Minnesota leaders of both parties have long supported renewable energy incentives. So after President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans decided to accelerate the end of Biden-era solar and wind tax credits as part of last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill — with a now-looming deadline of July 4 — Gov. Tim Walz’s administration got busy helping companies navigate federal and state laws and the disruption coming out of Washington. Perhaps most uniquely, it began offering companies tax advisory services, Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold told POLITICO this week as the deadline approached.
“Not every entity that’s interested in doing solar or wind … has tax lawyers on hand,” Arnold noted. She said it’s too early to say whether the projects will all come online as planned — or whether federal solar and wind tax credits will ever be revived. But she said that at this point, even with expiration of the tax credits, “the more affordable solution and reliable solution is generally almost entirely a renewable mix.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Minnesota has been particularly active over the years in trying to accelerate clean energy investment and projects. When Congress and President Trump moved up the expiration of the solar and wind tax credits to this July, how did Minnesota’s state government react? Was there a sense of panic?
