Minnesota Agencies

The renewable development account advisory group shall develop recommendations on account expenditures. The advisory group must design a request for proposal and evaluate projects submitted in response to a request for proposals. The advisory group shall submit funding recommendations to the public utility, which has full and sole authority to determine which expenditures shall be submitted by the advisory group to the legislature. The Public Utilities Commission may approve proposed expenditures, may disapprove proposed expenditures that it finds not to be in compliance with this subdivision or otherwise not in the public interest, and may, if agreed to by the public utility, modify proposed expenditures. The commission shall, by order, submit its funding recommendations to the legislature. 

The commission shall present its recommended appropriations from the account to the Senate and House of Representatives committees with jurisdiction over energy policy and finance annually by February 15.  By February 1, 2018, and each February 1 thereafter, the commissioner of management and budget shall submit a written report regarding the availability of funds in and obligations of the account to the chairs and ranking minority members of the Senate and House committees with jurisdiction over energy policy and finance, the public utility, and the advisory group.

According to the 2024 Recommended Appropriations From the Renewable Development Account report: "In 2017, Minn. Stat. §116C.779 was substantially amended [Laws of Minnesota 2017, Chapter 94, Article 10, Section 3], replacing the RDF with a Renewable Development Account (RDA) that is a Special Revenue fund in the state treasury, administered by Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB). The RDA legislation includes a process for an advisory group to issue Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and make recommendations to Xcel Energy for the projects that should be funded; Xcel Energy determines which projects are brought forward to the Public Utilities Commission. The Commission is to make its funding recommendations to the Legislature by February 15 of each year. Expenditures from the RDA must be appropriated by law by the Legislature."

The renewable development account advisory group includes, among others, representatives of the public utility and its ratepayers, and includes at least one representative of the Prairie Island Indian community appointed by that community's tribal council.