Getting to Green: Can Minnesota get to carbon-free energy?

To slow a warming climate, Minnesota is changing where it gets electricity — shrinking the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and expanding the use of renewable energy.

Today, more than half of Minnesota’s electricity comes from solar, wind and hydropower. But challenges remain.

For the state to reach its ambitious goal of being carbon neutral by 2050, Minnesotans would need to embrace new ways of heating homes, traveling, powering the state’s factories and much more. And now there are questions about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs and opposition to wind and solar energy might affect an energy transition.

MPR News has been exploring a transition to a carbon-free economy in the series Getting to Green. 

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News correspondents Dan Kraker and Kirsti Marohn talk about the progress toward green energy and what the future holds.

And we want to hear from you, too.

What questions do you have about how Minnesota gets its fuel and electricity? If you’ve changed how you get around or heat your home to use carbon-free sources, tell us how it’s going and the challenges you’ve faced.

Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.

Guests:

• Allen Gleckner is the executive lead for policy and programs at Fresh Energy, a St. Paul-based clean energy nonprofit that develops decarbonization strategies to advance the clean energy economy. He focuses on technical innovation and policies that will lead to clean energy in the electric system.  

• Gabriel Chan is an associate professor at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs where he focuses on science, technology and environmental policy. He co-directs the Center for Science Technology, and Environmental Policy and the Electric Cooperative Innovation Center. 

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