New (Republican) Minnesota House energy chief drives a Tesla

[RobStark]

• Article by: DAVID SHAFFER , Star Tribune
• Updated: January 10, 2015 - 2:00 PM

Republican Pat Garofalo supports electric vehicles, nuclear power and renewable energy but is not a fan of big subsidies for solar power.

The new head of the energy policy committee in the Minnesota House, six-term Republican Rep. Pat Garofalo, drives a Tesla plug-in electric sports car.

As chairman of the renamed House Job Growth and Energy Affordability Policy and Finance Committee, he will have a big say in the state’s energy policy agenda during the Legislative session now underway.

Not surprisingly, Garofalo, 43, of Farmington, is a big supporter of electric vehicles. He also supports renewable energy but is concerned about subsidies for solar power. He favors lifting Minnesota’s ban on new nuclear power plants and has high hopes for technology and innovation, such as capturing carbon dioxide from smokestacks, to address climate change.

He sat down recently with the Star Tribune to talk about his energy ideas and the new Tesla, which he said is his biggest personal splurge.

Q: How do you like the Tesla, and what made you buy one?


http://www.startribune.com/business/288082601.html

 

[Raffy.Roma]

This is good. As I said in my previous posts I dream a transversal party in the USA consisting of both Democrat and Repubblican Members having same ideas on the Climate Change/Global Warming issue.

 

[Evbwcaer]

I found those responses to be so refreshing politically. I don't agree with all of it, but what a reasonable blend of centrist politics and rationality. I will read up on him more for sure.

 

[CHGolferJim]

It's refreshing to see a centrist Republican grappling with these issues -- floating ideas, developing potentially politically viable positions that blend environmental sustainability with economic sustainability. This is leadership.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Doesn't really sound that refreshing to me. From his statements, clean energy is nuclear and natural gas, and his words on net metering were just a fancy way of saying homeowners with solar aren't paying their fair share, which they just want to "fix" by tinkering with net metering, which has elsewhere just meant monthly fees, rather than fixing the pricing problems.

 

[RobStark]

Like Elon Musk, Garofalo supports Nuclear energy and electric cars.

He is not against solar just not subsidies. Sounds a lot like libertarian Elon Musk

 

[nwdiver]

There is a bit of a weasel word in there though... the absence of a carbon tax is effectively a subsidy for fossil fuels since they aren't paying for the damage they cause...

 

[RobStark]

You can always comb through what is taxed,untaxed,and how it is taxed to support your contention that someone is receiving an unfair subsidy.

Elon supports a carbon tax so the market can function with the correct price signals for example.

In theory, libertarian Elon Musk does not support the $1B in tax credits received from the state of Nevada nor the $190M in transferable tax credits which in practice is a $190M direct cash subsidy.

In theory, Elon does not support New York state build Solar City a gigafactory then leasing it to SC for peanuts. And paying no State income tax to boot.

Then the whole argument is my competitors get unfair subsidies so I need subsidies to compete.

Most people in the political center agree with subsidies to launch a new high tech industry but that after a short period those subsidies should be removed. But subsidies intended to be short term or to cover an immediate crisis tend to last in perpetuity.

 

[flankspeed8]

http://www.twincities.com/breakingnews/ci_27299874/farmington-goper-pat-garofalo-an-electric-car-and

Another story. This is making quite the rounds.

 

[tmac]

Like Elon Musk, Garofalo supports Nuclear energy and electric cars.

He is not against solar just not subsidies. Sounds a lot like libertarian Elon Musk

Rob I did not know that about Elon but I guess he is a libertarian in a way. He has never to my knowledge advocated for large scale production of nuclear. On the contrary look at the TED talk he gives

Elon IS in favor of Nuclear, but not the type you think of. He has stated repeatedly we must get to 100 % solar or close to it ASAP or we are deep trouble.
Yes he is in favor of Nuclear Fusion Power 90 million miles away, NO not the Nuclear Fission Power in your or my back yard

He talks a lot about TESLA for first 7:35 then starts talking about electricity at 7:36.
Elon Musk: The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity ... | Talk Video | TED.com

(0f course he and his cousin are selling solar panels )

He predicts plurality of electricity generated by solar by 2030.


I heard a great one the other day we need to evolve away from NIMBY to PPIMBY (Please Place in my back yard)


Garofalo needs a reality check if he is upset at Solar subsidies?? Really. Compare credits and subsidies oil gas coal and especially nuclear get to solar since 1913 then get back to me Governor
These blowhards always say we should not pick a winner...... but we HAVE! It is called Fossil Fuels with side dish of nuclear. We issue permits for them to drill in the GULF in Alaska etc on public land. They have a great deal and are the most profitable companies in the history of the world. So him saying he is against solar getting unfair advantage does not past muster.

Yes we should pick a winner, one that does involve burning stuff and creating runaway global warming
One that has no moving parts and can last about a century. One that once paired with reliable back up will truly free us from paying the utilities every month.

Nuclear power plant operators are unable to buy insurance. No other industry has this problem. So if something goes wrong guess who pays for the mess up? Ask the ratepayers and citizens Of TEPCO in Japan?
$105 billion dollars, I guess it is not "too cheap to meter"
Did you hear about the solar spill they had the other day? It was a nice sunny winter day!!

 

[Canuck]

He likely wouldn't be driving that Tesla if his party was in power when Tesla needed a government loan to survive (or "loser Tester" as Romney called them).

He is, however, better than most in his party but that's damning him with faint praise.

 

[Rifleman]

Glad to see I am not the only conservative who gets it on electric vehicles. Hopefully he does well politically, and sets an example for the rest of his party.

 

[flankspeed8]

Glad to see I am not the only conservative who gets it on electric vehicles. Hopefully he does well politically, and sets an example for the rest of his part.

You aren't the only one Rifleman, I consider myself pretty conservative politically but agree we need to conserve resources also. I grew up in the town that Garafolo represents in the state house and as most Republican's in Minnesota, he is pretty moderate. Not quite sure why conservatives or Republicans in general are labeled anti-EV, solar, etc. There is a lot of ignorance out there, but that is true all around. The Democrats had a complete lock on the house, senate and Governor the last couple of years but they made no progress advancing EV adoption. How is it that red Georgia has an EV state credit, but not blue Minnesota? I don't believe this is a blue/red thing.

 

[bluenation]

He likely wouldn't be driving that Tesla if his party was in power when Tesla needed a government loan to survive (or "loser Tester" as Romney called them).

He is, however, better than most in his party but that's damning him with faint praise.

pretty much.

the red party tends to voice opinions which retard the growth of renewables. generally speaking, of course.

 

[Canuck]

How is it that red Georgia has an EV state credit, but not blue Minnesota? I don't believe this is a blue/red thing.

Exceptions don't prove the rule: State-by-state EV support often comes down to party lines

Not quite sure why conservatives or Republicans in general are labeled anti-EV, solar, etc.

Because there was no EV Rebate at all while the Republicans were in power. It was the Democrats that brought in the EV Rebate, and recently proposed increasing it to $10k:

2014 Budget Proposal Ups EV Credit To $10,000 Point Of Sale Rebate Thru 2018 | Inside EVs

But, not surprisingly, this was done in face of great opposition by Republicans wanting to kill it:

DailyTech - Volt May See Increased Nov. Sales; House Republican Looks to Kill $7,500 EV Tax Credit

You're kidding yourself if you don't believe the support of EV's is a blue/red thing. In fact, it is the epitome of the red/blue thing.

 

[bonnie]

Moderator note: Please try to resist jumping in on the political discussions (though I admit, given the topic, it's going to be difficult). Political discussions never seem to go well here ... which is why we have another thread for that.

Asking politely not to make blanket statements about political parties - generalizations are quickly taken personally and then, well, we have another thread for THAT (if you know what I mean).

Please try.

 

[flankspeed8]

Exceptions don't prove the rule: State-by-state EV support often comes down to party lines


You're kidding yourself if you don't believe the support of EV's is a blue/red thing. In fact, it is the epitome of the red/blue thing.

I hope that I am not violating the mods request, but there was a post on the GM-Volt owners forum asking those who bought a Volt to declare their political leaning. Guess what, it was about 50-50. There are a lot of underlying factors that hinder EV adoption, one of which Tesla is trying to address (Super Chargers). Most red states are more rural. Economics also takes a big toll on how one view EV's. Tell me how well a pure BEV car is going to sell in Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota when the average commute may not be 30 miles but 80-90 miles. This has far more impact than if the state is governed by a Dem or a Repub. Maybe that is one of the reasons that pure BEV's are doing better on the coast? Better climate? Getting back to the point of this thread, Rep Garafolo is saying that there are plenty of ways to support EV adoption and infratstructure without throwing subsidies. The Tesla is the only EV that could get him from his house to the Capitol and back on a single charge, so at least he is leading by example. The more we make this a blue/red or us/them makes it more difficult for people like Garofalo to be successful or people in general to cross lines. We have enough issues that are polarizing, I hope EV success and adoption would not remain, or become one of them.

 

[bonnie]

I hope that I am not violating the mods request, but ...

Great example about how to discuss this kind of stuff without hitting emotional buttons. Thanks.

 

[hockeythug]

Waiting to see what the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association tries to push through this session. There also has been talk about skipping the 2016 session due to renovations that are going on at the Capital. So if nothing changes this session Tesla might have a long period of growing their Minnesota customer base without interfence.

 

[Canuck]

I hope that I am not violating the mods request, but there was a post on the GM-Volt owners forum asking those who bought a Volt to declare their political leaning. Guess what, it was about 50-50. There are a lot of underlying factors that hinder EV adoption, one of which Tesla is trying to address (Super Chargers). Most red states are more rural. Economics also takes a big toll on how one view EV's. Tell me how well a pure BEV car is going to sell in Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota when the average commute may not be 30 miles but 80-90 miles. This has far more impact than if the state is governed by a Dem or a Repub. Maybe that is one of the reasons that pure BEV's are doing better on the coast? Better climate? Getting back to the point of this thread, Rep Garafolo is saying that there are plenty of ways to support EV adoption and infratstructure without throwing subsidies. The Tesla is the only EV that could get him from his house to the Capitol and back on a single charge, so at least he is leading by example. The more we make this a blue/red or us/them makes it more difficult for people like Garofalo to be successful or people in general to cross lines. We have enough issues that are polarizing, I hope EV success and adoption would not remain, or become one of them.

Agreed and well-reasoned. The more common ground we can find, the better. "Sorry" to you and Bonnie for polarizing the issue. I agree that is not helpful but sometimes I can't help myself. But I will make a conscious effort not to do so in the future.