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Senate energy committee advances SF4504 as amended after adopting A20 and $3M RDA grant

Minnesota Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee · April 14, 2026

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Summary

The Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee recommended passage of Senate File 4504 as amended and referred it to finance after adopting amendment A20 (author replacement of A17) and A14 (a $3 million RDA grant for a Heights Geothermal project); recorded votes on the omnibus recommendation were 6–5.

The Minnesota Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee on Thursday recommended passage of Senate File 4504 as amended and referred the bill to the Finance Committee after adopting two author amendments.

Senator Dibble offered amendment A20 as a withdrawal and replacement for the previously offered A17; he told the committee the rewrite "fulfills my initial goal, which is to make sure that the study is both thorough and objective," and said A20 allows for sole‑source hiring of an objective entity if an RFP fails and moves a stringent comparative analysis toward the integrated resource planning process.

Senator Friend, the author of the omnibus bill in committee, said the committee had worked with stakeholders and that adopting A20 would let the bill move to finance. Several members, including Senator Matthews and others, warned that A20 makes the Senate version different from language the House has used and could complicate passage in conference.

Senator McEwen, joining remotely, offered amendment A14 to add a $3,000,000 Renewable Development Account (RDA) grant for the Heights Geothermal System, tied to her Senate file previously heard in committee. She told the committee the project "is exactly the kind of innovative community scale clean energy project the RDA was created to advance," and noted Luke Galswick of Evergreen Energy was available to answer technical questions.

Committee members discussed available RDA funds; Senator Friend said the Senate version had room for the $3,000,000 add. The committee adopted A14 by voice vote. The committee adopted A20 by roll call after Senator Dibble requested a recorded vote.

Staff recorded the roll on the A20 amendment and again on the committee's recommendation for the underlying bill. The roll‑call list recorded the following votes (responses as read aloud by staff): Chair Frantz — Yes; Senator Jeong — Yes; Senator Matthews — No; Senator Green — No; Senator Dibble — Yes; Senator Gruenhagen — No; Senator Hoffman — Yes; Senator Klein — Yes; Senator McKeown — Yes; Senator Rehrig — No; Senator Weber — No. The committee reported a 6–5 vote in favor of recommending Senate File 4504 as amended and sent the bill to the Finance Committee.

The committee adjourned and the chair said informational hearings are expected as the bill moves to finance.

Next steps: SF4504 will be considered in the Senate Finance Committee; members flagged the pending dispute with the House on study language and several safety and stakeholder issues that could be raised during further consideration.