The calendar has turned to 2020 and the carbon capture industry is still waiting on the US Department of the Treasury to release additional guidance on the implementation of the reformed and expanded 45Q credit. Continue reading »
Letter to Governor Tim Walz from Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota
January 3, 2020 in News & Press, Transportation & Fuels Authors: Brendan Jordan, Katelyn Bocklund
In advance of the 2020 legislative session, the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota sent a letter to Governor Tim Walz expressing concern about the funding shortfall in the state’s Bioincentive Program.
Approval of Xcel Energy’s Electric Vehicle Pilots Highlights Key Considerations for Electric Utilities
December 12, 2019 in Energy Systems, Transportation & Fuels Author: Trevor Drake 
Following a stakeholder engagement process facilitated by the Great Plains Institute in 2018, Xcel Energy received approval and is moving forward in Minnesota with new electric vehicle (EV) pilot programs.
As investor-owned electric utilities seek to meet the needs of shareholders, consumers, and the environment, EVs offer a unique opportunity. If implemented carefully, utility investments in EV infrastructure and programs can provide a series of benefits, including new sources of utility revenue, better services for EV drivers, reduced costs for all consumers by making the electric system more efficient, and reduced pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading »
Impacting Humanity’s Most Important Decade: Annual Giving at GPI
December 11, 2019 in News & Press Author: Morgan Zehner
As 2019 comes to a close, we are met with the stark realization that the new year marks the beginning of the most important juncture in the history of our climate, planet, and civilization. The 2020s will define the future of both humanity and planet Earth as our society must take profound action to confront the climate crisis or the world that we have known—both natural and economic—will change drastically. Continue reading »
Award-Winning Software Enables GPI to Show Real-World Possibilities for Carbon Capture
December 9, 2019 in Carbon Management, News & Press Author: Dane McFarlane
Game-changing technology that models the lowest-cost, best placement, and most effective use of carbon capture, transport, and storage has earned a prestigious research and development award. A technology that happens to be at the heart of GPI’s work on carbon capture for the past few years. Continue reading »
GPI Hires Policy and Member Relations Manager for Carbon Capture Coalition
November 25, 2019 in Carbon Management, News & Press Author: Brad Crabtree
GPI is pleased to welcome Jessie Stolark as our new public policy and member relations manager. Jessie will support the Carbon Capture Coalition which is convened by GPI and brings together 70-plus members from industry, labor, and NGOs to advance carbon capture policies and commercial deployment. Continue reading »
Solar Energy & Natural Systems: Exploring Co-Benefit Opportunities
November 21, 2019 in Communities, Energy Systems Authors: Brian Ross, Katharine Chute
A pollinator test plot underneath the PV array at the Chisago Solar Site, part of the Aurora Solar Project in Minnesota. NREL scientist Jordan Macknick is researching the economical and ecological affect of pollinator plants planted underneath the PV array
Solar projects can be designed and sited to meet natural resource conservation goals. Capturing the natural resource co-benefit opportunities of solar development will involve creative partnerships, targeted spatial planning, and rethinking site and project design. Continue reading »
What will the energy system look like in 50 years? What trends are in play today that should inform business strategy, with an eye toward a long-term vision for the future? Those are the questions that I tackled in a presentation earlier this year to hundreds of top executives from Royal Vopak, a 400-year-old global tank storage company based in the Netherlands. Continue reading »
GPI Hosts US Delegation on Steel & Carbon Capture to United Arab Emirates, Belgium, and Netherlands
November 13, 2019 in Carbon Management Author: Jill Syvrud
Representatives of US industry, labor unions, state and federal officials, environmental and clean energy NGOs, and philanthropy joined the Great Plains Institute (GPI) in September 2019 on an American public and private delegation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Belgium, and the Netherlands to explore carbon capture in steel production and see leading commercial-scale examples overseas of carbon capture and utilization projects in operation and under construction. Continue reading »
If you are an avid reader of the Great Plains Institute (GPI) blog and newsletter you probably have a pretty good sense of what GPI does. What you might not know is the role that you can personally play in making a zero-carbon energy system happen. Continue reading »
