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on June 17, 2019
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Mortenson Construction to Use Robotic Equipment On “Primarily Renewable Energy Projects”

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Mortenson Construction is one of the largest renewable-energy construction firms in the country, but it appears the firm will be dolling out less "green" to their laborers. A recent story in the Star Tribune discusses how Mortenson will be employing remote-controlled bulldozers to prepare sites for wind turbines instead of hiring laborers to man the machines. The remote-controlled bulldozers will be first be employed on remote projects in Wyoming where worker housing and other logistical difficulties make automation  economically attractive, but there's no reason to think it would be impossible for the company to begin using automated equipment in other areas...

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on June 16, 2019
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American Experiment Opposes the Carbon Tax Scam

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment

Last week, 75 conservative organizations signed a public letter to Congress opposing “any carbon tax” days after reports that Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney openly considered backing carbon tax bill, and American Experiment was one of them. The letter, circulated by Americans for Tax Reform, read: "We oppose any carbon tax. A carbon tax raises the cost of heating your home in the winter and cooling your home in the summer. It raises the cost of filling your car. A carbon tax increases the cost of everything Americans buy and lowers Americans’ effective take home pay. A carbon tax increases the power, cost...

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on June 14, 2019
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New Study Finds Wind and Solar Are Still More Expensive Than Existing, Even Brand New, Fuel-Based Generators

Written by Mitchell Rolling
in Energy, Minnesota Economy

A new study published by the Institute for Energy Research (IER) concluded that building new wind and solar farms is up to 120 percent more expensive per megawatt hour of production than existing resources, like natural gas, coal, nuclear, and hydroelectric generators, shown in the chart below. These findings suggest that Minnesota utility companies, lawmakers, and renewable energy advocacy groups have been falsely implying that by building new wind and solar facilities in the state, electricity costs would be reduced. Instead, due to the irresponsible renewable energy policies and mandates that have taken hold in Minnesota, what we have seen is...

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on June 14, 2019
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China is Building 89 Shercos in the Coming Years

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment

Yesterday I posted about how India is building a lot of coal-fired power plants. These power plants would have a generation capability equal to building the Sherburne County (Sherco) coal-fired power plant, Minnesota's largest electricity generator, 42 times. It turns out that China, not to be outdone, is going to build the equivalent of 89 Shercos to provide affordable, around-the-clock energy for millions of people. This is good news for Chinese citizens, who use 63 percent less electricity, on a per-capita basis, than people living in the United States, but it could mean bad news for energy intensive industries like mining and...

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on June 13, 2019
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Global CO2 Emissions To Skyrocket As India Plans To Build 42 Shercos in the Coming Years

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment

During the legislative session, we heard Governor Walz, House DFL members, and liberal environmentalists call climate change an "existential crisis," several times (give or take a million). This so-called crisis was used as justification for trying to pass radical Green New Deal-style legislation in Minnesota in an attempt to dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Absent from these discussions, however, was any context for global carbon dioxide emissions and the impact they will have on future temperatures. This seems like a massive oversight. It's called global warming, after all. The most likely reason this discussion never occurred is because it would undermine the Governor's case...

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on June 13, 2019
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Xcel Energy Will Spend More Than $2 Billion To Maintain Existing Wind Turbines Through 2034

Written by Mitchell Rolling
in Energy, Minnesota Economy

If Minnesota policymakers were truly concerned with providing reliable electricity at a low cost, they would be encouraging utility companies to utilize existing resources, like our existing coal, natural gas, and nuclear power facilities, throughout their useful lives, and wouldn’t be allowing the high level of investments Xcel is asking for....

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on June 09, 2019
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Rob Port: Xcel’s Coal-Free Plan is Politics Not Reality

Written by Isaac Orr
in Energy, Environment

The article below originally appeared in the Inforum, and it's spot on.  Xcel's decision is about padding its ratebase, and thus its corporate profits, and if they have to team up with the environmental groups, then so be it. MINOT, N.D. — “Xcel Energy plans to shutter its two remaining coal plants in the Upper Midwest a decade earlier than scheduled — a move that will make the utility coal-free in the region by 2030,” Mary Divine reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week. That’s big news. All the more so because it’s not the full measure of Xcel’s ambition. The...

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