Agenda - Council Work Session - 04/11/2023

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2017 report,4the Interagency Climate Adaptation Team recommended that the State identify ways to strengthen the health and resilience of vulnerable populations through cooperation with local governments. Climate -vulnerable populations include the very old and very young, people of color, and people with health issues, disabilities, economic vulnerability, outdoor occupations, disproportionate exposure to environmental pollution, and cultural/language barriers. Solar in Minnesota Interest in solar power is surging in Minnesota. Driven in part by advances in technology, the cost of installed solar has fallen by over 70% in the last decade, 5 making it competitive with other sources of energy. Solar development began accelerating in 2013 after Minnesota passed legislation promoting the growth of solar energy. This included a goal of achieving 10% of Minnesota's electricity from solar by 2030. Additionally, the Department of Commerce and the Solar Pathways Project estimate that the state can meet 70% of electricity demand from solar and wind by 2050 at costs comparable to other sources .7 Solar now accounts for about 3% of Minnesota's energy portfolio$ and is expected to continue growing and displacing generation from other sources of energy, particularly fossil fuels. Solar power offers many benefits, including a reliable "homegrown" energy source, reduced greenhouse emissions, and job growth. These are especially important as the state faces economic damage and job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the urgent need to address climate change. Large-scale solar development requires sizable areas of land and applies development pressure on agricultural and natural lands. The Department of Commerce's Solar Energy Production and Prime Farmland report9 notes that areas with the best solar resources overlap with the state's prime farmland, and "solar production removes the entire area ... from agricultural production" for the life of the project. State policy is to "preserve agricultural land and conserve its long-term use for the production of food and other agricultural products" by means including: Guiding the orderly construction and development of energy generation and transmission systems and enhancing the development of alternative energy to meet the needs of rural and urban communities and preserve agricultural land to the greatest possible extent by reducing energy costs and minimizing the use of agricultural land for energy production facilities [...1.10 As the State seeks to protect prime farmland and natural lands while promoting solar energy, it is looking to reduce pressure on these lands through reuse of closed landfills as potential sites for solar development. 4 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Adapting to Climate Change in Minnesota: 2017 Report of the Interagency Climate Adaptation Team, May 2017. 5 Solar Energy Industries Association (SETA)/Wood Mackenzie. Power & Renewables U.S. Solar Market Insight, 2020 Q3. 6 Minn. Stat. § 21613.1691. Minnesota Solar Pathways. Solar Potential Analysis Report, November 2018. 1 United States Energy Information Administration. Minnesota State Profile and Energy Estimates, May 21, 2020. 9 Minnesota Department of Commerce. Solar Energy Production and Prime Farmland. May 19, 2020. 11 Minn. Stat. § 17.80.