Buildings with an ENERGY STAR certification use 35 percent less energy on average than typical buildings, and cumulatively achieve over $2 billion in annual cost savings. Over 300,000 buildings across the country, representing over 40 percent of the commercial market, measure and track their energy use with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager—the tool that identifies potential eligibility for certification.
The purpose of this report is to characterize the market uptake of the ENERGY STAR certification for buildings in Minnesota, which has grown from three buildings in 1999 to 561 certified buildings as of September 15th, 2013. Collectively, certified buildings in Minnesota represent nearly 105 million square feet of floor space.
Map of Energy Star Certified Buildings in Minnesota: The map below shows all certified buildings as of September 15th, 2013. Click on a building to see more information.
While many of you are familiar with the use of biogas as a means for powering or heating our homes and businesses, I believe that the use of biogas as a transportation fuel is the least well-known and understood application for this versatile and greenhouse gas reducing resource. For this reason, my previous columns have focused on the vast potential of biogas as fuel for our vehicles. If this potential is to be reached, however, a critical component of the plan needs to be addressed first: infrastructure.
The U.S. electricity system is in a period of rapid change, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees. We have a grid in need of significant updates, given the 21st
FARGO – A Norwegian delegation including Jostein Mykletun, Consul General of Norway at the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Houston, Texas, will travel to North Dakota this week to visit the state’s booming oil patch and meet with state and local leaders and higher education officials. The visit will focus on the exchange of information and ideas on energy policy and technology best practices in areas of mutual importance to Norway and North Dakota. 
In my last Biomass Magazine column, I wrote about the enormous potential of biogas in meeting our transportation needs and as a component of a diverse fuel mix. New projects and data are demonstrating that biogas as a transportation fuel is no longer a vision, but a market reality. Under both the federal renewable fuel standard 2 (RFS2) and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, biogas is an emerging contributor to a diverse, low-carbon fuel mix. While progress is encouraging, there is still a large amount of untapped potential, leaving plenty of room for expansion and opportunity for innovative project models.
A new mapping tool, called the EISPC EZ Mapping Tool, is assisting planners, policymakers, project developers and others in identifying clean energy resources, policies, and project screening factors that can be used for planning transmission infrastructure in the
Great Plains Institute, in collaboration with the Midwestern Governors Association, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and regional NGO’s, has worked on moving the region forward on critical transmission plans and projects which will significantly increase the capability of the region to produce much needed wind energy. 
Biogas energy systems have typically been considered a source of renewable electricity and/or combined heat and power, but several projects across the U.S. are demonstrating the suitability of biogas as a transportation fuel. Using biogas as a supply source of lower-carbon, domestic, renewable fuel is an exciting prospect, even in the face of abundant natural gas supplies and low prices. 
Great Plains Institute, with the support of the 