Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF572 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to energy; modifying the hydroelectric capacity that qualifies as an eligible
3	3	1.3 energy technology under the renewable energy standard; delaying the requirement
4	4	1.4 for electric utilities to meet the renewable energy, solar, or carbon-free standard
5	5	1.5 under certain conditions; prohibiting the demolition of fossil-fuel-powered electric
6	6	1.6 generating plants under certain conditions; declaring as state policy support for
7	7	1.7 the deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technologies as a means to
8	8	1.8 reduce greenhouse gas emissions; abolishing prohibition on issuing certificate of
9	9	1.9 need for new nuclear power plant; expanding the sales tax exemption for residential
10	10	1.10 heating fuels and electricity; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections
11	11	1.11 216B.1691, subdivisions 1, 2b; 216B.243, subdivision 3b; 297A.67, subdivision
12	12	1.12 15; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 216B; 216H.
13	13	1.13BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
14	14	1.14 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 216B.1691, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
15	15	1.15 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
16	16	1.16the meaning given them.
17	17	1.17 (b) "Carbon-free" means a technology that generates electricity without emitting carbon
18	18	1.18dioxide.
19	19	1.19 (c) Unless otherwise specified in law, "eligible energy technology" means an energy
20	20	1.20technology that generates electricity from the following renewable energy sources:
21	21	1.21 (1) solar;
22	22	1.22 (2) wind;
23	23	1.23 (3) hydroelectric with a capacity of: (i) less than 100 megawatts; or (ii) 100 megawatts
24	24	1.24or more, provided that the facility is in operation as of February 8, 2023;
25	25	1.25 (4) hydrogen generated from the resources listed in this paragraph; or
26	26	1Section 1.
27	27	25-02151 as introduced01/14/25 REVISOR RSI/BM
28	28	SENATE
29	29	STATE OF MINNESOTA
30	30	S.F. No. 572NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
31	31	(SENATE AUTHORS: MATHEWS)
32	32	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
33	33	Introduction and first reading01/23/2025
34	34	Referred to Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate 2.1 (5) biomass, which includes, without limitation, landfill gas; an anaerobic digester
35	35	2.2system; the predominantly organic components of wastewater effluent, sludge, or related
36	36	2.3by-products from publicly owned treatment works, but not including incineration of
37	37	2.4wastewater sludge to produce electricity; and, except as provided in subdivision 1a, an
38	38	2.5energy recovery facility used to capture the heat value of mixed municipal solid waste or
39	39	2.6refuse-derived fuel from mixed municipal solid waste as a primary fuel.
40	40	2.7 (d) "Electric utility" means: (1) a public utility providing electric service; (2) a generation
41	41	2.8and transmission cooperative electric association; (3) a municipal power agency; (4) a power
42	42	2.9district; or (5) a cooperative electric association or municipal utility providing electric service
43	43	2.10that is not a member of an entity in clauses (2) to (4).
44	44	2.11 (e) "Environmental justice area" means an area in Minnesota that, based on the most
45	45	2.12recent data published by the United States Census Bureau, meets one or more of the following
46	46	2.13criteria:
47	47	2.14 (1) 40 percent or more of the area's total population is nonwhite;
48	48	2.15 (2) 35 percent or more of households in the area have an income that is at or below 200
49	49	2.16percent of the federal poverty level;
50	50	2.17 (3) 40 percent or more of the area's residents over the age of five have limited English
51	51	2.18proficiency; or
52	52	2.19 (4) the area is located within Indian country, as defined in United State Code, title 18,
53	53	2.20section 1151.
54	54	2.21 (f) "Total retail electric sales" means the kilowatt-hours of electricity sold in a year by
55	55	2.22an electric utility to retail customers of the electric utility or to a distribution utility for
56	56	2.23distribution to the retail customers of the distribution utility.
57	57	2.24 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
58	58	2.25 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 216B.1691, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:
59	59	2.26 Subd. 2b.Modification or delay of standard.(a) The commission shall modify or delay
60	60	2.27the implementation of a standard obligation under subdivision 2a, 2f, or 2g, in whole or in
61	61	2.28part, if the commission determines that modifying or delaying the standard obligation is in
62	62	2.29the public interest. The commission, when evaluating a request to modify or delay
63	63	2.30implementation of a standard, must consider:
64	64	2.31 (1) the impact of implementing the standard on its customers' utility costs, including the
65	65	2.32economic and competitive pressure on the utility's customers;
66	66	2Sec. 2.
67	67	25-02151 as introduced01/14/25 REVISOR RSI/BM 3.1 (2) the environmental costs that would be incurred as a result of a delay or modification,
68	68	3.2based on the full range of environmental cost values established in section 216B.2422,
69	69	3.3subdivision 3;
70	70	3.4 (3) the effects of implementing the standard on the reliability of the electric system;
71	71	3.5 (4) technical advances or technical concerns;
72	72	3.6 (5) delays in acquiring sites or routes due to rejection or delays of necessary siting or
73	73	3.7other permitting approvals;
74	74	3.8 (6) delays, cancellations, or nondelivery of necessary equipment for construction or
75	75	3.9commercial operation of an eligible energy technology facility;
76	76	3.10 (7) transmission constraints preventing delivery of service;
77	77	3.11 (8) other statutory obligations imposed on the commission or a utility;
78	78	3.12 (9) impacts on environmental justice areas; and
79	79	3.13 (10) additional electric load from beneficial electrification and the greenhouse gas
80	80	3.14emissions savings associated with those loads as compared to serving the load with
81	81	3.15nonelectric energy sources.
82	82	3.16For the purposes of this paragraph, "beneficial electrification" means the substitution of
83	83	3.17electricity for a fossil fuel, provided that the substitution meets at least one of the following
84	84	3.18conditions without adversely affecting either of the other two, as determined by the
85	85	3.19commission:
86	86	3.20 (i) saves a consumer money over the long run compared with continued use of the fossil
87	87	3.21fuel;
88	88	3.22 (ii) enables an electric utility to better manage the electric utility's electric grid network;
89	89	3.23or
90	90	3.24 (iii) reduces negative environmental impacts of fuel use, including but not limited to
91	91	3.25statewide greenhouse gas emissions.
92	92	3.26 (b) The commission may modify or delay implementation of a standard obligation under
93	93	3.27paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (4), only if it finds implementation would cause significant rate
94	94	3.28impact, requires significant measures to address reliability, or raises significant technical
95	95	3.29issues. The commission may modify or delay implementation of a standard obligation under
96	96	3.30paragraph (a), clauses (5) to (7), only if it finds that the circumstances described in those
97	97	3.31clauses were due to circumstances beyond an electric utility's control and make compliance
98	98	3.32not feasible.
99	99	3Sec. 2.
100	100	25-02151 as introduced01/14/25 REVISOR RSI/BM 4.1 (c) When evaluating transmission capacity constraints under paragraph (a), clause (7),
101	101	4.2the commission must consider whether the utility has:
102	102	4.3 (1) taken reasonable measures that are under the utility's control and consistent with the
103	103	4.4utility's obligations under local, state, and federal laws and regulations, and the utility's
104	104	4.5obligations as a member of a regional transmission organization or independent system
105	105	4.6operator, to acquire sites, necessary permit approvals, and necessary equipment to develop
106	106	4.7and construct new transmission lines or upgrade existing transmission lines to transmit
107	107	4.8electricity generated by eligible energy technologies; and
108	108	4.9 (2) taken all reasonable operational measures to maximize cost-effective electricity
109	109	4.10delivery from eligible energy technologies in advance of transmission availability.
110	110	4.11 (d) When considering whether to delay or modify implementation of a standard obligation,
111	111	4.12the commission must give due consideration to a preference for electric generation through
112	112	4.13use of eligible energy technology and to the achievement of the standards set by this section.
113	113	4.14 (e) An electric utility that requests a modification or delay to the implementation of a
114	114	4.15standard must file a plan to comply with the electric utility's standard obligation as part of
115	115	4.16the same proceeding in which the electric utility requests the modification or delay.
116	116	4.17 (f) The requirement to meet a standard obligation under this section is automatically
117	117	4.18delayed for three years for any electric utility that does not meet the goal established under
118	118	4.19section 216C.05, subdivision 2, clause (4), as determined by the commissioner.
119	119	4.20 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
120	120	4.21 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b, is amended to read:
121	121	4.22 Subd. 3b.Nuclear power plant; new construction prohibited; relicensing Additional
122	122	4.23storage of spent nuclear fuel.(a) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for
123	123	4.24the construction of a new nuclear-powered electric generating plant.
124	124	4.25 (b) Any certificate of need for additional storage of spent nuclear fuel for a facility
125	125	4.26seeking a license extension shall address the impacts of continued operations over the period
126	126	4.27for which approval is sought.
127	127	4.28 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
128	128	4Sec. 3.
129	129	25-02151 as introduced01/14/25 REVISOR RSI/BM 5.1 Sec. 4. [216B.2442] RETIRED FOSSIL FUEL ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANT;
130	130	5.2DEMOLITION.
131	131	5.3 A political subdivision is prohibited from issuing a permit to an electric utility to demolish
132	132	5.4a fossil-fuel-powered electric generating plant if the utility fails to meet the goal established
133	133	5.5under section 216C.05, subdivision 2, clause (4), as determined by the commissioner.
134	134	5.6 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
135	135	5.7 Sec. 5. [216H.022] CARBON CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION; STATE POLICY.
136	136	5.8 It is the policy of the state to support the development and deployment of carbon capture
137	137	5.9and sequestration technologies in Minnesota as a method of reducing greenhouse gas
138	138	5.10emissions in order to achieve the state greenhouse gas emission-reduction goals established
139	139	5.11under section 216H.02, subdivision 1.
140	140	5.12 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
141	141	5.13 Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 297A.67, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
142	142	5.14 Subd. 15.Residential heating fuels.Residential heating fuels are exempt as follows:
143	143	5.15 (1) all fuel oil, coal, wood, steam, hot water, propane gas, and L.P. gas sold to residential
144	144	5.16customers for residential use;
145	145	5.17 (2) for the billing months of November, December, January, February, March, and April,
146	146	5.18natural gas sold for residential use to customers who are metered and billed as residential
147	147	5.19users and who use natural gas for their primary source of residential heat; and
148	148	5.20 (3) for the billing months of November, December, January, February, March, and April,
149	149	5.21electricity sold for residential use to customers who are metered and billed as residential
150	150	5.22users and who use electricity for their primary source of residential heat.
151	151	5.23 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective for sales and purchases made after June
152	152	5.2430, 2025.
153	153	5Sec. 6.
154	154	25-02151 as introduced01/14/25 REVISOR RSI/BM