Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has set a new aggressive energy savings goal of cutting the state’s fossil fuel use by 15% by 2015. Pawlenty believes the goal is achievable through energy efficiency and renewable resources, and he also raised the bar for renewables to 25% by 2025 from a previous goal of 10% by 2015.

Utilities will have to meet that goal by having 25% of their power come from renewable resources or else face unspecified penalties, Pawlenty said in announcing his Next Generation Energy Initiative on Tuesday. He also called on utilities to prepare for potential futures requirements by offsetting carbon emissions from new fossil-fuel power generation sources.

“The obligation should be firm enough to ensure we reach our goals, but flexible enough to allow utilities and regulators to respond to changing markets, consumer demand and regulatory conditions,” he said, regarding the higher renewable portfolio standard. The governor is chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association, which has been an outspoken advocate of the 25 X 25 movement (see https://www.25×25.org/).

His new initiative also includes plans to sextuple the number of E85 pumps in the state by 2010, an increase from 300 now to 1,800 in four years. E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. The proposal would provide grants to gasoline station owners to partially offset the cost of E85 pump installations. It also would promote development of cellulosic ethanol and advanced biomass technologies in Minnesota.

Pawlenty also stressed the need for more conservation in the state. He is proposing to change Minnesota’s utility energy conservation program from a spending program to an energy savings program and requiring the state’s utilities to reduce their retail sales by 1.5% annually.

“We should also increase the accountability and transparency of utility conservation activities,” Pawlenty said. “Together, these reforms will effectively double the amount of electricity we save and increase natural gas savings by 50%.”

The plan includes a goal of 1,000 Energy Star commercial buildings in the state by 2010. Currently, Minnesota has only 87 schools, office buildings and churches that have received the Energy Star award.

“Our global climate is warming, at least in part due to the energy sources we use,” Pawlenty said. “Minnesotans did not create this problem, nor can we solve it by ourselves; we need an effective national and international effort. That said, we should identify and take a number of reasonable and fair steps that will reduce our greenhouse gas emission, just as we did with our nation-leading mercury emissions reduction legislation.”

Pawlenty is inviting the Center for Climate Strategies to Minnesota to develop a plan to aggressively reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions over the coming years. “Minnesota’s electric utilities should prepare for the future by offsetting carbon emissions from new fossil-fuel generation sources,” Pawlenty said. “As we look to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, we should not make the situation worse while we try to make it better.”

He is proposing that the state join the Chicago Climate Exchange, a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission registry, reduction and trading system. Members make a voluntary but legally binding commitment to reduce GHG emissions.

Pawlenty said the steps he outlined would be “good for the environment, good for rural economies, good for national security and good for consumers.”

The announcement drew a cautious reaction from officials at Xcel Energy’s Northern States Power utility in Minnesota. “The governor’s proposal is an aggressive one. We’re interested in finding out more about the details,” said Judy Poferl, director of government and regulatory affairs at Northern States Power. “We certainly share the common objective of expanding [renewable] resources in order to achieve environmental improvements. It’s consistent with the path we’re on.

“We’re looking forward toward working with the administration and the legislature as they shape a proposal that works well for Minnesota. We’re ahead of schedule” in meeting the 10% renewable portfolio by 2015,” said Poferl. But there are few details in the governor’s announcement. As a result, it is difficult to “fully assess what the impacts” will be.

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