NEWS COLUMN -- Minnesota House DFL Caucus
Rep. Jean Wagenius, Minneapolis Rep. Lyle Koenen, Maynard
651/296-4200 651/296-4346
April 22, 2003
The following column by Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL-Minneapolis) and Rep. Lyle Koenen
(DFL-Maynard) was published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Tuesday, April 22.
WESTROM BILL IS WRONG FOR STATE'S ENERGY FUTURE
In 1994 the Legislature decided to phase out nuclear power and replace it with as much Minnesota-produced energy as practical. Xcel Energy agreed to the legislation in return for permission to have 17 nuclear waste storage casks in Minnesota. This 1994 decision was good
for Minnesota's rural economy and its pocketbook.
Today the Minnesota House is considering reversing course. At the request of Xcel, a bill is
being pushed through the legislature to establish a new nuclear waste storage facility at
Monticello and permit storage of 86 new casks of nuclear waste to be split between Prairie Island and Monticello. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, lets Xcel renege on
its promise not to return to the Legislature for more casks and cheats outstate Minnesota out of expected wind and biomass development.
We are offering a better alternative, a bill that stays true to the 1994 decision. It phases out nuclear power, increases our commitment to wind and bioenergy, and balances the system with natural gas.
In 1994 legislators believed that electricity from wind and agricultural waste had great potential. Today we know that wind energy is more efficient and cheaper than 1994 legislators dreamed possible. We also know that for every new nuclear cask Xcel buys, a huge number of windmills
will not be built in Minnesota.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he recognizes the need for outstate development. But a decision by
the Legislature and governor to rely on nuclear energy for another 30 years would severely
undercut Minnesota's commitment to renewable energy and deny rural Minnesota the economic benefits from investments in wind and biomass.
Newly authorized nuclear casks will be stored in Minnesota indefinitely if not permanently. The legal limit of waste that can be placed in Nevada's Yucca Mountain storage facility is 70,000 tons. Given the amount of nuclear waste that is being created across the United States, the nuclear waste created in Minnesota after 2009 will not be eligible to go to Yucca Mountain. The waste will stay at Monticello and at Prairie Island, both on the Mississippi.
Some argue that we should continue to rely on nuclear energy because it's cheaper. Setting aside the huge public subsidies the nuclear industry has already been given, electricity from Minnesota's nuclear plants is not really cheaper because we're passing the storage costs on to
our children. Our rate structure is designed to have future electricity users pay the costs of managing the waste that is generated today.
The Westrom bill exacerbates this problem. It ignores the costs of waste storage in Minnesota. Legislators have no idea what the cost will be to keep new waste in Minnesota or how the costs will affect ratepayers. If you don't buy your electricity from Xcel, you should be even more wary. When a user doesn't pay for costs of waste management, taxpayers often get stuck with the bill. For example, younger Minnesotans are now paying taxes to the state and on their garbage bills
to clean up landfills that were created before they were born.
Because wind is strong and constant over so much of Minnesota, our state is among the small group of states where wind is a major energy resource. Minnesota also has untapped potential for electricity from other renewable resources like agricultural waste.
We recognized these opportunities back in 1994. If we reverse course now, we will be telling
the developers of new energy technologies that Minnesota is not the place to invest. If we reverse course now, the governor and the Legislature will be telling outstate Minnesota that politicians tell
a good story. They just don't act on it.
