Wind, solar, hydropower and biomass are the main sources of renewable energy. The House bill focuses on making it easier and faster to build power plants in Minnesota. It has minimal renewable, environmental and conservation provisions. Critics call the House bill a disappointment and a missed opportunity. Paula Maccabee of the Sierra Club says the bill did not take the steps necessary to increase conservation or to invest in renewable energy.
Wind energy is clean, biomass energy is clean and it's reliable.
And then if we're going to have these old coal plants, we have to clean them up. So the the environmental agenda and the energy agenda could be the same one. That was a win-win choice that was available for the House of Representatives, they didn't take it. But the author of the House plan, Rep. Ken Wolf, R-Burnsville, says his bill has always been about generating a steady, reliable source of power. Wolf says mandates for renewable energy and environmental regulations do not belong in his bill.