St. Paul, Minn. — Less than two years after Minnesota passed nation-leading climate laws, the Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee has advanced a budget and policy omnibus bill (passed out of that committee on April 9, 2025) filled with industry-friendly rollbacks that threaten Minnesota's clean energy future. It also rolls back bedrock policy and funding that has been in place for decades.
This legislation favors big tech and utility monopolies over programs that help regular Minnesotans protect our environment and save money while transitioning to clean energy. “This bill is a betrayal of Minnesota’s climate promises. In 2023, we passed nation-leading clean energy laws. Now, backroom deals are handing our future to polluters. We won’t let this stand,” said Steve Morse, Executive Director of Minnesota Environmental Partnership.
A coalition of environmental, conservation and community groups held an emergency press conference at the Minnesota State Capitol to expose these dangerous provisions and demand legislators remove these rollbacks before it's too late.
The bill represents a stark reversal from Minnesota's climate leadership, trading 2023's historic progress for corporate handouts and dirty energy concessions. While Minnesotans are already benefiting from cleaner energy and lower costs through programs like community solar, this legislation would:
- Put big tech profits ahead of Minnesota's environment
- Prioritize utility company interests over rooftop and community solar
- Trade proven carbon-free energy solutions for polluter loopholes
“Community Solar Gardens power 30,000 Minnesotans, create local jobs, and save people money, especially renters, low-income households and public interest institutions like schools, hospitals and counties. All of this makes it the largest and most equitable form of solar in the state. Killing this program is a gift to monopoly utilities—and a slap in the face to workers and families,” said Pouya Najmaie, Policy and Regulatory Director at Cooperative Energy Futures.
In a shocking reversal, the Senate’s Energy Omnibus Bill:
- Creates fake “carbon-free” loopholes—letting peaking plants operating on carbon-emitting biodiesel and biomass burners count as carbon
- Kills Minnesota’s #1 solar program—the bill sunsets Minnesota’s nation-leading Community Solar program, which has allowed thousands of people, including low income renters, to benefit from solar savings
- Guts net metering for small scale solar in rural areas and small towns—Since 1983 Minnesota’s net metering policy has been a fair and simple way to compensate solar owners for the power they send to the grid. Under this bill solar owners in rural electric cooperative and municipal service areas would be compensated at a dramatically lower rate than solar owners in investor-owned utilities service areas such as Xcel Energy.
- Gives Amazon and Big Tech a free pass—letting hyperscale data centers skip essential environmental and necessity reviews when constructing dirty diesel generators for backup power
- Shuts down the Renewable Development Account (RDA)—a key fund for clean energy projects, paid for by Xcel’s nuclear waste storage fees. The RDA funds the Solar Rewards program which is helping low-income homeowners go solar.
- Opens the door to destructive hydropower—allowing old, environmentally harmful dams to qualify as “clean energy”
Advocates were blunt in speaking to how these provisions negatively impact their communities.
“Minnesota's net metering policy is vital as well as key to making solar work on farms like mine," said Carmen Fernholz of A-Frame Farm in Madison, Minnesota. "Net metering gives all rural Minnesotans a viable opportunity to invest in and be a part of producing renewable energy we all need and is an equitable way to share our solar produced power with our neighbors. Gutting net metering disenfranchises and disincentivizes rural Minnesotans of the opportunity to invest in our growing energy needs while addressing climate change challenges."
“Minnesota has the opportunity to learn from states like Virginia, which is the largest data center alley in the world. In VA, legislators are very concerned about siting, since these heavy industrial projects are incompatible with residential neighborhoods. Their mammoth size and noise issues are just two of the objectionable qualities of hyper scalers,” said Cathy Johnson of Farmington, President of the Coalition for Responsible Development of Data Centers. “The legislature needs to ‘drive the bus’ regarding data centers, as they come into Minnesota. Right now, they are participating in a wild-wild west land rush, and the citizens are bearing the risk.”
“Equity matters as we move towards our clean energy goals, said Bobby King, Minnesota State Director for Solar United Neighbors. “The Solar Reward Program is funded by the Renewable Development Account and is giving low-income homeowners and nonprofits that serve low income communities access to solar. This nation-leading program would end if this provision passes.”
Advocates are urging Senate leadership to strip these harmful provisions and honor Minnesota’s commitment to affordable, carbon-free energy for all.
Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP) is Minnesota’s largest environmental coalition, harnessing the strength of our more than 80 member organizations to protect Minnesota’s Great Outdoors. Founded in 1998 by conservation leaders who recognized the value of working together toward shared goals, MEP provides forums for collaboration and offers capacity building services that make our member groups, and our coalition, stronger.
The CLEAR Energy Coalition is building an equitable and democratic energy future by advancing policies that bring affordable, local clean energy to all Minnesotans and put power back in the hands of communities, not just corporations. We are seeking a robust, community-centered statewide energy policy for Minnesota that tackles barriers to community energy and lowers energy burden. It is an acronym for Clean, Local, Equitable, Affordable, Reliable.