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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Huge investment in new Midwest powerlines, including electricity ‘superhighway,’ gets approval
Electric utilities and clean energy advocates say the new transmission lines and substations will help deliver renewable energy to where it’s needed, meet the growing demand for electricity and make the grid more reliable.
Data centers spark opposition from residents, concerns over energy use
Tract, a development company based in Colorado, is proposing to build the $5 billion project for an undisclosed company, one of several data centers under construction or planned in Minnesota.
Innovative Iron Range landfill project tackles climate change, ‘forever chemicals’
A new project at a small landfill on Minnesota’s Iron Range is simultaneously helping to tackle two of society’s most vexing environmental problems — climate change and the treatment of so-called “forever chemicals.”
Will Trump’s election slow the shift to clean energy? Two policy experts weigh in
Last week’s election could have major impacts on U.S. efforts to shift to cleaner energy and curb climate change. President-elect Donald Trump has called climate change a hoax, and pledged support for fossil fuels. He’s also promised to roll back many of the climate initiatives launched under the Biden-Harris administration.
Latest Catan board game adds new challenge: produce power without over-polluting
As players build settlements, they can choose renewable energy or fossil fuels. The company behind Catan: New Energies hopes the abstract game can spark real conversations about energy use.
How biochar — the ‘Swiss Army knife of climate tools’ — is growing in Minnesota
Minnesota is emerging as a leader in the research and manufacturing of biochar, a substance that can combat climate change by locking away carbon for centuries. It can also provide other environmental benefits such as filtering water and improving soil.
What’s carbon-free? Utility regulators to decide what qualifies under state’s clean energy law
When state lawmakers approved a bill last year requiring utilities to produce all their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040, they didn’t specify what qualifies as carbon-free. Now the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will decide. That in turn could shape the future of technologies such as biomass and carbon capture in Minnesota.
The heat is on: Indigenous-led nonprofit seeks to lower heating expenses with solar thermal
Since 2018, an Indigenous nonprofit near the White Earth Nation in northwestern Minnesota has been installing solar thermal panels to cut home heating costs in impoverished communities.
In the Twin Cities, mapping the warming urban heat island to prepare for an even hotter future
This summer, volunteers collected detailed temperature and humidity data across Hennepin and Ramsey counties. It’s part of an effort to map the urban heat island in the Twin Cities to help plan for climate change-fueled extreme heat.