Senator Jason Rarick: We should Increase Funding for Minnesota’s Bioincentive Program
On Wednesday, I presented legislation in the Senate’s Energy and Utilities Finance Committee that would increase funding for Minnesota’s AGRI Bioincentive Program. The legislation will ensure that companies who produce advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, or use biomass to produce thermal energy are adequately compensated.
In 2015, the legislature went out of its way to establish this program to create jobs and incentivize new technology and products through this program. Unfortunately, the funding failed to meet the demand. This put many companies in a difficult position where they received 50 cents on the dollar from what they were promised, and that lack of follow-through has threatened to undermine this program’s success. When we designed it, we wanted to encourage people to invest money, create jobs, and make products related to the bio-industry. Today, we’re following up on that
Photo by Helen Robinson
Look for your natural gas and electric rates to take a hike in March and April, respectively, after the historically abnormal deep freeze of two weeks ago forced Colorado Springs Utilities to buy gas from outside sources as demand soared and supply sank.
Utilities Finance Committee was briefed Feb. 24 about the impacts of the widespread below-zero temperatures in mid-February that plunged Texas into a black-out that froze pipes and knocked out power and gas to millions.
Here, the impact wasn t as bad, because Springs Utilities had pre-arranged contracts for gas, as well as gas in storage, to rely on. But it still had to compete for part of its gas and power supply on the open market.