The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to reduce carbon emissions has had a minimal impact at the local level so far, according to the president and CEO of Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services.

Jim Krueger made the comment at a panel discussion Wednesday at the Freeborn County Historical Museum. The panel included Krueger and a representative each from Albert Lea Seed House and Invenergy, a wind energy company that has proposed a wind mill project south of Albert Lea.

Panelists answered questions related to clean energy technologies, costs and implementation.

The event was moderated by Joe Sullivan, manager of strategic locations for the Center for Energy and Environment.

The Clean Power Plan, which would regulate emissions from coal fired power plants, has been temporarily blocked by the Supreme Court.

Krueger said there will be cooperation on joint projects to retire coal facilities early if the plan goes into place.

He said the law will make it difficult to get nuclear power projects started.

Michael Svedeman, business development associate at Invenergy, said Minnesota has been an early mover in renewable energy production and from a business and development standpoint the state is nice to work with because standards are laid out and are rigorous, yet fair.

Svedeman said there is room for improvement at the state level about the discussion.

Invenergy, which develops, owns and operates power generation and energy storage facilities in North America and Europe, is in the early stages of a wind energy development near Glenville.

Krueger agreed that Minnesota has been a leader in renewable energy production, but said that has put the state on an island since neighboring states don’t have as strict of requirements.

Krueger cited an instance in the late 2000s when a business was going to come to Albert Lea but decided to go to Nebraska because of more business-friendly environmental standards.

He said storage technology needs to be utilized for renewable energy to be effective when the sun is not shining.

Freeborn-Mower Director of Energy Services Mike Murtaugh said he has seen consumers considering small solar energy systems in Freeborn County, along with windmills.

Albert Lea Seed House Seed salesman Jim Wichmann said the Seed House’s installation of solar panels made him recognize that panels may be too expensive for individuals to purchase them.