Renewable energy boost.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

Minnesota has passed one of the most aggressive renewable energy standards in the country. Sponsored by Representative Aaron Peterson, the law requires utilities to provide 25 percent of their power from renewable resources--including wind, solar, geothermal and other technologies--by 2025. Xcel Energy, which supplies more than half of the state's electricity, is required to furnish 30 percent by 2020.

The impetus for the legislation was both economic development and potential emissions reductions. A commission study--ordered by the legislature in...