In March 2024, the Great Plains Institute, in partnership with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, launched Charging Smart. Charging Smart is a free technical assistance program for local governments to increase electric vehicle (EV) adoption. The program, which is funded by the US Department of Energy, is available in several states and will expand nationwide later this year. Continue reading »
Photo by Brandon Stengel for BWBR Architects, Inc (www.bwbr.com)
The Great Plains Institute (GPI), along with our project partners, is excited to share a new report for a project focused on creating a model to overcome the significant barriers for underserved Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)- and immigrant-owned small businesses to access rooftop solar energy. Continue reading »
Minnesota cities have been working hard to prepare for transportation electrification, and GPI is proud that nine of them are the first in the nation to be designated as Charging Smart communities! Continue reading »
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of AmeriCorps during AmeriCorps Week 2024, Director of AmeriCorps State and National Sonali Nijhawan visited GPI while touring host sites across the country. GPI was selected as a site visit during this tour for its long commitment to supporting AmeriCorps members through the Climate Impact Corps and Minnesota GreenCorps. Continue reading »
MINNEAPOLIS — Today, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) announced the launch of Charging Smart designation program that prepares and recognizes communities for electric vehicle (EV) readiness. Charging Smart is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office. Continue reading »
CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) just announced its 2024 selection of projects to receive seed grant funds for kickstarting community-based clean energy projects across the state of Minnesota. The seed grants are offered every other year through a request for proposals process. Continue reading »
Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), the Minnesota statewide partnership to support community-based clean energy projects, is now accepting applications for seed grants for 2024! Applications are due at noon on October 10, 2023, and projects will be conducted from January 2024 through January 2025. Read the request for proposal for the full criteria and eligibility. Continue reading »
This blog was updated from a blog originally authored by Diana McKeown on November 15, 2022.
In November of 2022, the Great Plains Institute launched the EV Smart program in Minnesota. EV Smart is a voluntary certification and recognition program funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Clean Transportation Pilot Program. GPI designed EV Smart to provide communities with a road map to electric vehicle (EV) readiness and help them equitably achieve their EV-readiness goals through technical assistance and a peer cohort model. Continue reading »
Minnesota legislators and advocates seized a unique opportunity this spring to pass transformative clean energy and climate policy that will jump-start the state’s transition to a lower-carbon economy. The state’s legislative session adjourned on May 22, and it was a busy few months at the Capitol. The state’s historic budget surplus, unified Democrat-Farmer-Labor (DFL) control of state government, and significant federal investments in clean energy set the stage for ambitious policymaking in 2023. Continue reading »
Between good-natured jabs about which state has the better trail system and shared enthusiasm for supporting their communities, 24 local governments from Michigan and Ohio became the first cohort in the novel EV Smart program. EV Smart is a technical assistance program focused on electric vehicle (EV) readiness for local governments. This first cohort was facilitated by Great Plains Institute (GPI), with technical assistance provided by GPI along with in-state partners Clean Fuels Ohio, Michigan Municipal League, and Ecology Center. This cohort was funded by General Motors’ Corporate Giving Climate Fund. Continue reading »
