ENERGY AND MINING

Check out the portable solar station that powers tractors and shades cows

Michael Johnson — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:00:00 GMT

MORRIS, Minn. — The cows at West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris don't seem to care that they are part of multi-million-dollar research that may change the way agriculture and energy work together. They are just happy to have a cool place to rest while out on pasture.

That cool place is under the mobile solar array that’s on the move across the grazing fields on the University of Minnesota property this summer. The campus already has solar panels fixed in place throughout the pastures that are producing energy and providing shade, but the idea came along that they could create a trailer unit that could move along with the cattle from pasture to pasture. In this way, the benefits of shade would never be lost regardless of the location.

Eric Buchanan, director of renewable energy at WCROC, shared the capabilities of the device, which they call the Solar Shade Power Station, with Agweek this summer. To get to the mobile solar charging trailer, Buchanan drove the university’s electric truck, a Ford Lightning. Parking next to the trailer, Pete Kennedy pressed a button that began to fold and then unfold the bi-fold wings of the array. This place is truly abuzz with electrical research.

Currently, the portable solar array is pulled by an electric tractor, which Kennedy also demonstrated. The compact tractor from Monarch arrived in winter 2023 and has seen increased use around the research farm. It gets its power from batteries that are charged by the batteries on the solar array, which gets its energy from the sun striking the solar panels attached to a former combine head trailer that was chopped and rebuilt by a local shop. The solar trailer has a capacity of 60 kW hours and its panels are equivalent to about 18 kW.

“So when you’re pulling this through the pasture, obviously you’re not tied to the grid, so you need to be able to discharge it someplace and that’s what the electric tractor or other electric vehicles are used for,” said UMN West Central Research and Outreach Center director of operations Mike Reese.

The solar array folds up into itself into a slimmer profile, under 12 feet, that allows it to travel down the road for educational purposes, such as a trip to FarmFest in Morgan, Minnesota, last summer. It’s likely to make a return visit there this year. When it’s fully engaged out on pasture, it opens up like a bird ready to take flight.

“This is really a summer collector,” Buchanan said. The panels open horizontally to the ground rather than at an angle like permanent solar arrays.

The size of the array was based on what was feasible to carry on a trailer, with the most shade production. This setup can easily shade about 20 cows. It sports rear-wheel steering, which was important to be able to maneuver the roughly 40-foot trailer through gates in the rotationally grazed pastures.

The solar array soaks up the sun, leaving a large shaded area below where the cows can stay cool. Research into the benefits of shaded cows vs. non-shaded cows was previously done on the campus. It indicates that those who have shade tend to have lower body temperatures, meaning less stress on the herd. Less stress can mean more milk production, higher fertility rates and the potential for longer life.

Just how else the portable solar array will be used is being researched, but for now it can charge the tractor in the field. The university got the tractor thanks to a grant in order to pull the solar trailer. Buchanan said they could use it for powering irrigation systems or electric fences in the summer. In the winter, the array is parked near the maintenance buildings where it can be used to charge electric vehicles or power a building.

“Brad (Heins) is planning on using it in the dairy pastures all summer,” Buchanan said. Research will be done throughout the summer by graduate students to track forage growth and its effects on the cows.

Heins, associate professor of organic dairy management in the Department of Animal Science, is leading much of the research behind how energy and agriculture can work together.

Their solar systems started out small in 2017 but have gradually grown to explore the capabilities of solar on small and larger scales for residential, commercial and farm applications.

So far, their solar includes a 4kW display that helps power a guest house. A 20kW system powers a heat pump system designed to cool sows and provide heat for piglets. It provides about 70% more electricity than it uses at the farrowing barn. A 27kW array provides the power needed for the swine finishing barn. A 30kW display is located in a pasture to provide shade for a grazing dairy herd. This powers a fast charging station for electric vehicles and helps power the WCROC administration building. A 50kW system is used to electrify the dairy milking parlor. A 240kW array again provides shade in a portion of the pasture for a grazing dairy herd, which supports the university’s electric needs. A 500kW array in the dairy pasture was celebrated in summer 2024. This project, in partnership with UMN Morris, provides shade for dairy cows and generates energy for the campus. The campus is carbon neutral thanks to these advancements in energy production on site.

Ongoing work

While work on the dairy grazing research continues, the shop at the campus is also filled with other projects utilizing robotics. Electric weeders are being constructed and tested. Research is being done and improvements are being made along the way. It’s costly work to try to build these devices and develop them, but it’s work that can lead to a model that farmers may someday be able to buy and use in their operations. The university receives funding for these renewable energy projects largely through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, which is funded with Minnesota lottery proceeds.

“It’s like the electric truck. Not everybody wants to drive an electric truck right away either, until you do it a little bit,” Buchanan said.

But as more and more electric vehicles make their way onto the landscape, the need for more power ramps up as well. This has electric suppliers wanting to understand what’s coming. A tractor is as useful as what it can attach to, so this one already has a trailer to pull, a snowblower, tiller and mower. A road blade is next on the list, so the tractor sees use year-round.

The university is also tracking its energy use on this tractor as it takes on daily tasks and adds tasks throughout the year.

“We installed a bunch of monitoring equipment so as we go and do some of these tasks, we’re going to really closely monitor how much electricity we’re using, when we recharge it, how much is it using,” Buchanan said. The electric suppliers are interested in what effect it will have on the grid if more and more farmers add this equipment. This research will help inform what’s to come.

Getting here has taken time, and more time is needed to make sure these innovations find a place on the farm, but it’s exciting to see how it can all work together, according to Reese. The solar charger is charging a tractor now, but may soon be charging weeders out in the field and endless other possibilities to get where the grid doesn’t.

“There’s all these connection points and the whole system, I think that’s very unique. You know, we can produce green nitrogen fertilizer, we can have electric tractors out in the fields,” Reese said. “All of these renewable energy systems end up working together to improve the carbon intensity of agricultural products and, actually well beyond, through the production of sustainable aviation fuel, e-methanol, and green iron and steel. Since we will be relying on energy generated locally, the goal is that these energy systems will also improve profitability and generate wealth in rural communities."

Agrivoltaics field day

The West Central Research and Outreach Center is hosting an agrivoltaics field day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, June 27, at 46352 MN-329, in Morris, Minnesota. Learn about cattle and sheep grazing, solar site forages, grain crops under solar panels and solar developer perspectives. There is no cost to attend but registration is required by visiting the University of Minnesota Extension website or contacting Sabrina Florentino at slpflore@umn.edu.

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BWCAW mining language stricken from US budget bill

Jimmy Lovrien — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 16:30:03 GMT

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans have removed a provision in the federal budget bill that would have reversed a pause on mining on federal land within the same watershed as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and reinstated leases to a copper-nickel mining company wishing to mine in that area.

An amendment by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday strikes portions of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that would run afoul of Senate rules that Republicans are relying on to pass the upper chamber with a simple majority instead of 60 votes.

The amendment removes Section 80131 of the spending bill, which sought to end a Biden-era 20-year moratorium on mining on 225,000 acres of federal land within the watershed and return two mineral leases to Twin Metals, which is owned by Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta and is hoping to build a large underground copper-nickel mine and dry-stacked tailings storage facility near Ely and Birch Lake, within the Rainy River Watershed and 5 miles from the BWCAW.

The full chamber was expected to vote on the changes Wednesday, Politico reported.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who introduced a bill earlier this year seeking to make the mineral withdrawal near the BWCAW permanent, celebrated the removal of the language.

“Today marks a victory in our fight to protect the Boundary Waters. Buried deep in President Trump and Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill was a provision that gave a foreign mining company full permission to build a copper-nickel sulfide mine right on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters. I vowed to do everything in my power to protect this precious place,” Smith said in a statement Tuesday evening. “Today, I am relieved to announce that we were successful in forcing Republicans to drop this language attacking the Boundary Waters from the bill.”

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Hermantown, an ardent supporter of mining and Twin Metals, did not immediately respond to the News Tribune’s request for comment.

Twin Metals declined to comment.

Mining Minnesota, a copper-nickel mining industry group, said the move further delays establishing a domestic mineral supply chain.

“Our nation’s energy future depends upon the steps we take today to create a resilient supply chain from the ground up,” Julie Lucas, executive director of Mining Minnesota, said in a statement. “While the decision to remove language that confirmed the importance of Minnesota’s mineral potential was due to a niche, procedural provision unique to the U.S. Senate, unfortunately, it delays those first steps needed to ensure Americans can build and power tomorrow with responsibly mined minerals. Leaders from both sides of the aisle recognize the need to increase our domestic production of minerals and we welcome conversations about Minnesota’s role in meeting those mineral security goals.”

Meanwhile, groups like Friends of the Boundary Waters and Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters celebrated the removal of the language.

“The Boundary Waters is a natural treasure, ecological wonder and vital economic driver. Thanks to the tireless efforts of public lands defenders in Congress, today brings good news for the millions who cherish this iconic place,” Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement Tuesday evening. “America’s most visited wilderness has narrowly escaped inclusion in the Big Beautiful Bill, which would have almost guaranteed irreversible pollution from toxic copper mining in this fragile ecosystem.”

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Cleveland-Cliffs to idle one mine and ‘partially idle’ another, company says

Jimmy Lovrien — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 20:32:49 GMT

HIBBING, Minn. — Cleveland-Cliffs said it would temporarily idle two of its Iron Range mines and pellet plants and lay off 630 workers.

The iron ore mining and steel-making company said it would idle its Minorca Mine in Virginia and "partially idle" Hibbing Taconite in Hibbing, Cliffs spokesperson Pat Persico said in a statement Thursday morning.

"These temporary idles are necessary to re-balance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory produced in 2024," Persico said. "630 employees will be impacted following the completion of the 60-day WARN period. We remain committed to supporting our employees and communities while monitoring market conditions."

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with more than 100 employees to give a 60-day notice to workers if a plant is closing or a layoff affects 50 or more employees.

Earlier in the day, State Sen. Grant Hauschild, D-Hermantown, said in a news release that in addition to excess pellets, the automotive industry, which Cliffs supplies with steel, faces a downturn.

"(Hauschild) is told that temporary idles, and layoffs are necessary to re-balance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory produced in 2024," Hauschild's office said. "The automobile industry is facing one of the most challenging economic conditions in recent history and the Iron Range supplies much of the pellets necessary for that industry."

The Trump administration has imposed, then delayed, 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. The levies, expected to take effect April 2, could drive up the price of vehicles and disrupt the industry's cross-border supply chains.

Auto dealers and the United Auto Dealers are bracing for layoffs thanks to the trade war, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

Cliffs mines and processes iron ore in Northeastern Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula and ships its iron to its steel mills further down the Great Lakes. The auto industry buys a significant portion of its steel.

“This is tough news today," State Sen. Robert Farnsworth, R-Hibbing, said in a news release. "I have been in touch with Cleveland Cliffs leadership as well as union officials, and we are working together to take care of the employees and their families.

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US judge orders Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired workers

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 21:00:09 GMT

A California federal judge on Thursday ordered six U.S. agencies to reinstate thousands of recently hired employees who lost their jobs as part of President Donald Trump's purge of the federal workforce.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup during a hearing in San Francisco was the most significant blow yet to the effort by Trump and top adviser Elon Musk to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy. Government agencies face a Thursday, March 13 deadline to submit plans for a second wave of mass layoffs and to slash their budgets.

Alsup's ruling applies to probationary employees at the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior and the Treasury Department.

The judge said the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the human resources department for federal agencies, had improperly ordered those agencies to fire workers en masse even though it lacked the power to do so.

“It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie,” said Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement said Alsup lacked the power to issue the ruling and that the administration would "immediately fight back."

“The President has the authority to exercise the power of the entire executive branch — singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President’s agenda," Leavitt said.

Alsup during the hearing said agencies can engage in mass layoffs but are required to comply with a number of legal requirements.

Probationary workers typically have less than one year of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees. They have fewer job protections than other government workers but in general can only be fired for performance issues.

Alsup ordered the agencies to reinstate workers who were fired over the last few weeks, pending the outcome of a lawsuit by unions, nonprofit groups, and the state of Washington.

He did not order the 16 other agencies named in the lawsuit to reinstate workers, but said he would promptly issue a written decision that could expand on Thursday's ruling.

A Veterans Affairs spokesperson declined to comment. A Department of Interior spokeswoman said the agency does not comment on litigation over personnel matters.

The other agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The plaintiffs include the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 800,000 federal workers. The union's president, Everett Kelley, in a statement said the decision was an important victory against "an administration hellbent on crippling federal agencies and their work on behalf of the American public."

25,000 workers

Alsup last month had temporarily blocked OPM from ordering agencies to fire probationary employees, but declined at the time to require that fired workers get their jobs back. The plaintiffs subsequently amended their lawsuit to include the agencies that fired probationary workers.

About 25,000 workers across the U.S. government had been fired as of March 5, according to a Reuters tally, and another 75,000 have taken a buyout. The Trump administration has not released statistics on the firings, and it was not immediately clear how many employees could be affected by Thursday's decision.

In the lawsuit before Alsup, the plaintiffs claim the mass firings were unlawful because they were ordered by OPM rather than left to the discretion of individual agencies.

OPM has maintained that it merely asked agencies in a January 20 memo to identify probationary workers and decide which ones were not "mission critical" and could be fired, and did not order them to terminate anyone.

The agency on March 4 revised that memo, adding that it was not directing agencies to take any specific actions with respect to probationary employees.

OPM has pointed to the updated memo and to press releases by agencies as proof that it had no control over agencies' decisions.

Alsup on Thursday told the U.S. Department of Justice lawyer representing OPM, Kelsey Helland, that he did not believe that was true, and scolded the government for not presenting OPM's acting director, Charles Ezell, to testify at the hearing.

“I’ve been practicing or serving in this court for over 50 years and I know how we get at the truth, and you’re not helping me get at the truth. You’re giving me press releases, sham documents,” Alsup said.

Helland said it was common for presidential administrations to prevent high-ranking agency officials from testifying in court, and that the information provided by OPM in court filings was enough to prove that it never ordered agencies to terminate workers.

Along with the lawsuit in California, several other challenges to the mass firings have been filed, including cases by 20 Democrat-led states and a proposed class action by a group of fired workers.

The Merit Systems Protection Board, which reviews federal employees' appeals when they are fired, earlier this month ordered the Agriculture Department to reinstate nearly 6,000 probationary workers at least temporarily.

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Ontario threat would have little effect on Minnesota Power

Jimmy Lovrien — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 15:21:59 GMT

DULUTH — Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s threat to cut off electricity exports to three U.S. states, including Minnesota, in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on imports from Canada would likely have negligible effects on Minnesota Power customers and the region’s power grid.

While Minnesota is linked to Ontario’s grid by a transmission line over the Rainy River, Duluth-based Minnesota Power bought just under $310,000 of electricity from Ontario’s system in 2024, according to public filings. It did not buy electricity from Ontario in eight months of the year.

By comparison, the company spent $108 million on electricity from Manitoba, Ontario’s provincial neighbor.

“Minnesota Power has an electric grid connection with Ontario, and on occasion we do utilize electricity from their system,” said Minnesota Power spokesperson Amy Rutledge. “However, it is not on a daily basis like our contracted electricity from Manitoba Hydro.”

Electricity imported from Manitoba Hydro, which accounts for 11% of Minnesota Power’s energy, would presumably be subject to the Trump administration’s 10% tariffs on Canadian electricity imports.

The 10% tariffs on energy imports from Canada and 25% tariffs on all other products from Canada supposedly took effect Tuesday but were partially delayed by another month on Thursday.

Companies importing goods from abroad pay tariffs to the government that enacts the tariff, and economists agree that those costs are generally passed on to consumers, causing prices to increase.

But exactly how these tariffs will affect electricity imports and prices in the region is unclear.

Grid operators and utilities remain unsure of when the tariffs will take effect, and if electricity will even be subjected to tariffs.

Brandon Morris, a spokesperson for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the grid operator in the central U.S., said there was uncertainty about whether import tariffs would even apply to electricity from Canada or if the tariff threat would be resolved.

“MISO has received no confirmation from federal agencies regarding the duties’ applicability to electricity or who will be responsible for paying or collecting them,” Morris said Wednesday.

Minnesota Power echoed the uncertainty.

“While it is unclear at this time whether electricity will be subject to tariffs imposed by the United States or Canada, we are watching the situation closely to determine any potential impacts to our customers,” Rutledge said, adding that the company has other domestic power sources it can lean on.

Ford’s threat to cut Ontario’s power to the U.S. would also have little effect on the regional grid.

MISO, which oversees the grid stretching from the Midwest down to Louisiana and parts of Texas, receives less than 1% of its electricity from Canadian imports and less than half of that came from Ontario, Morris said.

“For context, that amount is equivalent to approximately one power plant,” he said. “MISO manages the loss of power plants like this every day to ensure reliability across our footprint.”

The Winnipeg Free Press reported Thursday that Manitoba’s financial minister instructed the Manitoba Hydro board to seek Cabinet approval before extending existing or entering into new power purchasing agreements with U.S. companies.

Minnesota Power is nearly five years into a 15-year power purchase agreement with Manitoba Hydro, bringing 250 megawatts of hydropower from northern Manitoba to Minnesota Power customers.

Minnesota Power built a 224-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line from a substation east of Grand Rapids to the international border in Roseau County to carry the hydropower. The Duluth-based utility can also send power northward when wind production is high.

Energizing the line in 2020 was key in helping the company jump from 30% renewable energy to 50% renewable energy.

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Water-guzzling data centers spark worries for Minnesota’s groundwater

Kirsti Marohn / MPR News — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

BRAINERD — Minnesota is one of several states where companies are building mega-scale data centers to keep up with the explosion of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Many data centers use water — sometimes in large amounts — to cool their equipment. That’s raising some concerns about their impacts on the state’s groundwater supplies.

A single large data center can use as much water as thousands of homes, or “equivalent to a city,” said Carrie Jennings, research and policy director at the nonprofit Freshwater.

“If you think about where we’re already seeing depletions of groundwater or cones of depression, it’s in those outer-ring suburbs that are getting away from the surface water source of the Mississippi or the Minnesota River,” she said. “They’re exclusively using groundwater.”

Those are the same places where several large data centers are planned or under construction. But pinpointing the exact number of centers or how much water they’ll use can be a challenge, even for state regulators.

“We hear about them in different ways, and that’s part of the challenge,” said Jason Moeckel, assistant director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ ecological and water resources division.

While reviewing a project, local officials sometimes ask the DNR about any issues with a large water user coming to their city or county. But the details are often vague, Moeckel said.

“Oftentimes what we’ll hear is ‘an industrial water user.’ They won’t even say if it’s a data center,” he said.

Minnesota law requires a water-use permit for industries, farmers or anyone else who draws more than 1 million gallons a year. But some data centers get their water directly from a city system, bypassing the need for a state permit.

A mid-sized data center consumes about 300,000 gallons of water a day, but that number can be much higher for hyperscale data centers.

Cities have water plans ensuring they have adequate water for future growth. Communities in the seven-county metro area also have comprehensive plans through the Metropolitan Council. But most were written before the recent explosion of large data centers.

Moeckel said when it’s consulted about a project, the DNR can help cities identify potential red flags with a high-volume water user.

“There are pockets of places where we know there are some real challenges,” he said. “There are other places where we’re beginning to get a picture of some of the challenges or the constraints.”

Some residents who live near proposed data centers also worry about their water use. Cathy Johnson lives near a large data center campus planned for Farmington and helped start the Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development.

“When water is taken out of one source at that rate, it will have an impact on the surrounding private wells,” she said.

Whether Minnesota has enough water to support data centers may depend on their design and how they’re cooled. Industry representatives say they’ve gotten much more efficient and innovative in their design.

Some tech companies have sustainability goals to save water and energy. They’re building data centers with closed-loop systems that recirculate water to cool equipment. Others use air, wastewater or other fluids for cooling, saving high-quality groundwater for drinking. But those can add time and up-front expense to a project.

There are lots of opportunities for data centers to reduce water use, said Michelle Stockness, Freshwater’s executive director. But she said there needs to be more transparency when cities are approving big water users.

Stockness said some companies are eager to get their projects approved quickly. And they sometimes require local officials to sign non-disclosure agreements, limiting the information that’s available, she said.

“I wish we could help corporations lean into those goals more, with more options in the speed of which they need the decisions to be made,” Stockness said. “That’s the tricky part.”

Some Minnesota lawmakers are calling for more regulations on data centers, although it’s unclear whether they will pass this year.

State Sen. Bill Lieske, R-Lonsdale, represents a district that includes southern Dakota County, which is experiencing a data center boom. He authored a bill that restricts data centers larger than 800,000 square feet to industrial districts.

As a Republican, Lieske says he believes in local decision-making. But he’s concerned local officials are sometimes wowed by the economic benefits of data centers, and don’t consider the wider impacts.

“All these towns, they think, ‘Oh, hey, it’s not a big deal for my small town,’ ” he said. “Yes. But if you draw that much water and electricity, it’ll affect the next small town over.”

Lieske’s bill has bipartisan support. Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, is a co-author.

Maye Quade also introduced her own bill to fund a study of the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence, including data centers, which she calls a “downstream problem.”

“I think the real problem is upstream, with this rapid expansion of generative AI into our lives in some really insidious ways,” she said.

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org
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Stauber reintroduces bill to reverse mining ban near Boundary Waters, return leases to Twin Metals

Dan Kraker / MPR News — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

DULUTH — Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber has reintroduced legislation to overturn a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that was imposed two years ago under the Biden administration.

The bill would also return two key federal mineral leases to Twin Metals Minnesota, the company vying to build an underground mine for copper and nickel near Ely, on the shore of Birch Lake, just south of the wilderness.

Twin Metals is owned by the Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta. The Biden administration revoked those leases in 2022.

Stauber, who represents Minnesota’s 8th District where the project would be built, originally introduced the bill in 2023. It passed the GOP-controlled U.S. House but was never taken up by the Democratically controlled Senate.

Now that Republicans control both chambers in Congress, the bill stands a much greater chance of passing.

President Donald Trump has also promised to undo the mining ban, which covers about 350 square miles of the Superior National Forest within the watershed of the Boundary Waters. That means any potential water pollution from mines there could flow into the wilderness area.

Biden’s Department of the Interior imposed the so-called “mineral withdrawal” after conducting an environmental review that found potential mining projects in the region posed too great a risk of doing “irreparable harm” to the watershed.

On the presidential campaign trail last year, at a stop in St. Cloud with Stauber at his side, Trump promised to undo the mining moratorium in “about 10 minutes.”

While Trump has yet to act specifically on the Twin Metals leases or the mineral withdrawal in the Superior National Forest, new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order this week calling for the reinstatement of natural resource leases canceled during Biden’s term, and for the review and revision of withdrawn public lands.

Stauber told MPR News his legislation is just one possible vehicle to open up northeastern Minnesota to mining.

“All options are on the table, and we’re going to use all options in order to allow us to mine in Minnesota and across this country,” Stauber said.

Stauber, who’s from Hermantown, just outside Duluth, said Minnesota has an opportunity to mine important minerals from the Duluth Complex, a rich mineral repository in northeastern Minnesota he called the “biggest untapped copper-nickel find in the world.”

Calls to open new mines have taken on more urgency in recent years, to help supply minerals needed to build electric vehicles, solar panels and other technologies needed to power a carbon-free energy transition.

“We have 21st-century technology,” Stauber continued. “We have the ability to do it right, following our environmental and labor laws. We do it better in our backyard, and I want to celebrate that. And I think that when we follow the strict laws that we have, we ought to be able to mine these God-given natural resources.”

Environmental groups immediately pushed back against Stauber’s bill, arguing it would strip important protections from more than 225,000 acres of land, and open it up to a kind of mining that poses much more severe water pollution risks than iron ore mining, which has been conducted in the region for 140 years.

“It puts pollution over clean water. We will challenge this decision through every available avenue,” said Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters.

Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters, called Stauber’s bill a “giveaway” of the country’s most popular wilderness area.

The bill “undermines the robust record of science, public opinion, law and economics that clearly demonstrates that this iconic American landscape is absolutely no place for our nation’s most dangerous industry,” she added.

In addition, Stauber’s bill would also limit opponents’ ability to file lawsuits to block the return of leases to Twin Metals. A spokesperson for Stauber said “well-funded activist groups who oppose mining of any kind should not be able to weaponize the courts” to hold up the project.

Environmental groups have called that provision in the bill “radical,” for eliminating review by the judicial branch, the third branch of government.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who represents the St. Paul area, introduced legislation two weeks ago to make the 20-year mining ban permanent.

“The Boundary Waters are a national treasure that must be protected,” McCollum said when she introduced the bill. But its prospects appear dim in the current GOP-controlled Congress.

Regardless of what happens at the federal level, any mining project in Minnesota must undergo an extensive environmental review process that typically takes years, and secure state permits from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Five years ago, the Minnesota DNR opted to conduct its own environmental review when Twin Metals submitted its first mining proposal, rather than opting for a joint state-federal review.

Stauber acknowledged that the federal government will “need a partner in the state” to get mining projects across the finish line.

“I’m prepared to hold the governor and his cabinet accountable on these issues, on these anti-mining issues,” Stauber said. “We have to have the ability to mine these critical minerals. We are blessed having them under our feet.”

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org
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Energy prices likely to increase if Trump’s tariffs take effect

Jimmy Lovrien — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 18:57:13 GMT

DULUTH — If Republican President Donald Trump’s tariffs on oil and electricity imports from Canada are enacted next month, customers in the Northland could see energy prices increase.

Tariffs of 10% on Canadian energy like oil, natural gas and electricity — smaller than the 25% tariffs on all other goods from Canada — were set to take effect Tuesday but were delayed for at least a month late Monday.

While companies importing goods from abroad pay tariffs to the government that enacts the tariff, economists agree that those costs are generally passed on to consumers, causing prices to increase. Trump, who, during the campaign, insisted he would lower prices and inflation, acknowledged Sunday that tariffs could cause Americans “pain” in the short term, Reuters reported.

Ahead of the 30-day delay, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which tracks gas prices, told the News Tribune he expects the tariffs are a “negotiation tactic” by the Trump administration.

But if they take effect, they could account for a 5- to 20-cent increase in a gallon of gas, he said.

He added that the exact impact of tariffs on gas prices will likely be muddied by the annual spring price increase thanks to the expected increase in demand, scheduled refinery maintenance and switch to summer blends of gasoline, which would cause prices to increase 20-60 cents.

“The tariffs will probably be a small impact to people’s wallets, almost negligible over the next few weeks unless something changes,” De Haan said. “I think what is more significant is the seasonal lift of prices that we see year in and year out.”

De Haan said that gas prices in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. would be most affected. That’s because the supply chain here is designed to process thick Canadian crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands.

“There was a business opportunity decades and decades ago,” he said. “Canada was basically selling their tar sands to us at a very big discount, so we started building infrastructure, pipelines, refineries that were able to take advantage of the situation to produce fuel that we needed.”

An explainer by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, an oil and gas trade association, said that refineries designed to process heavy crude oil from Canada and Mexico can’t just switch over and handle light oil from the Bakken in Montana and North Dakota or the Permian in Texas and New Mexico, and forcing them to process a different kind of oil “would cause them to reduce production and potentially shut down.”

“And while it sounds counterintuitive, simply drilling for more U.S. shale oil is not a viable substitute for much of what we import,” the organization said.

On Sunday, the organization’s CEO, Chet Thompson, said in a statement that he was “hopeful a resolution can be quickly reached with our North American neighbors so that crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals are removed from the tariff schedule before consumers feel the impact.”

Cenovus Energy, the Calgary-based owner of the refinery in Superior, said in an emailed statement to the News Tribune on Monday that tariffs will hurt economies and consumers in both the U.S. and Canada.

While the company said it is not sure what proportion of the tariffs will affect producers, refineries and consumers, the tariffs could potentially mean higher prices for gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and asphalt.

“Refiners, such as the Cenovus Superior Refinery, benefit from access to cheaper Canadian feedstock, as do many other refineries in the U.S. Midwest,” the company said. “Many analysts predict the tariffs will lead to an increase in the price of gasoline particularly in the Midwest.”

Enbridge, also based in Calgary, ferries Canadian crude oil into the U.S. via its network of pipelines across northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. It said the U.S. and Canada have a "highly integrated energy system and markets” that benefit each other.

“Instead of a trade war, we should be working to advance North America as an energy powerhouse,” Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said in an emailed statement to the News Tribune. “For the sake of our customers and consumers, and industry on both sides of the border, we need to encourage a resolution.”

While Canadian natural gas would also be hit with a 10% levy, local utilities aren’t entirely reliant on Canada to source the fuel that many use to heat their homes and water.

The News Tribune reported in 2022 that Comfort Systems, Duluth’s city-owned local water and gas utility, gets natural gas from two sources: Northern Natural Gas, which owns a pipeline system that begins in Texas and ends in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and TC Energy’s Great Lakes Transmission System, which carries natural gas from Canada into the region.

It also has preexisting long-term contracts and often has purchased gas already in storage, which can cushion cost increases, but when prices jump outside of its control, as they had in 2022, Comfort Systems said that it passes those costs on to customers, the News Tribune reported at the time.

“The City is monitoring the evolving discussion on tariffs, but we won’t be able to comment at this time on any potential impacts to our natural gas supply,” Jim Benning, director of public works and utilities at the city of Duluth, said Monday in an emailed statement to the News Tribune.

Electricity

Oil and gas are not the only types of energy flowing from Canada into the U.S. Electricity produced in Canada takes transmission lines into Minnesota.

Minnesota Power is nearly five years into a 15-year power purchase agreement with Manitoba Hydro, bringing 250 megawatts of hydropower from northern Manitoba to Minnesota Power customers.

Asked how the 10% tariff on electricity from Canada will affect Minnesota Power and whether it would increase customers’ electricity rates, Minnesota Power spokesperson Amy Rutledge said in an email, “Given the breadth of the executive orders, we are still evaluating the tariffs and impact. Our number one commitment is the safety, security and reliability of our electric system and we’ll continue to work on behalf of our customers to navigate these new executive orders and their implications.”

Energizing the line in 2020 was key in helping the company jump from 30% renewable energy to 50% renewable energy.

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Walz appoints Audrey Partridge as commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission

Mary Murphy — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 21:59:00 GMT

ST.PAUL — Gov. Tim Walz appointed Audrey Partridge as the new Commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, Jan. 30.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is a five-member body with legislative and quasi-judicial functions aimed at regulating electricity, natural gas and telephone services industries in Minnesota. The appointment comes as Minnesota’s Legislative session is underway and the PUC recently approved the state’s first carbon capture pipeline.

"I am so grateful to be appointed to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. I thank Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for trusting me to serve our state at this pivotal time in our clean energy transition,” Partridge said in a Thursday release. “I will work each and every day to meet Minnesota's ambitious clean energy goals, while maintaining affordability and reliability, and supporting Minnesota's communities and our highly skilled energy workforce."

Partridge has been the director of policy for the Center for Energy and Environment since 2017 and has served as senior regulatory analyst and local energy policy manager with CenterPoint Energy. Partridge earned an M.P.P. from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. from Macalester College.

“Partridge is a proven leader with expertise in regulatory policy and extensive background in energy and environmental work,” Walz said in a press release. “She will be an effective leader, positioned to guide Minnesota towards 100 percent clean energy while ensuring the delivery of safe, reliable, and sustainable utility services across the state.”

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Can Minnesota lawmakers find common ground on energy issues? Some think so

Kirsti Marohn / MPR News — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 18:45:23 GMT

ST. PAUL — It wasn't uncommon in the last two years at the Minnesota Capitol to hear DFL lawmakers and climate advocates use words like “historic” and “transformative” to describe legislation aimed at speeding up the state’s shift to clean energy.

In the last biennium, the DFL-controlled Legislature passed a slate of bills promoting carbon-free power, electric vehicles and energy-efficient homes.

Then came the November election, when voters ended the DFL trifecta in Minnesota and sent a divided Legislature to the state Capitol.

The balance of power remains uncertain, and it’s not clear how those climate actions will fare under a divided state government. But some legislators think the two parties may be able to find common ground on some energy issues.

“I think there was a sense around Minnesota that they want us to work together a little more, look for opportunities for bipartisanship,” said Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, who chaired the Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee for the past two years. “I do think those opportunities are there on energy.”

Frentz said he thinks there are opportunities for Republicans and Democrats to work together on making sure energy is reliable and affordable, as utilities try to keep up with growing electricity use for homes, appliances, vehicles and data centers.

“One of the messages voters sent is that they're very worried about costs of living, and energy costs are part of that, especially if you believe the projections that energy demand in Minnesota is going to double,” he said. “That’s very significant.”

At a Dec. 5 legislative preview event sponsored by Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, an industry-led nonprofit, other key lawmakers discussed some energy issues where they might find bipartisan agreement.

One is the state’s moratorium on new nuclear power plants, adopted in the 1990s. Some lawmakers want to lift the ban, or at least pay for a study of advanced nuclear reactors, which are smaller and more mobile than traditional nuclear power plants.

“When you look at a moratorium, that is a pretty firm ‘no’ when it comes to what is the planning, what is the possibility?” said Rep. Chris Swedzinski, the lead Republican on the House Energy Committee. Republicans are set to have a one-seat advantage in the House.

Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said Minnesota could lose out on economic opportunities to its neighbors by not being open to new technology.

“If we believe we do things better in Minnesota — which I believe we do in certain areas — that we should make sure that that nuclear plant when it's built — because it will be — it’s not 30 feet on the other side of a state line, just so that we can feel better about ourselves,” he said.

Nuclear energy may not emit greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, but not all lawmakers welcome it.

State Rep. Patty Acomb chaired the House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee for the past two years. At the CEEM event, she pointed out challenges with nuclear, including the storage of spent fuel and a recent leak of radioactive water at the Monticello nuclear plant.

“We remember the problems that nuclear energy can bring,” said Acomb, DFL-Minnetonka. “It may be carbon-free, but by no means is it clean.” Still, Acomb said while she’s not ready to lift the moratorium, she’s open to having conversations about nuclear energy.

Some of the energy policies that passed under the DFL-controlled Legislature could come under scrutiny, including a law requiring that Minnesota utilities provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.

Frentz, who was the bill’s Senate author, doesn’t think Republicans will try to overturn it. He says they may try to clarify whether certain types of energy, such as biomass, qualify as renewable.

“We want to make smart decisions about decarbonizing, and we’re open to those discussions,” he said. “But as far as the 2040 goal of renewable energy, I think that’ll stand.”

Another area where lawmakers could agree is supporting energy efficiency. Amid what looks to be an acrimonious session, saving costs could be one subject where all political sides can agree.

During the CEEM event, Acomb said as Minnesota works to become carbon-free, lawmakers should look for ways to help people reduce their energy bills.

“I will say I have solar panels on my house. I drive an electric car. I just installed an air source heat pump,” she said. “There are a lot of ways that we as energy consumers can reduce our need to buy more energy from our utilities.”

This story was originally published on MPRNews.org
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