Opportunities to Increase Small Business Engagement on Energy

December 11, 2018 in Communities, Energy Systems Authors: Jordana Palmer, Matt Kazinka, Trevor Drake

A woman demonstrating higher efficiency dishwashing in a retaurant

In 2014, we wrote about “A New Approach to Small Business Energy Efficiency,” in which we described the unique barriers—time, knowledge, and trust—that small businesses face in identifying and enacting energy efficiency improvements. We proposed that the best solution may not be a technological one, but a social one—partnering with individuals who have existing relationships with small businesses in their community and training them as “energy coaches” who can provide the commitment, information, and trust that resource-limited business owners require. Continue reading »

New Report Shows that Solar, Wind, and Storage Can Competitively Power a Majority of MN Electric Needs

November 15, 2018 in Energy Systems, News & Press, Reports & Whitepapers Author: Brian Ross

MN Solar Pathways Logo

GPI is proud to be a contributor to the newly released Solar Potential Analysis Report for the MN Solar Pathways initiative. The report shows that Minnesota can produce 10 percent of its electricity from solar by 2025 and 70 percent from solar and wind by 2050 at generation costs comparable to natural gas. Continue reading »

Visualizing Pathways to Decarbonization of the Midcontinent’s Electricity Sector

September 25, 2018 in Energy Systems, Reports & Whitepapers Author: Dane McFarlane

Man working on transmission lines

The Great Plains Institute recently released A Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent Electricity Sector as part of its work with the Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative, a diverse group of stakeholders including investor-owned utilities, merchant power companies, electric cooperatives, environmental groups, and state regulators.

The road map is the first-of-its-kind for any region in the US and was developed by the collaborative to provide utilities, policy makers, and stakeholders with a better sense of what will be needed to inform sound near-term decisions that position the region to meet the challenges ahead.

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Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent’s Electricity Sector Released

July 24, 2018 in Carbon Management, Energy Systems, News & Press, Reports & Whitepapers Author: Gail Nosek

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2018

Stakeholders Release First-of-its-Kind Road Map to Decarbonization for Midcontinent Power Sector

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – A diverse set of stakeholders from across the U.S. Midcontinent region have released a road map to identify possible routes toward decarbonization of the region’s electricity sector by Midcentury. The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative (MPSC) developed the road map to help guide industry and regulators as they make decisions about how to meet the region’s electricity needs while reducing carbon emissions. The full road map as well as an interactive website outlining its findings are available at roadmap.betterenergy.org.

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Shave, Shift, Shimmy: How Demand Response Can Unlock Value on the Electric Grid

July 23, 2018 in Carbon Management, Energy Systems Author: Matt Prorok

 

A row of electrical metersEarlier this month I attended the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) Board meeting “hot topic” discussion on resource adequacy representing the Environmental/Other Sector.  

My comment on the topic was quoted by RTO Insider in their coverage of the meeting, where I discussed how distributed energy sources can unlock value for the system by “shaving loads, shifting loads, and shimmying loads.” This quote, which pertains specifically to demand response (DR) as a form of distributed energy resource, generated questions about what these terms mean and why they matter for the region. It is worth spending some time talking about these values and how they can help MISO and its members.  Continue reading »

Unique collaborative shares guidance on how utilities can increase EV adoption and infrastructure

May 7, 2018 in Energy Systems, Transportation & Fuels Authors: Brendan Jordan, Jill Syvrud

An electric vehicle charging

Electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to become an ever-increasing part of the Midcontinent region’s transportation mix. As the demand and utilization of EVs increases, so does the EV-specific demand for electricity, raising many important questions for electric utilities and state and local policymakers. Continue reading »

State and Federal Leaders to Discuss Energy and Environmental Developments in the PJM Region

April 27, 2018 in Carbon Management, Energy Systems Author: Doug Scott

Utilities and regulators face an increasingly complex task when responding to the changing power generation mix. They must consider the impact of market rules, legislation, reliability, resilience, cost and environmental issues, just to name a few.

With that in mind, it’s vital to gather the key players, stakeholders, and thought leaders in this sector to discuss issues and generate solutions. That’s the purpose of the “Energy and Environmental Developments in the PJM Region,” event taking place in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 2018. Continue reading »

White Paper: Electric Vehicles Have Potential to Transform the Grid with Previously Unrealized Benefits in the Midcontinent

April 23, 2018 in Energy Systems, News & Press, Reports & Whitepapers, Transportation & Fuels Author: Gail Nosek

 

White Paper Electric Vehicles Have Potential to Transform the Grid with Previously Unrealized Benefits in the Midcontinent

The continuing surge in electric vehicle (EV) use has utilities looking to future impacts on the existing grid structure. Now, a unique consortium of stakeholders has released a white paper that shows that grid transformation can not only meet EV demand, but it can simultaneously benefit utility customers, the economy, and the environment. Continue reading »