By Rich Larson, News Director
For the third year in a row, the Minnesota House Climate and Energy Committee has sent the Clean Energy First Bill to the House floor for a vote.
The bill would require utility companies to choose renewable energy sources as they do their strategic resource planning. Specifically, it would require utility companies to replace decommissioned power plants with wind, solar, geothermal, or hydroelectric plants. The bill would also mandate that new buildings be built and maintained by local workers.
Representative Todd Lippert, a member of the Climate and Energy Committee said that this bill not only speeds up and smooth out the transition to clean energy, but it also points utility companies in a direction that makes sense in the face of present economic realities.
“And the present economic reality is that wind is the cheapest form of energy right now, and in a few years, solar is projected to be the cheapest form of energy, overtaking wind. So, the economics are pushing this direction, but we also need some policy in place to make sure that utilities are taking our future into account.”
Many utility companies are already making decisions that line up with the bill. Xcel Energy has announced a plan to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2030 and to be completely coal free by 2050. Lippert said, that while things are headed the right way, it is important to have these policy directives in place.
Republican Senator David Senjem, the chair of the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee is sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate.
Representative Todd Lippert’s full conversation with Jeff Johnson can be heard here.
Pandemic affects County Attorney’s Office
Rice County attorney John Fossum said that the global pandemic has affected his office in a number of ways that would have been completely unforeseen just a week ago.
The first, and most obvious affect has been the inability to try a case in a courtroom. Fossum said the county currently has a backlog of 209 cases that are set for jury trial. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lori Gildea has mandated that no in-person court hearings take place until March 15th, so, Fossum said, that number will continue to grow.
The other major change has been a much more subtle one, but also very important. Fossum said that because the vast majority of the people in his office have been working from home during the pandemic, his office has gone very nearly paperless. He said they have developed a document management system that allows people to access their case files remotely, which has made things far more efficient and manageable.
Fossum said that some of these changes will be permanent, but, as good as technology has become, not everything can be done remotely. As much as both judges and lawyers have found online hearings to be useful, there are some things that need to take place in a courtroom.
“In order to even just really authenticate a document, provide testimony that a document is legitimate, that really is easier for lawyers to do in person than it is to do over Zoom. And it is much easier to make a mistake or miss a step on a Zoom call.”
County Attorney Fossum said the county has set up a Covid-friendly courtroom that can accommodate all necessary court personnel, including a jury, at a safe physical distance. Once the ban on in-person hearings is lifted the county will be ready to proceed.
County Attorney John Fossum’s full conversation with Jeff Johnson can be heard here.
City Council to vote on ‘Ole Ave’ student housing project tomorrow night
And the Northfield City Council will meet tomorrow night at 6pm for what looks to be a busy meeting. Among the items on the regular agenda will be
a vote on the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit to St. Olaf college for the construction of the “Ole Avenue” Student Housing Project, consideration of an ordinance that would codify the 1% for the Arts budgeting practice, and consideration of a budget amendment that would waive liquor license fees for 2021. There will also be a public hearing regarding the 2021 street reconstruction and overlay plans, and the council will hear a presentation of the report by the Police Policy Task Force.
In all matters, not just the items on the agenda, the council is always asking for public comment and opinion. Right now, the best way to make your voice heard is through the eComment button on the City Council page in the city’s website. Click here to go to that page.
