Report: Lessons Learned from Twin Cities Climate and Energy Community Engagement Efforts

July 19, 2024 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

The Great Plains Institute (GPI) launched the community engagement phase of its Electric Vehicle Education for All initiative in February 2024, subcontracting with three community-based organizations to carry out the engagement. Our initiative seeks to deeply engage frontline and historically marginalized communities within the Twin Cities area to learn firsthand how they perceive electric mobility, identify electric mobility literacy gaps, and provide educational materials to increase access to electric mobility benefits. Continue reading »

GPI to Host Webinar on Building a Sustainable Domestic Electric Vehicle Supply Chain

October 10, 2022 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

Closeup of an electric vehicle being charged

On November 9, 2022, the Great Plains Institute will host a webinar, Building a Sustainable Domestic Electric Vehicle Supply Chain, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. central time. COVID-19 supply-chain disruptions and domestic content provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act are spurring a re-thinking of electric vehicle supply chains and a renewed interest in domestic mining and mineral processing. The webinar will bring experts together to critically examine and identify actions needed to mitigate supply chain issues in the US.  Continue reading »

What We’re Reading: “Innovative Wood Use can Enable Carbon-Beneficial Forest Management in California”

February 3, 2022 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

California Forest Skyline

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax taught us about the dangers that can occur when over-harvesting any resource, though the book focused on trees. However, it may have also led us to believe that any amount of harvesting trees harms the environment. A recent study, “Innovative Wood Use can Enable Carbon-Beneficial Forest Management in California,” by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, could help change that misconception. The study finds that innovative wood use might actually be a critical tool to combat climate change and reduce wildfires simultaneously. Continue reading »

Midcontinent Transportation Electrification Collaborative Urges Congress to Pass Federal Economic Recovery Measures Benefiting the Region

July 20, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

electric vehicle

Participants in the Midcontinent Transportation Electrification Collaborative (MTEC) recently submitted letters to congressional leadership, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, and Energy Secretary Granholm regarding federal economic recovery opportunities that could create vast transportation electrification investments in the Midcontinent region. Continue reading »

Future Fuels Act Receives First Hearing in Minnesota

March 17, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

fuel truck

Last week, the bipartisan and bicameral Future Fuels Act was introduced in the Minnesota State Legislature, authored by Minnesota House of Representatives Assistant Majority Leader Todd Lippert (DFL) and Senate Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee Chairman David Senjem (R). The House bill had its first hearing in the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee, marking the first time a clean fuels policy received a legislative hearing in the Midwest.

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Partnership on Waste and Energy Releases Policy and Regulatory Considerations to Develop Food Waste Digestion in Minnesota Report

March 4, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

anaeroebic digestion

The Partnership on Waste and Energy, a collaboration between Minnesota’s Hennepin, Ramsey, and Washington counties that addresses waste and energy management issues, just released the report, Policy and Regulatory Considerations to Develop Food Waste Digestion in Minnesota, which was authored by the Great Plains Institute (GPI).

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Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council Releases Recommendations for Minnesota

March 1, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

minneapolis skyline

About a year after Great Plains Institute President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom was appointed to the 22-member Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council (STAC), the council has come forward with its initial recommendations to decarbonize transportation in Minnesota. MnDOT will respond to these first recommendations by mid-March while STAC members continue to develop the next round of recommendations during 2021. Continue reading »

Midwestern Clean Fuels Policy Initiative Submits Letter to California Air Resources Board

February 22, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund

road in mountains

On November 5, 2020, participants in the Midwestern Clean Fuels Policy Initiative, a group facilitated by the Great Plains Institute, submitted a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in response to CARB’s solicitation for feedback following a public workshop focused on the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in October 2020. The letter’s contents urged CARB to include farm-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions factors in lifecycle accounting for biofuels in the next iteration of the LCFS.

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