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Minnesota solar energy advocates mourn the loss of "champion" Rep. Melissa Hortman, author of law boosting industry
Before she was the Democrats' leader and then Speaker of the Minnesota House, Melissa Hortman chaired the chamber's energy policy committee and authored a law that remained one of her proudest legislative achievements: boosting solar energy in the state.
Her obituary, published in the Minnesota Star Tribune, described her work on solar as "trailblazing." Advocates describe her as their champion, whom they directly credit for paving the way for the industry to thrive.
"Before 2013, we really weren't an industry. Now we represent over 5,000 Minnesotans, and every single one of those 5,000 Minnesotans owes their jobs to Melissa Hortman," said Logan O'Grady, executive director of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group.
The 2013 measure set benchmarks for how much solar a utility must include in its energy supply. It also established community solar gardens to increase access for more people — like renters or others who can't afford solar on their homes — and receive credit on their energy bills, among other provisions.
"A lot of people owe their livelihoods to her, including myself, and a lot of people have her to thank because of her strong advocacy for the legislation that was required to build our industry on," he added.
The state's solar capacity has grown rapidly since 2015 in wake of the law's passage, and community solar gardens represent nearly 60% of solar energy produced in Minnesota, according to recent data from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. That makes Minnesota unique, O'Grady said, and other states took note of Minnesota's law and replicated it.
"We lovingly call her our solar godmother," he said.
The law states 10% of all electricity sales must be generated from solar by 2030. The commerce department said in a report last year that utilities are making progress towards meeting that goal.
Evan Carlson, founder of community solar developer Enterprise Energy, said while he hadn't ever met Hortman, her leadership on this issue impacted him in a personal way.
"The effects of her work had a profound effect on my life. It allowed me, as an energy professional, formerly in oil and gas, to move home to Minnesota, where there is no oil. There is no gas. There is only wind and solar," he told WCCO in an interview Wednesday. "And for people who work in the energy industry, this is it. This is upstream energy. And she created that, and it was a huge success."
A decade after Hortman steered the solar energy standard law through the Legislature, Democrats in 2023, when they once again had total control of the House, Senate and governor's office, approved a new law requiring 100% of the state's electricity to be carbon-free by 2040.
At a news conference ahead of that House vote on the bill that January, she shared that she believed the state had an obligation to pass energy policy to curb climate change.
Standing alongside other advocates and lawmakers, Hortman specifically acknowledged the work of others in previous sessions to pave the way for renewable energy in Minnesota without ever drawing attention to herself.
"We are building on the shoulders of the people who came before us," she said.
But members of the solar industry say they know where credit is due.
