Blog

The 2020 election season is over. No matter which side of the aisle you lean, it’s most likely safe to say we’re all glad it’s over. The results of this year’s election at both the state and federal level will impact the potential for clean energy policy progress in 2021. We continue to be engaged. For example, our CEEM members met with candidates for State Senate to provide education on our industry and policy opportunities. We continue to look for opportunities to inform policymakers about how and why clean energy policy matters.

According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, residential and commercial buildings account for 40% of the energy use and emissions in the United States. As policymakers and businesses aim to improve sustainability and quality of life (for example, hundreds of cities are signed up for the Minnesota Green Steps Program) it is clear that to achieve important goals, the United States needs to drastically reduce its reliance on fossil fuels in homes and commercial buildings. Increasing the focus on energy use in buildings leads to a new focus - on electrifying buildings. Building electrification can help lower emissions, costs, and unleash innovation economy-wide.  

Elected officials work hard to represent the interests of their constituents at the capitol and local, state and national levels. These offices want to hear input from the communities they represent. Personal testimonies, pictures, and stories are important tools for elected officials to use in debates over clean energy issues. It is you, the neighbors and constituents that these elected officials rely upon.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, communities in Greater Minnesota were facing uncertain futures. Now, nearly six months into a peacetime emergency that was first declared by Governor Tim Walz on March 13, 2020, the impacts of COVID-19 have only exacerbated the economic development challenges Greater Minnesota has faced for years. Farm incomes are at historic lows, local government revenues are down, and thousands of jobs have been lost. 

Minnesota’s clean energy sector has consistently added jobs at a faster rate than overall statewide job growth. In 2019, clean energy jobs grew 2.5 times faster than all other sectors of Minnesota’s economy. Before the pandemic hit, clean energy employers projected 7 percent growth in 2020 -- or adding more than 4,500 new jobs. Over 10,000 clean energy workers lost their jobs during the pandemic, but with Minnesota’s history of solid growth, we expect to see them and more come back as the economic recovery begins. 

Considering a career in clean energy? You’re not alone. In 2019 Clean Jobs Midwest reported that there were more than 61,800 people working in clean energy jobs across the state—1 in 3 of them in Greater Minnesota—an increase of over 1,000 jobs just that year.

According to the Clean Jobs Midwest 2020 Report, Advanced Grid and Energy Storage jobs grew 5 percent in 2019. Overall, 2,899 Minnesotans were employed in this sector last year, making up 4.7 percent of the clean energy jobs in the state. Many Minnesotans are unaware of what exactly Advanced Grid is and what people who work in this field do. We talked to two of our member-businesses, Nokomis Energy and Werner Electric to learn more about what Advanced Grid and Energy Storage entail and what employees working in this sector do. 

The adoption of clean energy in Minnesota boosts the economy, creates jobs, and helps create a more sustainable future for the state. To assist with the clean energy transition, lawmakers have enacted legislation to assist this emerging industry. As these industries mature, there are several policies currently in play at the Capitol that would be beneficial to businesses as clean energy markets adapt to lower electricity prices and new issues arise.  Today, we are breaking down a brief history of Minnesota’s policy leadership, the current state of clean energy legislation, and how new proposals will help transition Minnesota to a decarbonized, clean energy economy. 

With new reports every day about COVID-19 job losses and their impact on the world and the clean energy industry, it can be hard to keep track! We are breaking down the top things to keep in mind about clean energy jobs in Minnesota from 2019 data. We are also sharing how those numbers have changed since the start of the pandemic, and how the past strength of the industry can be a key to Minnesota’s economic recovery. 

The legislature ended its Special Session the morning of Saturday, June 20 with little progress on major bills. The Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act failed to pass despite strong bipartisan support in both chambers, and from leadership in the Energy and Utilities Committee in the Senate. There was no deal made on a bonding bill. If passed, a bonding bill could create $350 million in energy projects at Minnesota’s public colleges and universities alone. 

A small group of Wayzata senior high school students didn’t let the pandemic keep them from trying to persuade the Wayzata School Board to invest in solar.

The following webinar recap is based on the 2020 Legislative Session Recap Webinar hosted by CEEM on May 27, 2020 at 1pm CDT. The slides are available for review, but there are no recordings of the event. There were 60 attendees on the webinar to hear speakers Benjamin Stafford, CEEM’s Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Senator Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, and Steve Kelley, the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Commissioner. CEEM’s Executive Director, Gregg Mast, also joined the group to provide a welcome and updates on CEEM’s next steps.

In what will go down in history as one of the most tumultuous times in our state’s economic history, the 2020 legislative session started and ended in very different places. COVID-19 changed conversations about many different aspects of daily life, including work at the Capitol. The state of Minnesota started the 2020 legislative session with over a $1 billion surplus, but recent forecast numbers have shown the immediate impact of job losses and business closures have resulted in a $2.4 billion deficit. 

May 18 marks the final day of the 2020 Legislative Session. We continue to speak with state legislators as they prioritize their work.  Leaders have outlined three priorities for the remainder of session: COVID-19 response, state bonding, and matters where both parties have strong agreement on bills already moving at the Capitol.

While many of us are immersed in all things covid-19, there are good news stories sprinkled in every day too. We rounded up a collection of clean energy-related stories to inform, delight and inspire. 

The Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act was heard in energy committees in both the Senate and House on Thursday, April 23. We are happy to report that the bill was passed out of these committees. The bill had strong support, and the bill authors called out the support of clean energy groups.

I am Tiffanie Connelly and am joining the CEEM team as the Social Media and Marketing Specialist.

New information being released in the 2020 Minnesota Energy Factsheet about Minnesota’s clean energy transition could help inform decision-making about the state’s economic recovery. The Factsheet was put together with our partners at the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and BloombergNEF.

The Minnesota Legislature narrowed its focus and priorities for the remainder of session in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers recessed on March 17 and will not meet again until April 14, with the exception to reconvene for COVID-related actions.

While there is much uncertainty at this time due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation, there are also a large number of informational resources and assistance programs being put forward. We will be using this page to share information relevant to our business members and colleagues. Please reach out to our team if we can be of further assistance or if you have suggestions on resources we should add to this page.