Minnesota Power’s smart plans for increasing high-voltage transmission connecting Grand Rapids and Hermantown, as the
News Tribune reported Dec. 12
, is good news for northern Minnesotans.

This project will reduce energy transmission congestion and is another step in transforming our regional grid to accommodate more renewable energy and increase northern Minnesota’s energy resilience. It helps with beneficial electrification, the process of eliminating fossil fuels and using clean, cheap renewable energy to power our lives and lower costs with heat pumps, electric vehicles, and induction stoves. Beneficial electrification slows growing home-insurance costs caused by severe weather, dramatically reduces heart and lung disease from air pollution, and can lower U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 70%,
according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute
.

A massive buildout of new renewable-energy resources and transmission infrastructure is required, offering major construction-job opportunities, to generate and carry this clean energy to the communities needing it.

The
Citizens’ Climate Lobby supports
congressional clean-energy permitting reform to reduce costly delays in building our important grid infrastructure without jeopardizing environmental safety or stifling citizen input from affected communities.

We are
rapidly approaching
dangerous global-warming tipping points from burning fossil fuels. To eliminate fossil fuels as our primary source of energy and minimize our greenhouse-gas emissions, we need to accelerate beneficial electrification,
which represent
s an important climate-solution “moon shot” goal for America.

Congress is currently debating comprehensive clean-energy permitting reform to expedite beneficial electrification, and we need bipartisan support for a law that would provide a strong climate solution.

If you’re concerned about climate change, please help make this solution happen.
Take one minute to help
our clean-energy future by asking your members of Congress for comprehensive clean-energy permitting reform.

Michael Overend

Cohasset