Customers pony up for renewable energy

MINNEAPOLIS – The Rev. Francis Galles lives on a retired priest’s income, but he doesn’t mind paying an extra 60 bucks a year to make sure some of the energy he uses comes from the wind turbines churning across southern Minnesota. “It’s not much. I’d pay more,” he said.

Galles is part of a small but growing group of consumers who, despite an era of high energy costs, are willing to pay a premium to support renewable energy.

“I think we need to have a vision when it comes to energy, and at the present time our government doesn’t have much of a vision,” said Galles, who lives in Preston in the southeastern corner of the state. “So, I do this for my part.”

About 23,000 Minnesota households last year paid as much as an additional $150 for electricity, up 30 percent from last year, according to the state
Commerce Department.

AP