When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz strolled onstage to welcome a conference of clean power advocates to Minneapolis in May, he was quick to note that his state is now getting a little over half of its power from renewables. In the next breath, Walz said Minnesota would never get to 100% - a goal he helped set - without changing what he called "outdated" permitting laws.
"There are things we are doing that are too cumbersome, they don't fit where we're at, they add costs, and they make it more prohibitive to get where we need to go," Walz told the industry group American Clean Power.
A few weeks later, he signed legislation to speed things up. Developers no longer have to demonstrate that a clean energy project - that is, solar and wind, storage and transmission projects - is needed as part of Minnesota's energy system. And they no longer have to study alternative sites and transmission line routes - a requirement that had effectively doubled the possible opponents for a project.
Walz's effort to resolve a major obstacle to the clean energy transition nationwide is getting new attention since he was tapped as Kamala Harris' running mate. His experience enacting such laws in Minnesota could position him as a leader on climate issues if Harris wins in November.
"If Gov. Walz becomes our VP, I hope he could help bring some of this thinking to the federal level," said Amelia Vohs, climate program director at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, a group that was involved in helping produce the permitting reforms. "It would make an incredible difference in the nation's progress on climate."
