Minnesota Incentives and Laws for Natural Gas

The list below contains summaries of all Minnesota incentives and laws related to Natural Gas.

Utility/Private Incentives

Natural Gas Infrastructure Technical Assistance - CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy offers preliminary feasibility studies for natural gas fueling stations, including natural gas availability information.

Laws and Regulations

State Agency Sustainability Plan and Requirements

State agencies must establish interagency teams to develop and implement sustainability goals that reduce state vehicle petroleum consumption. In addition, each state department or agency must prepare an annual sustainability plan that includes ways to modify vehicle use practices, and report annually on progress towards implementing their plan. Each state agency plan must be based on following targets and mandates:

• Using 2005 as a baseline, the state must achieve a 50% reduction in gasoline used to operate state agency owned on-road vehicles by 2015;
• Using 2005 as a baseline, the state must achieve a 25% reduction in the use of petroleum-based diesel fuel for state owned on-road vehicles by 2015;
• When reasonably possible, state agencies must purchase on-road vehicles that use alternative fuels, including biodiesel blends of 20% (B20) or greater, compressed or liquefied natural gas, ethanol blends of 70% (E70) or greater, hydrogen, propane, or electricity, or (with the exception of buses, snowplows, and construction vehicles) have a fuel economy rating that exceeds 30 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 35 mpg on the highway;
• When reasonably possible, state employees must fuel vehicles capable of operating on an alternative fuel with that fuel;
• State agencies must increase the use of renewable fuels derived from agricultural products or waste products; and
• State agencies must increase the use of technology for delivering information and services in order to reduce reliance on the state's fleet.

(Reference Executive Order 11-13, 2011, and Minnesota Statutes 16C.135 and 16C.137)

Alternative Fuel Tax

The Minnesota Department of Revenue imposes an excise tax on the first licensed distributor that receives E85 fuel products in the state and on distributors, special fuel dealers, or bulk purchasers of other alternative fuels. E85 is taxed at the pump at a rate of $0.1985 per gallon, propane is taxed at $0.2105 per gallon, liquefied natural gas is taxed at $0.168 per gallon, and compressed natural gas is taxed at the rate of $0.2474 per hundred cubic feet. Gasoline is taxed at the rate of $0.28 per gallon. (Reference Minnesota Statutes 296A.07 and 296A.08)