Politicians ignored the cost of backup power when they pushed “clean power” in 13 states

[rangerrebew]

Politicians ignored the cost of backup power when they pushed “clean power” in 13 states
Credit:  "Expensive state clean energy mandates: the math nobody ran" | Frank Lasee | September 14, 2026 | dailycaller.com ~~

Thirteen states from Vermont to Hawaii have written a hard deadline into law: 100 percent carbon-free (CO2-free) or “clean” electricity, most by 2040 or 2045. Lawmakers sold these mandates as a bargain: cheaper power alongside cleaner air. Voters in those states are struggling with ever-increasing electricity bills. Which are increasing faster than non-mandate states.

The metric politicians lean on to make that case is the “levelized cost of energy” (LCOE), which ranks wind and solar as the cheapest sources of generation on the grid. The U.S. Energy Information Administration itself cautions that the ranking is misleading because LCOE reflects the cost to build and run a single generator. It says nothing about whether that generator can deliver power at 6 p.m. on a windless February evening, exactly when a grid needs it most.

Energy analysts Isaac Orr and Mitch Rolling answer the question EIA’s own number dodges. Their “Always On Levelized Cost of Energy” (AOLOC) model adds back everything a bare LCOE figure leaves out: backup generation, transmission, overbuilt capacity and the power curtailed to keep intermittent resources reliable.

Run through Minnesota’s grid, the model puts wind’s real cost at roughly $272 per megawatt-hour and solar’s at $472. Treat those as modeled estimates, not quoted market prices, but they are the most honest attempt anyone has made to price what these mandates actually cost.

https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2026/09/21/politicians-ignored-the-cost-of-backup-power-when-they-pushed-clean-power-in-13-states/

[Smokin Joe]

Granted, we have the cheapest electricity in the country, about 55% coal fired, 33% wind, and the rest natural gas and hydropower, but Minnesota's rates are nearly double ours.

We sell surplus electricity to other states and Canada, and make twice as much as we need.

But our State, realizing the importance of energy, especially in winter, has been hospitable toward energy development.
Minnesota has not.