Getting to Green: Minnesota's energy future

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Minnesota officials have set an ambitious goal for the state to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

Getting there will require generating our electricity from clean sources such as wind and solar, and electrifying vehicles, homes, office buildings, factories and farms that currently rely on fossil fuels.

Getting to Green: Minnesota’s energy future is a MPR News series digging deep into stories of the clean energy transition — and the opportunities and obstacles to reach that milestone.

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Minnesota utilities deploy 'magic balls' to help clean energy transition
A device that looks like a high-tech bowling ball that can be attached to power lines can open up excess capacity on electric transmission lines, paving the way for more solar and wind power — and cost savings for consumers. 
Responding to a warmer and wetter Minnesota
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a climatologist and a climate journalist about how global warming is affecting Minnesota. They discuss what changes means for the people who live here and how the state is measuring up to its climate goals.
Trump’s EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned U.S. fight against climate change
The Environmental Protection Agency has revoked a key scientific finding that supported U.S. regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. This decision rescinds a 2009 declaration that carbon dioxide and other gases endanger public health.
Minnesota’s energy future
Minnesota aims to be carbon-free by 2050. Here’s a look at what needs to happen until then.
Trump orders some U.S. coal plants to keep operating. Will Minnesotans foot part of the bill?
Electricity customers in 15 Midwest states, including Minnesota, might bear the costs of continuing to operate a Michigan coal plant. A week before it was scheduled to shut down, the U.S. Department of Energy ordered it to keep running, citing a possible electricity shortage.
State regulators rule that burning trash and wood can be considered 'carbon-free'
Minnesota's utility regulators ruled Thursday that the burning or trash and wood to generate electricity can be considered "carbon-free" sources of power despite the huge amount of greenhouse gases such waste-to-energy power plants emit.
U.S. judge rules Trump administration’s freeze on wind energy permits is unlawful
A federal district court judge in Massachusetts this week ruled in favor of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and 17 other attorneys general, and vacated President Trump’s executive order banning new federal permits for all offshore and onshore wind energy projects.
Batteries need manganese but talk of mining the mineral roils northern Minnesota’s lake country
There’s a renewed effort in northern Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes area to develop an underground mine for manganese, which is coveted to make batteries. Many local residents are uneasy.
As demand for energy surges in Minnesota, interest in battery storage booms
Batteries can store electricity from solar and wind when it’s plentiful and cheap to produce, and release it when it’s in short supply. There's a growing consensus that batteries are critical to making the switch to decarbonized electricity.