The Wind Energy Foundation's "Powering Up Minnesota: A Report on The Benefits of Renewable Electricity Development" suggests Minnesota could supply more than 50 percent of its power needs through renewable energy by 2030 while creating more jobs and meeting federal carbon targets. Wind project costs have dropped 50 percent in the last five years, while solar prices decreased 40 percent since 2010,
However, the Wind Energy Founcation's report vastly underestimates solar's potential contribution. The report includes only the current 81 megawatts of solar energy in Minnesota. Dustin Denison, president of Minnesota Solar Electricity Industry Association notes that the state's new requirement that investor owned utilities produce 1.5 percent of their retail electricity sales from solar by 2020 will add a minimum of 450 MW by 2020.
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Origin: renewable-energy-world.blogspot.com
