Jan. 13--Unless Minnesota adopts a climate change action plan this session, state law bans construction of any new coal-fired power plants as of Aug. 1, and that scares utilities.

At that point, "there would be a coal moratorium for any new growth in Minnesota," says Christina Pierson, executive director of Partners for Affordable Energy. "That concerns us."

Pierson, who spoke Monday to the Bemidji Rotary Club, said Partners for Affordable Energy is comprised by a number of groups, including utility and power associations and co-ops, Minnesota Forest Industries, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Agri-Growth Council and Printing Industry of Minnesota.

Minnesota, as well as the nation, needs to move to next-generation power such as wind or solar, but the technology isn't there yet to provide the baseload energy capacity needed for uninterrupted power through those sources, Pierson said Monday in an interview.

The Next Generation Energy Act of 2007 calls for strict standards to control carbon emissions by utilities but also dictates that the state adopt a climate change action plan to control greenhouse gas emissions from all sources.

The 2007 Legislature first passed renewable energy standards that found the state could integrate 25 percent of electrical generation from renewable sources without affecting baseline power or greatly increasing costs, she said.

It then passed the Next Generation Act, "which includes very aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals," Pierson said. "And they did that without knowing whether that solution and the timeline and the amounts was affordable, or if it would effectively reduce emissions for the costs being asked of Minnesota energy users."

The Legislature, however, hasn't gone very far down the road to put together the climate change action plan, which must passed by the 2009 Legislature to avoid the ban on new coal plants.

"The only solution offered to date for a climate change action plan is a regional cap-and-trade program or a state-only cap-and-trade program," Pierson said. "There was no study, there was nothing to know if this would even work."

Lacking a state report and wanting some answers before the Aug. 1 deadline, PAE commissioned its own study with an independent firm, CRA International, which found that a regional cap-and-trade program would adversely affect Minnesota.

Cap and trade provides economic incentives for achieving reductions in emissions of pollutants by setting a cap on the amount of pollutants that can be emitted, and then allowing companies that exceed that cap to purchase allowances or credits from those who under-emit.