Why is this important?

Energy is one of the biggest resource challenges—and opportunities—facing Minnesota and the nation today. Conservation-based energy sources are energy sources whose production provides natural resource benefits such as habitat management and restoration, invasive species control, fuel load reduction for prevention of catastrophic fires and improved prescribed fire management, carbon sequestration, and clean water. They include forest residues from timber harvesting, forest and brushland management, and fuel treatments; pulp and paper residues; and perennial native grasses used as bio-energy crops. Such energy sources provide an alternative to fossil fuels and can help Minnesota meet its renewable energy goals while improving the environment and strengthening rural economies.

Increasing demand for renewable energy: Minnesota is a national leader in the development of renewable energy sources. Both state and federal policy support renewable energy development through incentives and mandates to enhance energy price stability, energy security, and green job development and reduce the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Increasing demand for biomass: While wind and solar are growing faster, biomass remains the nation's largest source of renewable energy. Expanded use of biomass is being pursued to replace natural gas, provide the feedstocks for production of advanced biofuels, and generate dispatchable power. Producing and using biomass in ways that provide auxiliary environmental benefits is essential for ensuring the development of a sustainable renewable energy economy that provides a win-win-win solution that supports our nation's energy needs, conserves land and water, and sustains vibrant rural economies.

Native prairie grasses and woody biomass as sources of renewable energy.