On this Earth Day, I’d like to highlight DEED’s clean tech and green energy priorities included in the Walz-Flanagan Budget to Move Minnesota Forward. These priorities are aimed at helping grow our workforce by building a clean tech labor force pipeline; addressing climate change by stimulating the electrification of businesses’ vehicle fleets; and creating economic opportunity by assisting communities facing power plant closures with diversifying their economies and finding new opportunities for quality jobs and economic growth.

First up, consider the proposed Clean Tech Workforce Training Program to train, retrain, and upskill workers in the transportation, weatherization, and energy efficiency industries. New clean energy technology leads to new and different types of jobs that just didn’t exist 10 years ago. And demand for people who can do these jobs is growing fast. For example, demand for Wind Turbine Service Technicians will grow by 21% between 2021 and 2023. 

The Clean Tech Workforce Training Program also supports the workforce needed to perform specialized retrofits that make homes and buildings across Minnesota more energy efficient by providing training funding for statewide technical colleges and Tribal-led training centers. The projects those workers will complete will help Minnesotans save money on energy costs and create safer, healthier homes and businesses.

The Governor’s budget also recommends steps to encourage reducing carbon emissions via vehicle electrification, starting with Minnesota businesses. The Electric Vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Grant Program will help businesses transition their fleet vehicles to electric and will support the electric charging infrastructure necessary for such a transition. Governor Walz is recommending $20 million to encourage businesses to upgrade their fleets and purchase light-duty electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

Finally, I’d like to focus on what my office is specifically committed to: supporting energy transition while helping to ensure the economic vitality of Minnesota communities. Several Minnesota communities will be impacted in the coming years by the retirement of fossil fuel-fired power plants. Governor Walz is recommending $2.5 million to support impacted communities by providing resources for these communities to diversify their economies and find new opportunities for quality jobs and economic growth. Supporting these communities is what the new Energy Transition Office is here to do. In my role as the Director of the Energy Transition Office, I will concentrate efforts on helping to minimize the negative impacts of power plant closures on jobs and tax revenues.

Let’s hope these priorities will serve as building blocks for propelling our state’s transition into a cleaner and more sustainable future. I invite you to join us in celebrating Earth Day – and looking forward to further growth of the clean tech and green energy economy here in Minnesota.