Opponents of the proposed Big Stone II power plant likely cheered a Minnesota administrative ruling that jeopardizes the construction of transmission lines across the state. But that element of the power plant's construction also benefits something opponents probably support: wind power. The same lines that Big Stone II would use to transmit power also would carry South Dakota wind power. ...The search for feasible replacements for fossil fuels will not always be painless. Wind power requires more than turbines, which are eyesores in their own right, to harness energy. That energy must then be moved and stored, and that potentially means heavy-duty lines crisscrossing the country.

If Michigan is to join 25 states requiring that more electricity come from renewable sources, the Legislature must sort out all kinds of issues -including the price tag. Compared with existing power from old, already-paid-for coal plants, renewable energy is more expensive. The House is considering capping residents' extra costs at no more than $3 a month, or $36 a year over 20 years, which could let power companies off the hook for meeting the renewable energy requirement, known as an RPS. Under legislation pending in the House, commercial customers would pay no more than $190 a year more, while the cap for industrial customers would be $2,250.

Because it is uncharted territory, Community Development Director Gordon Hydukovich is requesting a temporary moratorium on wind turbines. The city attorney will be asked during Tuesday's Fergus Falls City Council meeting to draft such an ordinance. It is necessary, Hydukovich said, until city code can be written clearly stating where they can be placed. The moratorium was prompted by an individual requesting to place a turbine in a residential area. Another request was submitted by an industrial user in the city.

Minnesotans soon can tell state officials what they think of a plan to add hundreds of miles of electric transmission lines across the state. A group of 11 utilities, led by Xcel Energy and including Otter Tail Power Co., has proposed building three high-voltage transmission lines in Minnesota, claiming they are needed to improve service and prepare for growing electricity demands in areas such as the Red River Valley. ...Red Wing attorney Carol Overland has tracked the CapX 2020 proposal and operates a Web site that attempts to debunk the utilities' claim about needed transmission expansion. Overland said a better alternative would be to add generation facilities close to where the electricity is needed. "We're dealing with this false justification of need," said Overland, who will challenge the utilities' claims at the upcoming meetings.

Minnesota renewable energy advocates see great opportunity in wind-generated electricity, but the state struggles to reach that goal. ...efforts to increase Minnesota's use of wind energy face an inconvenient reality: The state lacks enough transmission lines to move the new electricity from wind turbines to customers. ...Also, while wind-generated electricity is more than half of Minnesota's renewable energy, even supporters acknowledge it only works when the wind is blowing, so other energy sources still are needed.

While it is pursuing wind power as a renewable resource -- most recently with a large deal last week -- that source is strictly supplemental, SMMPA spokesman Dan Hayes says. Wind-generated power is available when the wind blows, so it is not always online to ship. SMMPA needs to have enough power available 24/7 to supply its 18 city-owned utility companies and their customers. ...But there are other possibilities for baseline electricity, and SMMPA's chief operating officer, Dave Geschwind, says agency managers now are evaluating them more closely.

ST. PAUL - It could be years before many Minnesotans see the impact of a series of energy-related laws that soon go into effect. Lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty agreed on what was described as historic renewable energy and conservation legislation earlier this year, and major components become law Wednesday. A renewable energy standard requires most utilities to derive a quarter of their electricity production from renewable sources - including wind, solar and hydroelectric generation - by 2025. Xcel Energy has a tougher mandate. Ratepayers will not notice a difference in their electricity bills. A provision included in the law is meant to prevent significant price hikes for consumers. There is an effort to push renewable energy initiatives, but not at the expense of cost or reliability, said Ed Garvey, deputy commissioner at the Department of Commerce.

The utilities also argue that the drive for alternative sources of energy -- chiefly wind turbines -- requires more transmission lines to move electricity from the breezy bluffs of rural southwest Minnesota to customers in urban areas.

The Minnesota landscape will look a lot different if the state's renewable energy plan becomes reality. The 25 by 25 goal as it's known would have renewable sources provide a quarter of the state's electricity by 2025. That could mean thousands of windmills with solar, biomass and even hydrogen facilities mixed in. Another feature of the state's new skyline will be many miles of new power lines. Exactly how many miles is under debate.

Public Service Commission President Ken Norman said he sympathizes with environmental concerns. "I've got grandchildren," he said. "I think long term, anything we do to clean up the environment" is good. But he's also concerned about the implications of the measure. Wind power is one of the primary renewable power sources now available, though there are other renewables such as solar power and the burning of biomass. But the reliability of wind power - or the lack thereof - is an issue. Wind power only works when the wind is blowing, Norman said. There are no giant batteries to hold the power. It has to be used as it's produced. When the temperatures reach 30 below zero as they do in this area, the power source has to be there, Norman said. "Up here, it's a matter of survival." Complicating matters is the proposed Global Warming Mitigation Act in Minnesota. A provision of that bill would block the Big Stone II coal-burning plant project, State Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, said. Lanning and State Sen. Keith Langseth, DFL-Glyndon, supported the "25 by '25" initiative, but also say that plants such as Big Stone II are needed to supply the on-demand power availability that wind can't. The Big Stone II project includes construction of transmission lines that could also be used to transmit wind power, Lanning said. The kind of renewable sources of energy production proposed by the "25 by '25" initiative are more expensive to operate than coal-burning plants, MPSC officials say. And a great deal of infrastructure will be necessary to supply the requirements of the "25 by '25" legislation.

The state is empowering the wind-turbine industry to crank up its efforts. But creating the electricity may prove to be easier than distributing it.

The volatile, unpredictable nature of wind is another problem. A recent study showed that in the summer, when winds tend to blow slower than in the other three seasons, 86 percent of the potential electrical capacity of wind turbines will be idle.

"Wind is like having a car that's out of fuel when you need it the most," Osborn said.

Fed up with federal inaction and convinced of the dangers from global warming, five governors from Western states agreed Monday to work together to reduce greenhouse gases. Their promise to target global warming was the latest of a rush of new ideas shared this week as states push ahead on climate change and clean or alternative energy.

Once the pats on the back subsided Thursday, the people involved in crafting a law pushing Minnesota to the nation’s renewable-energy forefront took stock of the task ahead. By the time today’s newborns reach adulthood, utilities must generate a quarter of the state’s electricity from sources like the wind, sun, running water and burned manure. Only about 5 percent of Minnesota’s present power would meet the standard. If the entire burden fell to wind, for instance, it would mean 3,000 additional turbines jutting out of the Minnesota prairie.

Community-based energy development projects are expected to add an additional 880 megawatts of wind power capacity in Minnesota during 2008, according to a recent study. Minnesota has the fourth-largest installed wind power generation capacity in the United States, but it was the first to pass C-BED legislation in 2005. The text of the law established a framework for qualifying owners, namely residents or companies comprised of residents, to develop wind generation projects and negotiate Power Purchase Agreements with all Minnesota electric utilities. The law also set a price for electricity that is based on the net present value of energy over a 20-year PPA. Proponents say NPV pricing stabilizes the cost more so than a production incentive.

Utilities would turn increasingly to wind, water and other renewable-energy sources for their electricity under a pace-setting bill that cleared the Minnesota House tonight. After almost three hours of debate, the House voted 123-10 to join the Senate in requiring utilities to meet ambitious new requirements. The bill now goes to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is expected to sign it. Earlier this month, the Senate voted 63-3 to adopt it. “It will be the strongest, most aggressive renewable-energy standard in the country,'’ said Rep. Aaron Peterson, DFL-Appleton, the bill’s chief sponsor.

The Minnesota state Senate passed a new renewable energy standard Friday under which the utilities would be required to generate 25 percent renewable energy by 2025. Initially, consumers may pay a slightly increased rate for their power, but the bill includes measures to protect consumers if costs get too high, The Fergus Falls Daily reported. In the long run, Sen. Dan Skogen believes the hike will power research into affordable alternatives. “Utility rates will pick up because the cost of renewables is more expensive right now, so energy bills will go up,” he said. “But maybe that will be an incentive to do further research on renewables to improve the costs.” This legislation has been in the pipeline for a while and since before that Minnesota Power was already requiring a minimum percentage of renewable generation, said representative for Minnesota Power at the 2007 Wind Power Finance and Investment Summit in San Diego. Minnesota has historically been a major player in wind; it has one of the top five capacity potentials in the United States along the same lines of Texas and Washington. The first phase of Fenton, a major wind farm near Pipestone, was recently completed and the second phase is now under way and is expected to be operational by 2008.

Minnesota’s plan to pump more hydrogen, solar and wind electricity through its powerlines got overwhelming backing from the state Senate, where advocates touted it as the most aggressive renewable energy standard in the country. Most utilities would have to generate a quarter of their power from renewable sources by 2025. The state’s largest electricity provider — Xcel Energy Inc. — would be under orders to draw 30 percent from those sources by 2020.

Utility companies would be required to get at least 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2025, under a bill approved unanimously by a Minnesota Senate committee on Thursday. Renewable sources include windmills, solar power, plant materials and hydroelectric power. Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility, would be required to hit an even higher standard of 30 percent by 2020. Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, the chief author of the bill, said she was amazed that every member of the energy and utilities committee supported the bill, which now goes to the full Senate for a vote.

Minnesota would get a $7 billion economic development boost and surge toward energy independence if it adopted a requirement that 25 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2020, DFL legislators and wind industry promoters said Tuesday at a State Capitol news conference. DFLers have introduced similar legislation over the past six years, but newfound support for the concept from Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty — plus November elections that installed big DFL majorities in the Legislature — greatly enhance its chance of becoming law. “The stars are aligned and the bill’s going to pass this year,” said Senate sponsor Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul.

ST. PAUL - Democratic leaders on Tuesday renewed their push for legislation to increase the use of renewable energy in Minnesota, saying they will be able to find common ground with a plan set forth by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The Democrats' proposal would require utilities to generate 25 percent of their electricity with renewable sources, such as wind or biomass, by 2020.