Gil Gutknecht: Where There Is No Transmission the Power Will Perish

The Minnesota Leftist Legislature is back in the news. They are not letting facts stop them from expressing their opinions. Instead, they boldly chart a course to the unknown beyond, to a place no other Legislature has ever been. The Star of the North State is going to be carbon-free within 17 years. Minnesota will only use green power by 2040. Their endorphin rush was almost palpable. California was not able to match their success. It was a moment of magic when the earth began healing and time stopped. It’s a very exciting thing to save Mother the Earth. 

It must be so wonderful to feel satisfied, self-important, and sanctimonious as a Leftist. And, of course, irresponsible. 

It is important to remember that there are many facts that could have stopped them from expressing their great opinions. It gets very cold in Minnesota. It is very cold! When a brutally cold high pressure center settles in, wind turbines don’t turn because the wind doesn’t blow much. Being in the far northern latitude, during those long winters solar panels don’t generate much juice either. But of course, that’s not their problem. 

They claim that during those periods when the sun and wind aren’t producing, we will just buy green power from states where they are. Transmission is the greatest problem for carbon-free warriors. Without dramatically improving transmission capacity, how do we get huge amounts of green energy from Arizona and Iowa? 

The utilities will have to construct them, they claim. This will create jobs, they claim. 

If permits are ever granted, new high-voltage power lines will need huge amounts of copper. But aren’t some of these same save the planeteers the ones who are blocking a new copper mine in…Minnesota? It seems that copper mining elsewhere is somehow more beneficial for the planet. It seems unlikely that activists will also be trying to block these power lines.

Many of these Planeteers weren’t even born when Paul Wellstone was becoming an activist icon in the early 70’s by organizing opposition to proposed power lines through West-central Minnesota. He was a power line protester who became a politician and wrote a book that laid out the plan for preventing increased transmission capacity. Since then, the Left has successfully used that blueprint all over the country. 

We will need to increase our transmission capacity by at least two-thirds if we want to transition to an entirely renewable electric future. Currently, the United States has approximately 240,000 miles high-voltage transmission lines. The capacity of electric cars will have to increase geometrically if natural gas is phased out and everyone drives electric cars. All sides agree with these facts. 

Even though leftist activists may agree to the necessity of building transmission infrastructure, They may not agree with the need to build transmission infrastructure in their own neighborhoods. They’ve studied the Wellstone play book. 

Respected energy experts estimate that it will take 140+ years to double our transmission capacity at the current high-voltage line build rates. For doubling the transmission capacity, current buildout costs will be more than $1 Trillion. These costs will increase due to increased EV use, banning gas stoves and protracted legal battles about permitting. 

One example is a multi-billion-dollar line that carries wind energy from Kansas to Indiana. It has been legal limbo for more than 12 years. The Missouri PCS rejected this application before it was overturned. “landowners costs exceeded the benefits.” It is still facing legal challenges in Illinois. 

TransWest Express aims to transport wind energy from Wyoming into California. Philip Anschutz, a billionaire, proposed the TransWest Express project in 2005.  He is currently developing a huge wind farm in Wyoming. TransWest’s power line is vital to the whole development. With some luck, Mr. Anschutz hopes to receive final approval this year, and complete construction within three years, twenty-one years after the project was initiated. 

It took 21 years to build one line of power. The Minnesota Legislature thinks the state can become completely carbon-free in just 17 years. It must be nice to live in a fool’s paradise, a place where hard questions can be ignored. Rest of us live in reality, where facts and hard questions are important. 

With all of the other reckless ideas advancing through the Leftist Legislature, this green power mandate won’t matter. The last taxpayer who turned off the lights will be long before 2040.