I am proud to announce that I now serve on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I have been fighting to join this committee since I started in the Senate because energy production touches all of our lives and is vital to our future.

We have a strong, proud tradition in Minnesota of being a national leader in responsible environmental stewardship and clean energy development. So, to learn as much as I can about what resources are needed to grow our renewable energy industry and create jobs, I will be traveling across the state on a Renewable Energy Listening Tour.

I will traverse Minnesota talking to industry experts, small business owners, and community leaders. I will dedicate myself to using my position on the Energy committee to create well-paying jobs, and making sure we are in control of our energy future.

I will focus on promoting energy policies that create well-paying jobs, boost innovation in our state, and decrease our dependence on dirty energy sources. Minnesota is a leader in wind and biofuels industries but there is more we can do to bring clean-energy research and manufacturing jobs to the state. I will also focus on improving our nation's energy efficiency in industry, buildings, and our transportation sector, because the cleanest, and cheapest energy is the energy we don't use at all.

UPDATE: The first stops on Sen. Franken's Renewable Energy Listening Tour were Morris and Willmar (Photos).

• Sen. Franken visited the University of Minnesota Morris's Biomass reasearch project and spoke to University officials about sustainabliity inititatives;
• went to the West Central Research and Outreach Center to visit the Center's wind turbines;
• visited the USDA's North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory to learn about research on crops used for food, bio-energy, and industrial products; 
• toured the Denco II Ethanol Plant;
• met with Kandiyohi County and Willmar City officials to discuss local geothermal energy projects in the county; and
• hosted an Energy Roundtable with energy advocates, researchers, and businesses to discuss the future of renewable and its potential to creat jobs.