Mel Mackin leads the state policy team at Ceres.
In early 2023, Minnesota invited a wave of investment in innovative energy solutions when lawmakers passed one of the most ambitious clean energy laws in the U.S., committing to 100% clean electricity across the state by 2040.
The law had the potential to put Minnesota on the fast track towards building an affordable, reliable and pollution-free electric system. And as federal policies like the Inflation Reduction Act drive a massive surge of private-sector clean energy investment, it also signaled that Minnesota is open for business.
But even after its passage Minnesota found itself on pace to miss its 2040 goal by more than two decades. To speed things up, the state first had to take on the obstacles slowing it down.
It has simply taken too long to get new clean energy projects and grid infrastructure up and running. Projects get jammed up by the state’s inefficient and overly complex permitting process, and it has only been getting slower in recent years. No matter how much money and interest there is for building clean energy infrastructure (there is plenty of it), and no matter how much demand there is to buy the power it produces (there’s plenty of that too), you can’t build anything when it’s sitting around waiting for a green light from the state.
Thankfully, the state legislature and Gov. Tim Walz have now offered a solution for this challenge. Following up on last year’s landmark clean electricity legislation, lawmakers recently agreed on reforms to the permitting process that could serve as a model for the nation.
The bipartisan Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act will consolidate certain permitting responsibilities under the state’s Public Utilities Commission, streamlining the permitting process for clean energy projects under one umbrella. The legislation — passed in May and signed into law just before Memorial Day by Gov. Walz — will still allow for significant environmental review and public input for energy projects, which are essential for community feedback but sometimes result in longer permitting periods. But it will enhance the permitting processes by improving communication across state agencies and establishing clearer, more consistent timelines for reviews and input.
All told, the Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act is expected to cut permitting time for individual projects by nine months to a year, shortening the overall approval timeline by 50% or more. Suddenly, the state will be able to get all that new clean energy online much more rapidly, sending another signal to the private sector that Minnesota is serious about building out the electricity grid of the future.
Make no mistake: a resilient, affordable and clean electric grid is a major private-sector priority. That’s why large companies backed the 100% clean electricity law last year, and then the Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act this year. Companies like Google, REI and Holcim wrote to lawmakers in April, calling on them to “reform our permitting process, cut red tape, and accelerate the transition to a clean energy future.” The reforms, they stressed, are crucial to meeting the state’s 2040 clean energy goal.
Then again, they’d be necessary even without the 2040 goal. The state’s transmission lines are congested because they lack adequate interconnection, meaning major backlogs of regional electricity that can’t travel elsewhere in the state. This law will speed up the process for building those transmission connections, reducing volatility across Minnesota.
Meanwhile, like the rest of the U.S., Minnesota is going to need a lot more power in the coming years to meet growing demand for electricity. We need that power to be carbon-free, and the new law will help ensure it comes online in time to meet the growing demand.
The permitting issues facing Minnesota’s electric grid were not unique: slow permitting processes, limited transmission lines and infrastructure siting issues are among the tallest hurdles facing the widespread deployment of clean energy across the U.S. With this bipartisan legislation, developed in partnership with dozens of stakeholders, Minnesota has offered a thoughtful way forward that will significantly reduce those barriers while continuing to give communities a role in the process. The state should celebrate it as a moment of national leadership that will unlock the clean energy boom in Minnesota.
