The DFL’s Blackout Bill, requiring that all electricity be produced by wind and solar energy by 2040, has now been signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The bill’s proponents have not offered any estimate of its cost to ratepayers, nor have they produced a feasibility study purporting to show that 100% wind and solar electricity can reliably power our state.
My organization, on the other hand, has authored a copiously documented report that estimates the cost of the governor’s plan at $313 billion, and shows that it will not produce enough electricity to meet ratepayers’ needs.
None of which stopped the irrepressible Walz from issuing this tweet, claiming that the Blackout Bill will reduce the cost of electricity:
Making the switch to 100% clean, carbon-free electricity by 2040 will lower the cost of electricity for Minnesotans. This is good news for our state — I’m proud to have signed it into law. https://t.co/lB8wTJeCBG
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) February 26, 2023
That claim is an absurd lie, and Walz knows it. So I decided to call him out, by tweeting in response:
Governor, put your money where your mouth is. I will wager you $25,000 that on February 1, 2026, the all-sectors electricity rate, as defined by the US Energy Information Administration for the state of Minnesota, will be higher, not lower, than the same rate on February 1, 2023
— John Hinderaker (@HinderakerJohn) February 27, 2023
Will Walz take my bet? I don’t suppose so. He knows he would lose. But he deserves to be shamed for promoting and signing an awful bill, and gaslighting the people of Minnesota about it. Electricity prices are rising relentlessly as utilities and “green” manufacturers shamelessly profiteer. “Green” mandates are money in the bank for the politically connected, and pointlessly rising costs for the rest of us.
If Tim Walz disagrees, let him put his money where his mouth is. And if you are on Twitter, feel free to retweet my offer and tag our feckless governor, @GovTimWalz.
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