on March 04, 2020

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Despite More Turbines, Minnesota Wind Production in 2019 Was Still Below 2017 Levels

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

If you build them, the wind won't necessarily come. I've recently reported that wind facilities in Minnesota produced less electricity in 2018 than 2017, and newly-released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows electricity generation from Minnesota wind facilities was about one percent less in 2019 than 2017, although 2019 saw more generation from wind turbines than 2018. The decline, relative to 2017 generation, occurred despite the fact that there are about 3.6 percent more wind generation capacity installed in Minnesota today (3,843 megawatts) than there were at the end of 2017 (3,699 megawatts), according to the U.S. Department of Energy's...

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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 Climate, Energy, Environment

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 Climate, Energy, Environment

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 08, 2020

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The One Billion Dollar Solar Failure in Nevada

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment

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 01, 2020

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Net Metering: How People With Solar Panels Are Picking Your Pocket

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment

Did you know that people with solar panels on their roofs are picking your pocket in more ways than one? Federal subsidies for solar have been increasing your tax liability for years, but people with solar panels are also picking your pocket through a lesser-known policy called net metering. At its core, net metering pays people with solar panels more for their electricity than it is worth. This is accomplished by paying people with solar panels the retail rate for their power, rather than the wholesale rate. In fact, this is the only reason that solar panels are able to "pay...

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on December 20, 2019

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Grid Operator Study Shows Complexity of Integrating Renewables Increases Exponentially After 30 Percent

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment

The grid operator for the region including Minnesota, the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO), recently released it's study examining the complexity of integrating renewable energy onto the grid. The findings show that it becomes exponentially more difficult to integrate renewable energy into the regional grid as the amount of renewable energy increases beyond 30 percent, as you can see in the graph below. This is important, because it clearly shows that the challenges of integrating intermittent renewable energy sources like wind are not, in fact, overblown, as the Star Tribune editorial board argued earlier this year. In reality, these challenges have...

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on December 16, 2019

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Production at Nobles Wind Facility Continues to Plummet

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Earlier this year, I wrote about how the Nobles Wind project, which is the third-largest wind facility in Minnesota, is already losing steam. The most recent data from the Energy Information Administration (which runs through September) show that 2019 hasn't been kind to the project, either. Thus far, the Nobles wind project has a capacity factor of just 33.9, which is far below where it has been in previous years, according to the table below. In fact, the capacity factor (a measure of productivity) of this wind facility is about 10 percent lower this year compared to 2014. This has important implications...

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on November 25, 2019

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China is Building 34 Times More Coal Than Exists In Minnesota, So Why Are We Raising Our Power Prices?

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

According to an article in The Financial Times, China is set to add new coal-fired power plants equivalent to the EU’s entire capacity. as the world’s biggest energy consumer ignores global pressure to rein in carbon emissions in its bid to boost a slowing economy. The article states that China is building 148 gigawatts, or 148,000 megawatts, of coal. For context, Minnesota has 4,309 MW of coal, meaning China will build 34 times more coal-fired power plants in the coming years than currently exist in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. In fact, these coal additions mean will nearly eclipse the entire...

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on November 21, 2019

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Help Us Stop Governor Walz From Imposing California’s Car Rules on Minnesota!

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy, Transportation

In late September, Governor Walz announced that he would seek to impose California's mandates for zero emission vehicles and low emission vehicles on Minnesota. Rather than passing this proposal through the normal legislative process, Governor Walz is trying to impose these rules on Minnesotans by instructing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to draft the mandates forcing our state to comply with regulations drafted by unelected bureaucrats on the California Air Resources Board. Why wouldn't Governor Walz want to go through the legislative process where legislators can weigh the pros and cons of the proposal and vote accordingly? Probably because these regulations...

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on October 31, 2019

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Xcel Energy Sponsors Gala for Anti-Mining, Anti-Farming, Pro-Wind and Solar Green Group To Help Them Pad Their Profits

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Minnesota families saw their electricity bills reach a new all-time high in 2018 due to an increasing reliance on expensive and unreliable wind and solar power. Despite the fact that Minnesota is already on track to meet current renewable energy mandates, Xcel Energy wants exceed these regulations by building 3,000 to 4,000 megawatts (MW) of solar, a massive amount, and shutting down their existing coal plants, which produce some of the lowest cost electricity in the state. It appears Xcel is enlisting the help of the Minnesota Center For Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) to help gain public approval for this plan by...

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