Saturday, February 24, 2007
Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota signed a bill into law on Thursday that requires the state to generate a significant amount of its energy needs from renewable sources.
The amount of power generated by wind turbines in the state stands now at 895 megawatts. An additional 5,000 megawatts of energy from renewable sources will need to be added to Minnesota’s electricity resources, which is roughly eight times more than the amount that currently comes from renewables.
The bill signed by the Governor requires energy companies to provide 25 percent of power from renewable sources by 2025.
Xcel Energy, which supplies approximately half of the electricity in the state, is required to provide 30 percent from renewable sources by 2020.