On January 9, 2022 NextGen Highways issued a press release announcing continued funding from Breakthrough Energy to develop national and state-level coalitions in 2023. The primary focus of these coalitions will be to advocate for the use of existing public rights of way (ROWs) to enable the transmission development needed to meet the nation’s aggressive decarbonization and electrification goals. Continue reading »
With support from the Great Plains Institute, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) conducted an investigation into the potential implications of community choice energy (CCE) authorization in Colorado. CCE is an alternative to traditional investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative electric supply models and is currently authorized in several other states. Continue reading »
Photo courtesy of Cooperative Energy Futures
Despite increasing solar adoption across the United States, underserved small businesses—especially BIPOC- and immigrant-owned businesses—have historically lacked equitable access to the information, resources, and culturally-appropriate and accessible financing needed to install and receive the benefits of rooftop solar. The Great Plains Institute is a core partner in a newly announced project to help address these inequities in the Twin Cities. Continue reading »
The US Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Office recently awarded $1.8 million to GPI to lead a new nature-based solutions project, Designing & Deploying Solar Community Ecosystem Benefits. The award was soon followed by newly announced federal efforts to expand support for nature-based climate solutions. Continue reading »
On November 9, 2022, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) hosted a webinar, “Building a Sustainable Domestic Electric Vehicle Supply Chain.” The webinar brought experts together to critically examine and identify actions needed to mitigate supply chain issues in the US. Continue reading »
Industry and government must take steps now toward deploying systems that transform carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into useful products as part of a broader effort to enact a net-zero emissions economy, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
How much money can US drivers expect to save on fuel by switching to an electric vehicle? We explored this question with Heather Brown on CBS News Minnesota, and now our new calculator helps consumers do the math.
The recent increased volatility in gas prices has left many US drivers looking for alternatives. People are driving less and looking for more efficient vehicles. As consumers increasingly consider electric vehicles, they want to know how to calculate the potential costs and savings.
The average price per gallon of gas skyrocketed 146 percent to $4.75 in June of this year. That’s up from just $1.93 in April 2020, when the prices plummeted in the early months of the pandemic. Continue reading »
Electric vehicle tax credits expanded significantly with the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act. While the law expands the prior $7500 federal electric vehicle tax credits by lifting the 200,000-vehicle sales cap for manufacturers to be eligible, it also introduces new requirements for eligibility along with expanding the definition for clean vehicles. Now, vehicles fueled by fuel cell motors can also take advantage of the tax credit. The Inflation Reduction Act also introduces a tax credit for pre-owned electric vehicles. In this post, we highlight key eligibility requirements and share additional consumer resources. Continue reading »
New network aims to translate federal and state carbon management and industrial decarbonization policies into local opportunity.
OCTOBER 26, 2022, NEW ORLEANS—The Great Plains Institute today launched the Carbon Action Alliance, a new initiative to align and grow a network of government, industry, labor, environmental, and community partners to work together toward a common goal of achieving economywide deployment of carbon management and industrial decarbonization technologies in the United States to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury. Continue reading »
While the spotlight on carbon management often falls on new capture technologies and storage facilities, a robust carbon dioxide (CO2) transport infrastructure is critical to achieving midcentury climate goals. An established CO2 transport infrastructure can help lower the financial risk of capture and storage projects and expand the number of opportunities for carbon management. Continue reading »
