on June 07, 2019

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Pollution Control Equipment Has Greatly Reduced Emissions at Minnesota’s Clean, Beautiful Coal Plants

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Some renewable energy advocacy groups claim that Minnesota should aspire to have cheaper and cleaner electricity by using more wind and solar. Of course, this logic makes no sense because wind and solar increase the cost of electricity in Minnesota, but it is worth looking at whether coal-fired power, which is among the most affordable ways to generate electricity in Minnesota, is actually dirty. According to data from the Energy Information Administration, it isn't. When most people think of coal, they probably think of the smog-filled skies of 1950's Pittsburgh or scenes from modern-day Beijing, but advanced pollution control technology at coal-fired...

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on May 17, 2019

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DFL Senator From Iron Range Signals He Won’t Support Carbon-Free Power Mandates At This Time

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

It's a great day for Minnesota families and businesses, as Senator Erik Simonson (DFL-Duluth) stated that he believes that provisions of the House Energy and Jobs omnibus bill that would mandate that Minnesota derive 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050 should be left out of the current budget negotiations and reconsidered at a later date. What makes this statement so remarkable is that it was completely unprompted. In fact, the discussion previous to his comments about increasing renewable energy mandates were about the Line 3 oil pipeline. After making an initial comment about the pipeline, Senator Simonson...

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on May 12, 2019

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Most Solar Jobs Are Construction Jobs and Most Jobs Are In Hennepin County

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Solar energy is often touted as a way to spur jobs growth throughout the entire state of Minnesota, but a recent jobs report from the solar industry shows the vast majority of solar jobs are temporary construction jobs, and most of these jobs are in the metro area, not Greater Minnesota. Plenty of organizations crow about the solar industry creating jobs, but few people ever ask, "what kind of jobs?" Once you look, you'll see that 68 percent of the solar jobs in Minnesota were installation/temporary construction jobs. Now, I want to by crystal clear. I think temporary construction jobs are terrific,...

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on May 08, 2019

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Walz Administration Couldn’t Be More Wrong About Nuclear Power

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

At a recent press conference, Gov. Tim Walz's administration suggested the economics of nuclear power likely make it too expensive to be part of his plan to produce 100% of Minnesota’s electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050. Instead, the administration argued technological improvements would allow wind and solar to reliably and affordably meet Minnesota’s energy needs. Unfortunately, the Walz administration couldn’t be more wrong on either account....

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on April 29, 2019

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University of Chicago: Renewable Energy Mandates Increase Electricity Costs

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

The University of Chicago made waves last week by releasing the findings of a working paper that found renewable energy mandates cause electricity prices to rise. This won't be surprising to our readers, but it is massive vindication for all the hard work American Experiment has put into educating the general public about the negative consequences of renewable energy mandates. From the abstract of the paper: "Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) are the largest and perhaps most popular climate policy in the US, having been enacted by 29 states and the District of Columbia. Using the most comprehensive panel data set ever compiled...

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on April 15, 2019

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Minnesota Should Keep Burning Clean, Beautiful Coal

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment

With President Trump visiting Minnesota today, there is no better time to emphasize the fact that Minnesota would save $87.7 billion dollars through 2050 by continuing to burn clean, beautiful coal to generate electricity instead of pursuing more wind and solar. Despite claims to the contrary, coal-fired electricity is far more affordable than wind or solar. Minnesota can only reap these massive economic benefits if we implement the Trump Administration’s proposed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which requires coal plants to make common sense, and cost effective improvements to reduce carbon dioxide emissions....

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on April 11, 2019

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The Dirty Little Secret Behind Clean Energy Jobs

Written by Isaac Orr

in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

The Clean Energy Economy Minnesota jobs report will likely draw favorable media coverage, but a deeper look at the numbers exposes the fact that these numbers are artificially inflated by including workers who are only tangentially related to energy efficiency, and that only 2.2 percent of the wind and solar jobs are non-temporary construction jobs....

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on March 29, 2019

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The Dirty Secret Behind “Clean Energy”

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Renewable energy advocates often talk about wind and solar as "clean" energy resources, and talk about "dirty" fossil fuels, but how accurate is their assessment that renewables are actually clean? Not very. We've talked about the fact that wind solar, and batteries require massive amounts of copper, nickel, rare earth metals, lead, cadmium, and cobalt. Many times, these materials are mined in countries where there are few, if any, protections for the environment or workers. The Clear Energy Alliance has produced a very good video debunking the claims that fossil fuels are inherently dirty, and video shines a much-needed light on the...

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on October 02, 2018

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Why the Trump Administration is Correct to Remove Co-Benefits from Mercury and Carbon Dioxide Regulations

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Find out why the Trump Administration is right and Obama was wrong on its mercury and carbon dioxide regulations....

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on August 21, 2018

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Trump Administration Releases Revised Clean Power Plan

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy, Environment

The Trump Administration has released its revised version of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which was considered to be the signature climate change regulation of the Obama Administration. The new rule, called the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, would give individual states more authority to make their own plans for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants rather than imposing a set of top-down policies from the federal government. The CPP was designed to fundamentally transform electricity markets by forcing coal plants to retire and require the use of wind and solar to replace. As we've already seen in Minnesota, this comes...

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