on January 14, 2020

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Minnesota Court of Appeals Delays PolyMet Project

Written by Isaac Orr

Yesterday the Minnesota Court of Appeals dealt a setback to the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota. In the ruling, the Court sent two crucial permits, the permit to mine and the dam safety permit, back to the Department of Natural Resources. The ruling also stated the agency must hold a contested case hearing, which would require an administrative law judge to examine additional evidence and testimony on the project. The ruling is bad news for the Northeastern Minnesota communities who are eager for the economic boost that would accompany more mining. The PolyMet mine would provide 360 high-paying jobs at...

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on January 13, 2020

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Minnesota Had More Wind and Solar in 2018 than Ever Before But CO2 Emissions Went Up

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Minnesota had more wind turbines and solar panels in 2018 than in any year prior, but carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity generation sector increased compared to 2017 and 2016 levels, according to the most recent data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Share the news far and wide!...

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on January 10, 2020

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Video: The Year 2019 on ElectricityMap [Europe]

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

You can talk to people about the weather-driven variation in electricity output from wind and solar power until you're blue in the face, but it will never be as effective as showing them, in real time, what sources of electricity generation are currently keeping the lights on. This is where ElectricityMap becomes an indispensable tool. If you're interested in energy issues, you must download this app on your phone. The reason this app is such a great tool is that it shows how "green" the electricity is in areas throughout the world, as measured by the amount of carbon dioxide produced...

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on January 09, 2020

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In Response: Dairy Farm Expansion Will Have Zero Significant Impact on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

In a recent AgriNews editorial entitled "Significant Environmental Impacts Must Be Identified," Vance and Bonnie Haugen claimed my article detailing how regulating greenhouse gas emissions from a dairy farm in Minnesota would produce zero measurable environmental benefits was baseless, irresponsible, and disingenuous, but never once did the authors offer a shred evidence to support their claim. The authors stared by calling my article a distraction from the current issues farmers face, but my article was not a distraction, it was a warning that this list of challenges will only get longer if groups like the Land Stewardship Project (LSP) and the...

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on January 08, 2020

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The One Billion Dollar Solar Failure in Nevada

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

A solar thermal plant in Nevada is the latest in the long list of Obama administration energy failures. The Crescent Dunes solar facility remains on the hook to repay $737 million in loan guarantees from the federal government, according to Bloomberg. Unlike solar facilities in Minnesota, which use photovoltaic (PV) panels to turn sunlight into electricity, the Crescent Dunes plant used an array of mirrors to heat a tank filled with molten salt that would then heat water to generate steam and electricity. The difference between solar pv and thermal solar plants like Crescent Dunes is important because PV panels have...

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on January 07, 2020

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Xcel Energy Electricity Bills Will Increase $50 This Year Due to Renewable Energy

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Xcel Energy is seeking to increase your electricity prices by 4.736 percent in order to pay for an additional $101.8 million in spending on wind projects between 2019 and 2020. This will cause the average family with Xcel Energy to pay about $52 more in 2020 than they did in 2018. As a result, these families would pay the highest electricity bills they have ever paid....

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on January 07, 2020

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Communities Still Wary of GreenStep Cities Program at 10 Year Mark

Written by Tom Steward

in Energy

This week the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) heralds the ten-year anniversary of the GreenStep Cities climate change program that presses local governments to factor environmental sustainability into everything from budgets to ordinances, land use and long-range planning. The program offers more than two dozen so-called Best Management Practices with 175 actions and lots of paperwork for participating communities. The recommendations include options that could significantly alter daily life like limiting parking places, reducing salt use in winter, mandates and bans on consumer products and packaging, monitoring wood burning in fireplaces, encouraging keeping chickens and bees, even phasing in “bike, foot...

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on January 05, 2020

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Solar Panels Produce Tons of Toxic Waste—Literally

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

There is a growing public awareness that so-called environmentally friendly energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels aren't so environmentally friendly, after all. Whether it be thousands of non-recyclable wind turbine blades arriving at landfills, or the growing recognition that solar panels contain toxic heavy metals that can pose a risk to the environment should they leak out of the panels, the environmental costs of "renewable" energy are becoming more clear everyday. The article below was originally written by Bill Wirtz at the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEE): Solar panels have been heralded as the alternative to fossil fuels for decades....

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on January 03, 2020

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Minneapolis City Council Would Rather Have Boarded Up Businesses than Burger King

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

When local governments attempt to address global problems, they often abdicate responsibility for local ones. This is unacceptable, because local problems grow worse while the city squanders resources on something entirely out of their control....

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on January 02, 2020

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South Carolina Has Much Lower CO2 Emissions and Lower Electricity Prices Than Minnesota

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Liberal politicians in Minnesota love to pretend that they are leaders in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, which they claim are fueling an existential climate crisis. The data, however, shows that conservative South Carolina has much lower carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity produced and lower electricity prices than Minnesota. The reason? South Carolina embraces nuclear power, whereas Minnesota liberals eschew it. According to the data, emissions of CO2 are 40 percent lower in South Carolina, per unit of electricity generated, than they are in Minnesota, according to the graph below which was constructed using 2018 data from the...

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