Wind turbines near Alpha, Minnesota.
Photo Credit: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

In 2024, energy derived from renewable resources accounted for about one-third of all electricity generated in Minnesota.

That’s according to the annual “energy factsheet” released Thursday by nonprofit group Clean Energy Economy Minnesota (CEEM) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.

The report showed that 33% of Minnesota’s electricity generation mix came from renewables such as wind and solar power. Notably, that’s flat year over year, but the report also showed a longer-term trend away from coal and imported energy. Electricity generated by coal accounted for 20% of Minnesota’s energy mix last year, down from 22% the year prior.

In 2014, coal was responsible for 49% of Minnesota’s electricity generation, according to the report.

Report authors said that Minnesota “continues to boost its energy independence.”

“Imported electricity made up just 11% of consumption in 2024, down from 13% the year before. Minnesota used 65 terawatt-hours of electricity and only imported 7.1,” they wrote.

The report also stated that, for the fifth consecutive year, the majority of Minnesota’s electricity came from so-called “zero-carbon sources,” which the report defines as both renewable energy and nuclear energy. In total, 53% of the state’s electricity came from such sources, down 1% over the prior year. (That decrease was due to a 1% decrease in electricity generated by nuclear energy, according to the report.) The national average of electricity generated by carbon-free sources was 42% last year.

And though Minnesota’s mix of energy sources is changing, the state’s “energy productivity”–a measure of the economic benefit gained from each unit of energy used–has increased over time. “The state has seen a 37% boost in energy productivity since 2001 and a 9% increase in the last five years,” the report stated.

In 2023, The Minnesota Legislature mandated that all electricity generated or procured for use in the state must come from carbon-free resources by 2040, though the precise definitions of that is still being debated at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

The same year that mandate was issued, state legislators also allocated $3 million toward the “Minnesota Energy Alley” initiative, which is a joint venture between CEEM and accelerator group Grid Catalyst.

Grid Catalyst last month unveiled its latest cohort.