http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/16223700.htmGov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled a broad-based and greener energy plan for Minnesota today, seeking to promote electricity from renewable sources, reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and boost wind energy, ethanol and energy conservation.
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More electricity from renewable sources. By 2025, Pawlenty wants 25 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources, and he favors "financial penalties" if utilities fail to meet that goal. Currently, about 11 percent of the state's power comes from hydroelectric, wind and other renewable sources, the administration says, although energy groups argue that that figure is inflated by hydroelectric power generated in Canada, not Minnesota.
New incentives to develop the next generation of ethanol from plant residues. Noting that a cellulosic ethanol plant is already under development in Iowa, Pawlenty said he's "proposing financial incentives…to get this deployed in our state as quickly as possible." He also favors state incentives to promote biogas, an initiative that's showing promise in research at the University of Minnesota.
Promoting corn-based ethanol. Pawlenty proposes new incentives and grants to quintuple the number of E-85 pumps in Minnesota, from its current best-in-the-nation 300 pumps, to an eventual 1,500 pumps. That will help Minnesota meet its 20 percent ethanol mandate by 2012, he said.
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