Today, the Minnesota Senate passed its Energy Omnibus bill in a 37-26 vote. This comes after the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the House version of the bill on Tuesday.

Last night, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed its Energy Omnibus bill. The bill establishes a solar energy standard of four percent by 2025, expands Minnesota’s solar market, increases the state’s Renewable Electricity Standard to 40 percent by 2030 for investor-owned utilities, and removes barriers to developing clean locally produced power.

Earlier this week, hundreds of Minnesota citizens, students, and policy makers gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda for an Earth Day rally and day of action. Meanwhile, the Energy Omnibus bills in the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives are moving through necessary committees toward votes on the House and Senate floors.

The benefits of solar are almost endless. The sun is limitless, boundless, and pollution- and carbon-free. Tapping into solar also gives Minnesota residents and businesses the ability to produce their own power and better manage their energy use. But putting a solar panel on your roof is far from simple. That’s why Fresh Energy is supporting a bill that will cut the red tape.

Minnesota spends more than $20 billion annually on energy, yet none of it—coal, oil, uranium, and natural gas—is native to our state. Energy efficiency provides the cheapest, cleanest route to fulfilling our state’s energy needs while creating jobs, significantly reducing pollution, and keeping more money in our local economies. Fresh Energy is pursuing two different pieces of legislation this session that will help Minnesota make the most of energy efficiency.

Minnesota’s clean energy legislation is moving forward! Show policy makers that you support clean energy by attending a hearing on March 8.

In August, Fresh Energy’s candidate education efforts laid the groundwork for positive, productive relationships with both new and veteran legislators in our new political landscape, and created an opportunity for us to share nonpartisan, data-driven information on energy, transportation, and public policy—the kind of information candidates need to be effective policy makers.

Fresh Energy and the Izaak Walton League of America explain market forces that have caused traditional baseload electricity sources to have less value in the 21st-century electricity system.