Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota Releases Policy Priorities for 2026

Minnesota legislators returned to Saint Paul on Tuesday, February 17, to reconvene for the 2026 legislative session. The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota is prepared to advocate for policies to grow Minnesota’s bioeconomy and support economic development statewide.

Each year, the coalition releases a policy platform outlining its goals for the legislative session. This post outlines member priorities for the 2026 session, which include providing funding to support the state’s Bioincentive Program, supporting the transition to clean fuels through sustainable aviation fuel incentives and a clean transportation standard program, and streamlining permitting processes to support projects that advance the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner technologies.

The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota’s 2026 policy platform

The policy statements below reflect the direction of the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota for the 2026 legislative session and are supported by the following members:

Amp Americas 

City of Benson 

Clean Energy Economy Minnesota 

Dovetail Partners, Inc. 

Gevo 

Koda Energy 

Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association 

Oberon Fuels 

Partnership on Waste and Energy 

Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy 

Sappi North America

The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota supports fully funding the Bioincentive Program to allow Minnesota to fulfill its commitment to companies that have made investments in the state.

The Minnesota Legislature created the performance-based Bioincentive Program to encourage commercial-scale production of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biomass thermal energy. Rather than providing upfront dollars in the form of grants or loans, the program requires companies to begin producing eligible products before receiving incentive payments. The program has successfully spurred investments and created economic benefits across the state, leading to significant job creation and tax revenue. However, the Bioincentive Program remains significantly underfunded, with participating companies’ claims exceeding the limited funds available for the program each year since 2019. The Minnesota Legislature should provide additional funding for the program to fulfill unpaid claims.

The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota supports sustainable aviation fuel production and use in Minnesota.

Minnesota is set to become a leader in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry. In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature created a SAF tax credit to support the production and blending of sustainable aviation fuel in the state. Later that year, Delta Air Lines, Greater MSP Partnership, Bank of America, Ecolab, and Xcel Energy launched the Minnesota SAF Hub, including plans for the first SAF blending facility in Minnesota and only the third in the United States.

We support increasing the effectiveness of Minnesota’s SAF tax credit by expanding the program’s eligible feedstocks, implementing an additional credit for additional carbon intensity reductions, providing additional funding to ensure certainty for investors, and adding policy guardrails that promote domestic feedstocks, prevent cropland expansion, and ensure sequestered carbon is stored permanently underground.

The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota supports implementing a clean transportation standard in Minnesota.

The clean transportation standard is a comprehensive, performance-based policy that would reduce transportation emissions while supporting clean air and water, driving innovation in the clean fuels industry, and providing economic opportunities for Minnesota farmers. According to a study by Horizon Climate Group, the program would generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for producers of ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and renewable natural gas, as well as for the farmers that produce biofuel feedstocks.

The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota supports permitting reforms to streamline the process for projects that reduce fossil fuel use, such as biomass energy generation projects.

While permitting requirements provide the protections Minnesotans and the environment need, overly long permitting timelines can create bottlenecks, impose high costs on developers, and put projects at risk of delay. The state should pursue ways to improve the effectiveness of its permitting processes without compromising necessary project reviews.

The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota is facilitated by the Great Plains Institute (GPI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization accelerating the transition to net-zero carbon emissions for the benefit of people, the economy, and the environment. GPI combines a unique consensus-building approach, expert knowledge, research and analysis, and local action to find and implement lasting solutions.

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