by Lawrence Baker
Energy transitions have occurred throughout human history: human power to animal power, animal to water power and coal, coal to oil and natural gas; and now fossil fuels to renewable energy. While reducing global warming emissions is a major motivation for transitioning to renewable energy, there are many other important benefits to Minnesota’s citizens.
Coal powered modern industrialization in the early 19th century, replacing wood for heating and fueling the new stream engines. But coal created noxious and sometimes lethal air pollution. Coal was phased out for home heating by the mid-20th century and is now being phased out for electrical energy production. No new coal-fired electrical power plants are being planned in the United States.
Horses, the dominant form of transportation in the 19th century were also problematic: horse manure was literally filling the streets of growing cities. In their book, Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, authors Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace calculated that the 100,000 horses in New York City in 1900 produced 1 million pounds of manure per day. Gasoline-powered vehicles were a welcome innovation, and the number of registered motor vehicles increased a thousand-fold in 20 years, from eight thousand in 1900 to eight million by 1920. Today, we have started the transition to electric cars, which will replace most petroleum-fueled vehicles over the next few decades.
Much of the motivation to move toward renewables is reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but there are multiple other benefits to Minnesota. First, Minnesota has no natural gas, no petroleum, and no coal. All are imported, either from other states or other countries. But we do have abundant potential for home-grown wind, solar, hydroelectric, and biomass energy. Nearly all renewable energy production would create jobs in rural counties. Over time, home-grown energy would largely supplant imported fossil fuels, strengthening our economy.
Although the U.S. now exports nearly as much oil as we import. Of particular concern is petroleum imported from countries that have been uncomfortable trade partners, including the many of the OPEC countries (18% of imported petroleum), Russia (6%), and Columbia (3%). As documented by Daniel Yergin’s tome The Prize, the quest for foreign oil was a major goal of U.S. foreign policy throughout the 20th century. This dependency has already been reduced and will be reduced even further by the transition to home-grown renewable energy.
Finally, reducing combustion in cities would greatly improve the health of Minnesotans by reducing air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and ozone. Citizens of all ages with asthma would benefit, and reduced air pollution would reduce the impact of cardiopulmonary disease among older citizens.
Today, renewable energy sources are replacing energy from fossil fuels in Minnesota. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency shows that over the 10-year period from 2007-2017 coal use in Minnesota declined by 29% and petroleum use declined 16%, whereas renewable energy increased by 95%. This transition toward renewable energy will continue for several decades, with numerous benefits to Minnesotans in addition to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.