American Experiment Releases Groundbreaking New Study on the High Cost of Renewable Energy Mandates in Minnesota

American Experiment is pleased to announce we are releasing a groundbreaking new study detailing the high cost renewable energy mandates in Minnesota. On the 2018 campaign trail, many DFL candidates, including Governor Tim Walz, said they would make obtaining 50 percent of Minnesota’s electricity through renewable energy sources by 2030 a top priority in their policy platform. Now DFL’ers in Minnesota are pushing their own version of the Green New Deal, mandating that Minnesota must get 100 percent of its electricity from “carbon free” resources by 2050. Our study found that attempting to achieve a 50 percent renewable energy mandate...

Minnesota’s economic news, w/e 5/24/19

A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.

Fewer Minnesota teens are working and that is a problem

The decline of teen employment doesn't just exacerbate the challenges Minnesota's aging population poses, it postpones the accumulation of 'soft skills' which will help these kids throughout their working lives.

AMERICAN EXPERIMENT BOOK SHELF

If Renewable Energy Saves Consumers Money, Then Explain These Trends Showing the Opposite

Renewable energy advocates in Minnesota often think that by using wind and solar energy over existing and fully depreciated coal power plants, electricity consumers will save money on their electric bills. They fail to understand that building wind and solar energy sources, or purchasing their power from independent power providers through contracts, increases utility spending and the revenue that utilities must recover through ratepayers, thus raising the cost of electricity. Despite numerous utility and state records explaining this in detail, renewable energy advocates who believe investing in renewable energy saves consumers money only need to look at this hearing regarding...

Isaac Talks About Xcel’s Coal Plant Closure Plan on Justice and Drew

Isaac Orr joins Justice and Drew to talk about why Xcel Energy's plan to shut down the last of its coal-fired power plants is a bad deal for the Minnesota families, who are forced to buy their electricity from the government-approved monopoly utility.

Tariffs are biting into Minnesota’s farm economy

China's leaders are not fools. They might not practice democracy, but they do understand it. Their retaliatory tariffs have been concentrated on agricultural exports from places like Minnesota.

Wind Subsidies for Xcel Energy’s Minnesota Operations Totaled More Than $49 Million in 2016

According to data found in utility documents filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Xcel Energy earned $49.3 million in federal subsidies in 2016 from its wind facilities located throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. It’s important to remember that the cost of wind energy in Minnesota is not just reflected in your monthly electric bill, but it also increases the amount of federal taxes you must pay. While $49 million is no doubt a significant chuck of change, it likely represents only a small amount of the federal subsidies doled out to wind producers in Minnesota because most of the...

From Colorado: Xcel Energy’s Green Dreams Are a Farce

My friend Amy Cooke from the Independence Institute in Colorado recently wrote the article below about how Xcel energy is seeking to leave Colorado ratepayers on the hook for coal plants they are shutting down decades ahead of schedule. It’s the same story I wrote about in Wisconsin, where WE Energies is attempting to make $430 million in profits after retiring a perfectly good coal plant. In Colorado, Xcel wants to close down the Comanche 1 and 2 plants so because it boosts their guaranteed profits by allowing them to build more wind, solar, natural gas, batteries and transmission infrastructure....