HF1040, a bill sponsored by Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) is designed to address an issue that鈥檚 come up frequently during recent legislative sessions when discussing the increased use of renewable energy sources in the state: What do you do with wind blades, turbines and solar panels after their days of energy production are over?
It would require producers of solar panels and wind energy conversion systems to implement a product stewardship program to collect and recycle discarded solar and wind materials. It would prohibit the retail sale of such infrastructure in Minnesota unless the producer is participating in a stewardship plan approved by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
After an amendment to correct a number, the committee approved the bill without dissent and referred it to the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee. 鈥淚 first introduced this bill 11 years ago because I saw that our state, and the whole country, was moving toward green energy infrastructure,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淚鈥檓 from Iowa originally, and when I drive down I-35 to visit friends and family, somewhere after Clear Lake, there鈥檚 a big old pile of wind blades. And it鈥檚 been there for a long, long time. Now I recently read that the state of Iowa is suing to have those wind blades removed, and it鈥檚 become quite an ordeal. I don鈥檛 want that happening in our state.鈥�