Broad Coalition Supports Statewide Minnesota Clean Fuels Standard
Automakers, biofuel, EV advocates back new bipartisan, bicameral legislation Continue reading »
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
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).
Sustainable Transportation Advisory Council Releases Recommendations for Minnesota
March 1, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund
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 »
Minnesota’s Bioincentive Program Supports Innovations in Advanced Biofuels, Thermal Energy, and Renewable Chemicals
February 24, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Brendan Jordan
Forests and farms play major roles in the Great Plains Institute’s vision of transforming Minnesota’s energy system for both economic and environmental benefit. Minnesota’s relatively new Bioincentive Program is advancing innovations to make that happen. Continue reading »
What Business Owners Should Know To Prepare For The Shift To Electric Vehicles
February 23, 2021 in News & Press, Transportation & Fuels Author: Rolf Nordstrom
GPI President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom wrote “What Business Owners Should Know to Prepare for the Shift to Electric Vehicles” for the Forbes Business Council website where it was originally published. Nordstrom recently became a council member.
Transportation electrification will likely permanently change how we move people and goods, so having a nuanced understanding of electric vehicles (EVs) and their implications is now a business imperative. Even though Tesla is a household name, there’s a lot of mythology and outdated information out there about EVs. Continue reading »
Midwestern Clean Fuels Policy Initiative Submits Letter to California Air Resources Board
February 22, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund
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.
Midwestern Clean Transportation Standard 101
February 19, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Brendan Jordan, Dane McFarlane, Katelyn Bocklund, Mariem Zaghdoudi
A clean transportation standard is a technology-neutral, performance-based policy that reduces the use of high-carbon transportation fuels while providing incentives to deploy lower-carbon alternatives such as electricity, hydrogen, and biofuels. We developed this 101 blog to help inform decision makers considering a Midwestern clean transportation standard as well as others that would like to know more about the initiative. Continue reading »
Biochar Roundtable Highlights Opportunities for Commercialization in Minnesota
February 3, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Mariem Zaghdoudi
On November 23, 2020, the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota (BCM) and Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) co-hosted a biochar roundtable to discuss opportunities and limitations of commercializing biochar in Minnesota. The roundtable included a series of expert presentations and a group discussion facilitated by Brendan Jordan, vice president of Transportation and Fuels at the Great Plains Institute, which facilitates the Coalition. Continue reading »
Webinar Series Shows Benefits of Midwestern Clean Fuels Policies Across Industry Sectors
February 2, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Mariem Zaghdoudi
Gathering input from a wide-ranging group of stakeholders, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) has been working to develop and implement clean fuels policies (CFPs) in Midwestern states. A CFP is a technology-neutral, performance-based policy that reduces the use of high-carbon transportation fuels while providing incentives to deploy lower-carbon alternatives such as electricity, hydrogen, and biofuels. GPI has been hosting a webinar series, with each webinar focused on a different low-carbon fuel, as part of our work to educate more stakeholders about the benefits of a CFP.
Looking Back: Progress Made Toward Transportation Electrification in Minnesota in 2020
January 13, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund
The year 2020 was challenging—we worked hard to stay apart, embraced wearing masks everywhere we went, and rediscovered the outdoors. It was a year of immense pain, and we said goodbye to deeply loved friends and family. Restaurants, movie theaters, and other businesses endured trying economic times, or closed altogether, amidst a pandemic that shut down life as we once knew it. As we reflect on the past year, we’re also recognizing where progress was still able to occur, particularly on transportation electrification in Minnesota, which can deliver economic and environmental benefits for the state.
