WILLMAR -- Funding for research and demonstration projects will be critical if Minnesota is to expand its production of renewable energy, participants said Friday at a town meeting with legislators.
Reps. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, and Dennis Ozment, R-Rosemount-Apple Valley, hosted the listening session to hear about concerns and priorities from the public.
"We want to be helpful and we want to try and get information," Ozment said.
Although only half a dozen people ventured out on an icy Friday night to attend the meeting, the discussion was a lively exchange of ideas that lasted for an hour and a half.
Renewable energy promises to loom large in the Minnesota Legislature this year. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has listed it as one of his top priorities, and a bill containing incentives for renewable energy is scheduled to be introduced in the House on Monday. Several versions are likely to make their way through the House and Senate in upcoming months.
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What they'll have in common: measures and incentives to help boost the production and use of renewable energy in Minnesota.
The town meeting in Willmar was the second one in the region that Westrom and Ozment have hosted. They also held a similar session Friday afternoon in Morris.
Among the top concerns that have emerged:
n The development of renewable energy opportunities must be encouraged.
n Ownership structures need to be addressed.
n Research is needed to analyze various forms of renewable energy, such as switchgrass, and determine the cost versus the benefit -- otherwise producers might not buy into it.
n The state must be careful not to proceed too rapidly.
Participants at the meeting in Willmar asked about mandates that might require power companies to obtain 20 to 25 percent of their power from renewable energy within the next decade or so.
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Will rural electric cooperatives be penalized? wondered Sharon Arfstrom, a director for the Kandiyohi Power Association.
Many co-ops already are partially fueled by wind or hydropower, she said. "You do want to get credit for what you're doing."
The audience also supported the idea of exploring multiple renewable energy technologies instead of concentrating on one or two.
"There's going to be a place for wind, no doubt about it," said Steve Norman, a Montevideo-area farmer.
Creating a market for crop products such as cellulose also would be "a good thing" for farmers -- but it'll be important to first study whether it's economically viable, he said.
Legislators should allow flexibility, Ozment agreed. "We should not be picking winners and losers. We should be looking for outcomes," he said.
What happens this year will set the stage for the future development of renewable energy -- so it's critical to avoid mistakes, Westrom said.
"I think that's going to be the real measurement -- what do we say in 10 years?" he said.
