By Jenna Yeakle
Minnesota Power is the Northland’s largest investor-owned electric utility, serving almost 110,000 residents, 15 cities and 11 large industrial customers across a 26,000-square-mile service area in NE Minnesota. That’s bigger than New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, combined.
As illustrated in a recent MinnPost article, the Duluth-based Minnesota Power sits at the center of a complicated web of economic and environmental interests. The climate crisis has made visible how profit-seeking corporations promote dirty energy at the expense of both public health and a healthy environment, and how their support of polluting projects contribute to class, cultural and geographic divides. And in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, frontline communities and organizations are demanding a just recovery and energy transition—moving our Minnesota communities from fossil fuels and resource-extraction to a clean, equitable economy that works for everyone.
With upcoming resource planning and other state-mandated regulatory processes, Minnesota Power has the opportunity to move us forward. Unfortunately, the utility continues to invest in dirty, expensive energy, putting profit before people and planet.
Dirty Energy Costs Us
Minnesota Power’s image is proudly displayed on billboards and downtown signs using the phrase, Energy Forward. This clever advertising scheme boasts the company’s ability to reach 50% renewables (including wind, solar and purchased hydro energy) by 2021. At first glance, that’s impressive progress coming from a company that generated 95% of its power from coal that operated at 95% coal in 2005.
However, their Energy Forward “plan” stops in 2021, with only vague ideas of what comes next. They have kept silent about retiring their remaining coal plants (Boswell 3&4), they are proposing to build a new fracked gas plant, and their renewable energy expansion has stalled with no announcements to grow.
Minnesota Power is doing dirty business as usual while other Minnesota utilities are making larger and more long-reaching commitments to clean energy. For example, Xcel has set a goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2050, and Great River Energy recently announced retirement plans for its large coal plant, replacing it with wind power.
Coal and Gas are Business-as-Usual Fossil Fuels
The Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset, MN—near the city of Grand Rapids—has two coal-fired burners still in operation, releasing millions of tons of pollutants into the air. We know that the coal industry is in rapid decline due to changing economics and a growing understanding for the need to reduce carbon emissions. That’s why coal plant workers and the surrounding communities can’t be left in the dark; they deserve a timeline as soon as possible so that worker and community driven planning can start now for a just transition.
The Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a proposed fracked gas plant sited to operate in Superior, WI, is a deal between Minnesota Power and Wisconsin’s Dairyland Power. NTEC would cost ratepayers over $700 million dollars, plus the cost for pipelines and infrastructure to support the plant. If built, NTEC would emit over one million tons of carbon per year, destroy wetlands, and leave ratepayers on the hook for recovering the costs of an inevitable stranded asset.
Right now, Minnesota Power could respond to rapidly shifting economics and begin planning for the 100% clean energy future Minnesotans are calling for. They could set a date to retire its coal plant and run it less up until retirement. They could reconsider cleaner options than fracked gas, saving customers money and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
Minnesota Power could do a lot for our health, our environment, and our bank accounts. But will they?
100% Clean Energy Future
Minnesotans want bold action on climate and a pathway towards a sustainable economy that works for everyone. As we work to keep ourselves and our communities safe, our utilities should be seeking ways to support a just transition that benefits workers, ratepayers and whole communities.
Minnesota Power is gearing up for its long-term energy plan.The decisions we make today will shape our economy, health and climate for decades to come. Running coal plants and building new gas plants won’t get us there. Join us in advocating for Minnesota Power customers demanding a commitment to 100% clean, equitable energy and a path forward that works for everyone. Sierra Club and its partners are asking Minnesota Power to include the following priorities as it plans for the future:
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Address the climate crisis by committing to a 100% clean energy portfolio of wind, solar, storage and efficiency
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Develop community and worker transition plans with communities impacted by the retirement of the Boswell coal plant
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Provide equitable access to all of clean energy’s benefits
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Ensure fair costs for all customers
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Plan for clean, smart electrification of transportation and buildings
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Protect all ratepayers by halting utility shut-offs and forgiving utility debt for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic
Take Action
Tell Minnesota Power that 100% clean and equitable energy is right for the Northland!
Questions? Comments? Want to get involved? Contact Jenna Yeakle at jenna.yeakle@sierraclub.org