https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/Recent content in Chapter 216I — Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act on MinnesotaLawyer.comHugoen-ushttps://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.01/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.01/This chapter is called the Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act, a law that took effect July 1, 2025. It replaced the previous energy siting laws found in chapters 216E and 216F. The Act sets up a single permitting system for large power plants, wind and solar farms, energy storage facilities, and high-voltage power lines in Minnesota.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.02/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.02/This section defines the key terms used throughout the Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act. It defines what counts as a ’large energy infrastructure facility,’ which includes high-voltage power lines (100 kV or more, over 1,500 feet long), large power plants (50 MW or more), energy storage systems (10 MW or more), large wind farms (5 MW or more combined), and large solar systems (50 MW AC or more). These size thresholds determine whether a project needs a state permit from the Public Utilities Commission.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.03/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.03/This section establishes that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has the authority to decide where large energy facilities can be built in Minnesota. The state’s policy is to site these facilities in a way that protects the environment while meeting the state’s energy needs in a timely and orderly manner. For power lines crossing state borders, the PUC must coordinate with neighboring states. The PUC must also submit a biennial report to the Legislature on progress toward meeting the state’s clean energy goals.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.04/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.04/This section allows a developer to ask the Public Utilities Commission whether a proposed energy project meets the definition of a ’large energy infrastructure facility’ that requires a state permit. The PUC must respond in writing within 30 days and its answer is a final decision. For solar, wind, and battery storage projects, the nameplate capacity of nearby related projects built within the same 12 months may be combined to determine if the threshold is met.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.05/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.05/This section sets out the main permit application process for large energy facilities. No one may build a large power plant, solar farm, wind farm, energy storage system, or high-voltage transmission line without a site or route permit from the PUC. Applications must include detailed engineering, environmental, and cost information. Before filing, the developer must notify local governments and tribal governments at least 30 days in advance and submit a draft application to PUC staff for a completeness review. Once an application is complete, the PUC notifies nearby property owners and the public and holds a public meeting to accept comments.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.06/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.06/This section describes the ‘major review’ process, the most thorough permitting path for large energy projects. The PUC must prepare a full environmental impact statement (EIS) for each project. A public hearing conducted by an administrative law judge must be held at least 15 days after the draft EIS is published. After the hearing and public comment period, the administrative law judge submits a report, and the PUC must make a final decision within 60 days of receiving the report and within one year of determining the application is complete.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.07/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.07/This section establishes a faster ‘standard review’ process for certain types of energy projects, including smaller power plants (under 80 MW), natural gas plants, transmission lines between 100 and 300 kV, most solar and wind farms, and energy storage systems. Under standard review, the applicant prepares the environmental assessment rather than the PUC, and the PUC must make a final decision within six months of accepting the application as complete. A public hearing is still required.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.08/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.08/This section allows certain smaller energy projects to seek approval from local government rather than the state PUC. Projects eligible for local review include power plants and solar systems under 80 MW, smaller wind farms (under 25 MW), substations, and transmission lines between 100 and 200 kV. However, if any local government with jurisdiction asks the PUC to take over the process within 60 days, the PUC assumes statewide jurisdiction. Local government must conduct environmental review for any qualifying project that remains at the local level.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.09/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.09/This section establishes how a facility owner can get approval to modify or upgrade an existing permitted energy facility without going through the full permit process again. Eligible changes include upgrading transmission lines to between 100 and 300 kV without significant environmental impact, and repowering or refurbishing a power plant, wind farm, solar farm, or battery system to improve efficiency without expanding the site footprint or nameplate capacity. The PUC must decide on a permit amendment request within 30 days of receiving the applicant’s response to public comments.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.10/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.10/This section lists the energy projects that do not need a PUC permit at all. Projects exempt from state permitting include small wind farms (under 5 MW), power plants and solar systems under 50 MW, battery storage systems under 10 MW, and transmission lines under 1,500 feet or under 100 kV. Even though no PUC permit is needed, these projects still must get any required local, state, or federal approvals and comply with state environmental review rules.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.11/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.11/This section lists specific types of work on existing energy facilities that do not require a new permit from the PUC, even if the existing facility is large enough to normally require one. Exempt activities include routine maintenance and repairs, certain substation equipment additions, reconductoring or rebuilding a transmission line without changing its voltage or right-of-way, road-required line relocations, converting a plant to burn natural gas, and restarting a closed plant at its previous capacity. For most of these exemptions, the facility owner must give the PUC at least 30 days’ written notice before starting construction.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.12/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.12/This section allows a utility to get an emergency permit to build a large energy facility quickly when a major unforeseen event — such as a severe storm or equipment failure — makes immediate construction necessary to protect the power grid. The PUC must issue the permit within 195 days of accepting the application and must hold a public hearing within 90 days to determine whether a true emergency exists. The PUC must adopt rules defining what qualifies as an emergency.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.13/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.13/This section sets out the process for transferring a site or route permit from one company to another, such as when an energy project is sold. The current permit holder must apply to the PUC and provide information about both the existing and new permit holder. The new permit holder must show it can comply with the permit’s conditions. The PUC must provide notice to interested parties and may hold a public meeting before deciding. The PUC can approve the transfer with additional conditions.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.14/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.14/This section describes the process for revoking or suspending a permit to build or operate a large energy facility. The PUC can act on its own or based on a request from any person who provides evidence that a violation has occurred. Before revoking or suspending a permit, the PUC must give the permit holder a contested case hearing conducted by an administrative law judge. When deciding on sanctions, the PUC considers the severity of environmental harm, whether it can be fixed, and whether revoking the permit would harm grid reliability.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.15/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.15/This section requires the Public Utilities Commission to hold an annual public hearing where anyone can comment on issues related to the siting and routing of large energy facilities. At the hearing, the PUC must inform the public about all permits it issued during the past year. The PUC must give at least ten days’ but no more than 45 days’ notice of the hearing through mailing, the EQB Monitor publication, and the PUC’s weekly calendar.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.16/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.16/This section requires the PUC to treat broad public participation as a core principle in its work on energy facility siting. Public participation must go beyond just formal hearings and must follow the PUC’s rules and guidelines. The PUC must also designate one staff member whose sole job is to help interested citizens understand how to participate effectively in site and route permit proceedings.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.17/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.17/This section requires all PUC meetings, including hearings on energy facility permits, to be open to the public. The PUC must keep minutes of its meetings and a complete record of all public hearings. All PUC books, records, files, and correspondence must be available for public inspection at reasonable times. The PUC is also subject to Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law in chapter 13D.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.18/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.18/This section establishes that a PUC site or route permit is the only local land use approval needed for a large energy facility — it overrides and preempts all local zoning, building, and land use rules. State agencies are required to participate in the PUC’s siting process and cannot override PUC decisions on site or route location. If a project affects farmland, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is the lead agency for any agricultural mitigation plan. The State Historic Preservation Office must also participate in siting activities.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.19/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.19/This section requires large wind energy conversion systems (wind farms) that received permits after July 1, 2021 to install ’light-mitigating technology’ on their turbines. This technology uses sensors to detect approaching aircraft and only turns on the turbine warning lights when a plane is actually nearby, instead of having lights flash continuously all night. If the FAA rejects the technology for a specific site or if the system is technically infeasible or too costly, the PUC or county can grant an exemption.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.20/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.20/This section allows a permit holder to begin construction or site improvements on an approved energy facility site or transmission route at any time after receiving the permit. However, if the permit holder has not started construction within four years of receiving the permit, it must file a certification with the PUC confirming that the site or route still meets the conditions of the original permit. This ensures that long-delayed projects are still appropriate for their approved location.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.21/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.21/This section preserves utility companies’ power of eminent domain — the legal right to take private property for public use with payment — for acquiring land needed for energy facility sites and transmission line routes. Eminent domain proceedings follow the general rules in chapter 117. A landowner whose farm or home is targeted for acquisition for a 200 kV or higher transmission line may require the utility to acquire the entire contiguous parcel rather than just an easement. Landowners may also elect to receive payment in up to ten annual installments at 8% interest.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.22/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.22/This section requires utilities to record the permanent location of survey monuments and markers placed during a right-of-way survey for a transmission line route with the county recorder or registrar of titles. No recording fee may be charged to the utility for filing this information. This creates a public record of the transmission line’s exact location that can be accessed by anyone.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.23/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.23/This section gives applicants and affected persons a legal remedy if the PUC fails to act on a permit application within the time limits set by this chapter. Any applicant or affected person can go to district court and ask a judge to order the PUC to make a decision — either approving or denying the permit. This provision helps prevent permit applications from being stalled indefinitely.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.24/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.24/This section lists the grounds for revoking or suspending a large energy facility site or route permit. A permit may be revoked or suspended if the holder made knowingly false statements in the permit application, failed to comply with material permit conditions or health and safety standards, or violated the law, PUC rules, or a PUC order. Before any revocation, the permit holder must receive adequate notice and a full and fair hearing with the opportunity to present evidence.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.25/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.25/This section allows applicants, parties, and aggrieved persons to appeal PUC decisions on site and route permits, minor alterations, amendments, emergency permits, and final orders to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date the PUC’s decision is published in the EQB Monitor or a final order is filed. Appeals follow the procedures in chapter 14, which governs contested case proceedings and agency appeals.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.26/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.26/This section authorizes the PUC to adopt rules needed to carry out the energy infrastructure permitting law. The rules may cover site and route selection criteria, information utilities must submit, public participation guidelines, revocation procedures, and timelines for proposing alternative routes and sites. The Office of Administrative Hearings must also adopt procedural rules for public hearings in the permit process. Any rules adopted under this section can be appealed under chapter 14, just like any other state agency rules.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.27/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.27/This section sets out the penalties for violating the Minnesota Energy Infrastructure Permitting Act. A first violation — such as building a large energy facility without a permit or submitting false information — is a misdemeanor. A second or later violation is a gross misdemeanor. Each day of a continuing violation is a separate offense. Courts can also impose civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation. The attorney general, at the PUC’s request, can bring court actions to stop violations through injunctions or other legal remedies.https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.28/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://minnesotalawyer.com/statutes/chapter-216i/216i.28/This section requires energy project applicants to pay fees to cover the PUC’s costs of processing their permit applications, with fees deposited in a special account and any excess refunded to the applicant. It also requires all utilities with annual retail electricity sales over 4 million kilowatt-hours to pay quarterly assessments to fund the PUC’s ongoing work on energy facility siting, including environmental studies, criteria development, and permit monitoring. Each utility’s share is based on a formula combining its retail kilowatt-hour sales and gross revenue.