MPR News
Summary
The landmark law that Minnesota lawmakers passed last year requiring utilities to produce 100 percent of their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040 did not specify which power sources would qualify.
Instead, the legislation defined “carbon-free” as “a technology that generates electricity without emitting carbon dioxide.” Lawmakers left it to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to determine what meets that definition.
The MPCA, in a filing to the PUC, argues that regulators should assess “‘carbon neutrality’ rather than the more strict requirement of being ‘carbon free’ at the point of electricity generation.”
That would allow for an approach that considers the entire carbon lifecycle of different technologies.
For example, should a coal-fired power plant equipped with carbon capture technology be considered carbon-free, if it emits carbon dioxide that is subsequently trapped underground?
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