Minnesota's future: Energy challenge means all-tech-on-deck

Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. (To contribute, click here.) This commentary is included among a collection of articles that were submitted in response to, or are otherwise applicable to, Star Tribune Opinion's June 4 call for submissions on the question: "Where does Minnesota go from here?" Read the full collection of responses here.

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Minnesotans expect the lights to come on every time they flip the switch. However, increasingly, the reliability of our electric grid is becoming a serious challenge as we plot our energy future.

A recent assessment from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warns that more than two-thirds of North America's electric grid is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer and the problem will only get worse.

Also, let us not forget that just last December, we were a gnat's hair away from having rolling blackouts in Minnesota due to nasty winter weather. The winter before, weather in Texas created power supply issues and caused rolling blackouts in western Minnesota and the Dakotas.

As the CEO of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association, which represents Minnesota's nonprofit electric cooperatives, I am concerned about Minnesota's energy future and how to ensure our power is always reliable, affordable and sustainable. Minnesota's electric cooperatives are owned and governed by the more than 1.7 million Minnesotans we serve and are leaders in the clean energy transition. Our power lines are located in all 87 counties and spread across 85% of Minnesota's land mass.

This year the Legislature passed an aggressive carbon-free-by-2040 bill which sets a clear benchmark for just how quickly our energy transition will need to take place. As the experts in our field, we want to make it clear that the path to a reliable carbon-free future presents a monumental challenge.

Decades of careful planning are required to build out our grid; it cannot be accomplished with just the flip of a switch. To meet the moment, it is imperative that those managing and planning this transition retain flexibility.

We advocate for pursuing an "all-tech-on-deck" approach to seek reliable and affordable solutions. Let's explore emerging technologies while avoiding any more costly mandates we might end up regretting.

We must leave all of our options on the table and allow for exploration and innovation. The greatest solution for our energy future might be something not yet discovered, and every energy source we have today has its limitations. Therefore, it is essential that we don't handcuff ourselves to a limited number of options by proliferating policy mandates.

Minnesota's energy future is a choice. With an aggressive policy direction now established, let the experts who are building, planning and executing this clean-energy transition make the tough choices necessary to proceed without further mandates that limit options and without the additional costs imposed by favored schemes to achieve the goal.

Our vision for Minnesota is an electric grid that is reliable, affordable and sustainable. A grid that is ready for millions of new electric vehicles, appliances and growing beneficial electrification while keeping electricity affordable. A system that has plenty of power for those cold winter nights and hot summer days. A future where Minnesota can be an example to the world on how to get the clean energy transition right.

To get to that future, we can't have mandates restrict our ability to think creatively, we can't afford unnecessarily long permitting delays, and we can't let shortsighted wishful thinking fog our view of reality. The last thing we want is for energy costs to drive up the price of goods for a struggling family or to have an elderly couple struggle without air conditioning on a boiling summer day.

Minnesota's nonprofit electric cooperatives are democratically controlled by the people we serve. Our only "special interest" is everyday hardworking Minnesotans who expect reliable and affordable power. The cooperative way is one of collaboration, cooperation and common sense. By embracing this model and entrusting the experts in the field, we can forge a path toward a bright energy future that benefits all. We all have the same goal in mind. Together, let's march forward, united in our commitment to a reliable and sustainable energy landscape for generations to come.

Darrick Moe is CEO of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA).