When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz strolled onstage to welcome a conference of clean power advocates to Minneapolis in May, he was quick to note that his state
FILE - Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally, Aug. 17, 2024, at The Astro in La Vista, Neb. is now getting a little over half of its power from renewables. In the next breath, Walz said Minnesota would never get to 100% — a goal he helped set — without changing what he called “outdated” permitting laws.
Walz’s effort to resolve a major obstacle to the clean energy transition nationwide is getting new attention since he was tapped as Kamala Harris’ running mate. His experience enacting such laws in Minnesota could position him as a leader on climate issues if Harris wins in November. New York, California, Illinois and Michigan have already made their own changes to permitting in the last few years to accelerate the adoption of clean energy, with varying approaches depending on whether the state or local government retains control over the siting process.“The faster we can reduce emissions, the faster we can stabilize the climate and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. So at a macro level, speed matters. At a micro level, speed matters.
“Any permitting bill that makes it easier to build clean energy infrastructure and getting connected is really vital to all of our climate goals,” said Ben Pendergrass, vice president of government affairs at Citizens Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, climate advocacy organization. The eventual bill had support from utilities, renewable developers, labor, environmental advocates and energy policy nonprofits, whose recommendations to speed the process became the heart of the bill. Walz and his team stayed involved throughout to get the eventual bill to the finish line, said Long, the bill’s House author.
Virginia-based Apex Clean Energy said it took nearly two years to get permits for each of two large wind and solar projects it developed in southwestern Minnesota’s Cottonwood County. Chris Kunkle, Apex’s senior director of government affairs, said he expected the new law to roughly cut permitting time in half, which he called “fantastic.”
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