budget-setting to incorporate Renewable Energy Standards implementation.  This will include incentives to create the infrastructure for purchasing electrical generation from small- and mid-sized wind farmers. 

2.   Highly Energy Efficient Buildings – 
(where 40% of energy use is now spent)

a.   Energy Efficiency Codes updated to achieve compliance levels 30% above current levels.  

b.   Large-scale development (in excess of 50,000 square feet) required to utilize energy mapping.

c.   State subsidized public housing will be required to meet enhanced minimum high-efficiency standards for insulation, energy-star appliances, energy-efficient windows and lighting.

d.   Private-public partnership to encourage writing "green" mortgages.  Implement a uniform system of energy rating for every home sold.

e.   State buildings and higher education facilities will receive a comprehensive energy assessment and expedited retrofitting to reduce energy consumption; these projects will receive higher weighting in bonding ranking than build-new projects.

f.    Every Minnesota Public School will participate in the national School Energy Efficiency ( SEE ) Program to save at least 10% on all energy bills via conservation.

g.  State tax credits to encourage use of solar hot water systems. 
 

3.    Smarter, Modern Energy Regulation –

a.   Energy efficient rate structuring by Decoupling of utility profits from volume sales.  The current rate structure essentially rewards higher energy use and inefficiency.

b.   Pay for Performance market-driven principles implemented to ensure improved economic and operational efficiency.  This regulatory tool will foster alternative energy use and renewables.

c.   Reduction to the regulatory impediments to co-generation facilities.

d.   Expand municipal authority in utility franchise negotiations to include energy conservation and renewable emergency standards in their agreements.
 

4.     Pollution-reducing 21^st Century Transportation Excellence

a.   State fleet will fully phase in hybrids, flex fuel, biodiesel to replace oil-dependent vehicle for all practical uses.

b.   State income tax credit for buyers of very-high efficiency hybrids (federally rated higher than 40 mpg) and certified biofuel vehicles.

c.   Hybrid and flex fuel vehicles permitted to use HOV lanes.

d.   Facilitate university biofuels research projects, supporting their intellectual property rights; enhanced partnering between government and the science/engineering community based on the land-grant model of research for the public good.  Research emphasis to include cellulosic ethanol from switch grass and other sources, sugar beets, and biodiesel from diverse sources such as algae from sewage treatment.

e.    Promote sustainable alternative ethanol production – 20% sustainably grown and produced by 2020.

f.    Incentives to gas stations to sell biofuels (E85, B20, biodiesel and other types fuels).

g.   Recognition of the interconnected modal roles of roads, transit and alternatives – all funded adequately.  Ending the transportation funding gridlock could come in 2006 with voter approval of total Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) dedication.  Alternatively (if ballot question fails), substantial funding progress can be achieved through a transit-dedicated Carbon Tax (computed through vehicle model mpg-rating proxy and collected annually through the existing vehicle registration tab fee structure).

h.   Request federal waiver from ban on E85 retrofits based on state-higher education research indicating functionality and reliability of units.

        5.   The State of Minnesota will selectively enroll in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX)  as an incentive to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.  CCX is the world's first greenhouse gas (GHG) emission registry, reduction and trading system for all six greenhouse gases (GHGs). CCX is a self-regulatory, rules based exchange designed and governed by CCX members. Members make a voluntary but legally binding commitment to reduce GHG emissions.  ( New Mexico is the first state to participate in the CCX.)