A new peer-reviewed research study developed a measurement of material usage that suggests from 1970 to 2020, the U.S. is using less of most materials overall — with the important…
The “good” news is that the state’s largest electric utility, Xcel Energy, will be meeting Minnesota’s mandate for 100% “carbon-free” electricity five years early. The better news for consumers is…
On Wednesday, electric vehicle maker Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it plans to “wind down operations.” The company is also seeking approval to hold an auction…
The vote took place today in the Minnesota House Energy committee and the tally was 8-7 in favor, with all Democrats voting “no.” The bill was HF 845, captioned with…
D.C. is in a titter about permitting reform these days, but what is just as important to most businesses is achieving the permits needed to operate on the state level.…
A recent report from the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a global security nonprofit, found that Chinese firms control around 75 percent of Indonesian nickel production capacity. With Indonesia…
The U.S. Energy Department, under the leadership of Secretary Chris Wright, announced its priorities last week in a Secretarial order. The order reads, in part: 1. Advance Energy Addition, Not…
A recent commentary in The Wall Street Journal, “California’s Plan: Make the Poor Sweat in the Dark,” precisely explains the issue with electrifying everything: “Forcing consumers to rely almost entirely…
Groundhog Day was officially last week, but it continues at the state capitol, day after day, as the House of Representatives conducts its “do-over” session. You will recall that back…
HF 9 (same number even) was introduced, again, into the state House of Representatives yesterday. This is the same bill from before that would repeal the state’s ban on new…
Minnesota’s only functioning legislative chamber, the state Senate, held a hearing in its Energy committee this afternoon, on a bill to provide energy cost assistance to low-income households. S.F. 486,…
Yes, Minnesota, there is now a new state agency that goes by the unwieldy name: MN Climate Innovation Finance Authority. The Center’s Sarah Montalbano wrote about this new entity yesterday.…
The Energy News Network reported last week on the state-funded Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority. The Energy News Network reports: The Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority, established by state legislators…
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) published a brief on January 30, 2025, showing that the U.S. imports nearly all of the uranium concentrate used to power commercial nuclear reactors. In…
Over the weekend, a Chinese artificial intelligence company announced that its open-source AI model, DeepSeek-R1, required only a small fraction of the investment that U.S. tech companies are pouring into…
This afternoon, the state senate Energy committee took up two bills to repeal the ban on new nuclear power plants. Today’s meeting was only possible because, under the current Senate…
Residents of St. Croix County across the river from the Alan S. King power plant in Oak Park Heights turned out in force at a town hall Monday to oppose…
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fix Our Forests Act on January 23. The bill, if passed by the Senate, would serve as a means of expediting review of…
Today, on the floor of the MN House of Representatives, HF 308 was introduced, which would allow for the construction of new nuclear generators in Minnesota up to a capacity…
In 2018, Center of the American Experiment released a report evaluating how environmentally responsible mining would boost Minnesota’s economy. With the help of economist John Phelan and Debra Struhsacker, a…
President Donald Trump has wasted no time in issuing executive orders to restore the U.S.’ energy dominance. His slew of actions has promised a renewed focus on critical minerals, expedited…
HF 9, which would repeal the state’s ban on new nuclear power plants, advanced this afternoon out of the House of Representatives’ energy committee. In addition to legalizing new nuclear…
Xcel’s plan to shut down the venerable Alan S. King coal-fired power plant in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota exposes one of green energy’s dirty little secrets. Namely, the hugely disproportionate…
The Minnesota Star Tribune headline sums it up: Xcel said a nearly $8M land sale was a good deal for ratepayers. The buyer flipped the land to Amazon for $73M.…