Ahead of Thursday’s scheduled Senate vote on a Democratic clean energy plan, Republican senators unveiled the broad strokes of a different energy plan that relies more heavily on more conventional energy sources–and possibly even an expansion of nuclear power sources.
Senator Andrew Mathews (R. - Princeton) and Senator Jason Rarick (R. - Pine City) held a press conference to unveil what they called the “A+ Energy Plan,” in contrast to the Democrats’ plan they dubbed the “Blackout Bill,” because they fear reliance on more environmentally-friendly energy sources like solar and wind would prove more unreliable for the majority of the state’s energy customers.
“We are that close right now to having emergency situations, and if we push this faster than technology can support it, we will start seeing those blackouts at the most inopportune times,” said Sen. Rarick. “Hoping that cleaner technology becomes available along the way to the goals is not a plan.”
The Republicans also caution, like so many other Democratic initiatives so far in the session, that the energy plan–which drastically reduces the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and non-environmentally-friendly energy sources–needs more vetting.
“This bill is moving so fast. Minnesotans have not had an opportunity to dig into the details of the plan to understand what is truly being proposed,” said Rarick. “We can be good stewards. We can be cleaner. But we have to be affordable and reliable. Minnesotans expect the lights to come on when they turn the switch on.”