Celebrating Progress on Earth Day

As an organization whose tagline is “Better Energy, Better World,” we’re excited this Earth Day to share with you the progress we’re making together with our partners from the local to the national level.

Here are just some examples of how our work is making an impact:

• More electric vehicles, more efficiency, more savings, lower emissions:  Last month we ‘charged forward’ with an electric vehicle promotion as part of Drive Electric Minnesota, that resulted in a local increase in EV sales by 10 times. We also celebrated with our partners, including the Lake Street Council, the success to date of the Small Business Energy Coaches program that deploys local individuals who can facilitate connections between hard-to-reach business owners and existing utility-funded energy efficiency providers.
• Progress on taking carbon out of circulation:  In Congress, we’re working with an impressive, diverse group, including national environmental and labor organizations, coal, electric power, oil, ethanol, and other companies, that have joined forces for the first time to support a key tax provision that would provide environmental, economic, and energy security benefits via the deployment of carbon capture and storage projects.
• We’re also working on some wonky but critical issues that you’d expect from an Institute that will play a pivotal role in shaping our energy system, from the key decisions states will make in planning for the Clean Power Plan to the future of electric utility regulation. Recently, GPI’s Doug Scott shared his expert perspective with a national audience on the “ABCs of Regional Transmission Organizations” and Brendan Jordan pitched the bioeconomy as an enormous, emerging opportunity for Minnesota as part of a Minnesota Public Radio Ideas Forum.

Looking ahead to the coming year, we’re looking forward to bringing together the ‘Better Energy’ community again at our annual Energy Innovation Celebration on September 29, 2016. Last year’s sold out Celebration brought together leaders from industry, government, non-profits, and academia and people who want to actively engage in the conversation around energy innovation. Our 2015 keynote speaker, Jonathan Pershing, was recently tapped to lead the negotiations and implementation of the Paris Agreement for the U.S., which is being signed today.

Stay tuned for updates on the Celebration and other GPI events!