We are excited to share important news regarding the evolution of the Electricity and Efficiency program area at Great Plains Institute—this program area will now be called Energy Systems.
The name change to Energy Systems is more representative of the work our team has been and will continue pursuing (it will not affect any current projects and won’t result in any changes to the members of our team).
The Energy Systems program takes a comprehensive view of enabling economywide decarbonization. As a result, our work is multi-faceted, focusing on areas such as state climate and clean energy plan development and implementation; transmission and the regional transmission organizations; electric and gas utility and regulatory innovation; state compliance options for environmental regulations; natural gas end-use decarbonization, including buildings and industry; and the build-out of the hydrogen economy.
Here’s a recent sampling of our work:
- Assisting the Illinois Governor’s office in the development and implementation of their comprehensive climate legislation
- Working with the administrations in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin on the development and implementation of their clean energy/climate plans
- Facilitating the stakeholder engagement for Duke Energy on their Carolinas Carbon Plan
- Assisting seven states in the development of a memorandum of understanding on building out the hydrogen economy in the Midwest
- Facilitating a stakeholder process on statewide end-use gas decarbonization in Minnesota, and the subsequent innovation plan for Minnesota’s largest natural gas utility
- Supporting the utility commission in Washington State with a proceeding to address performance-based regulation
- Facilitating regional electric transmission grid discussions, including the Midwestern Governors Association’s MID GRID 2035 initiative
- Convening of the MISO Cities and Communities Coalition
- Engaging and facilitating stakeholders in Minnesota and around the country on the NextGen Highways concept for innovative co-location of electric and communications infrastructure within existing transportation corridors
To accomplish our work, the Energy Systems team works directly with states, utilities, regional transmission organizations (RTOs), and other stakeholders in a variety of ways, from stakeholder meeting facilitation to reports, analysis, policy advising, and legislative options.
And our focus goes beyond decarbonization. We’re also focused on the impacts of programs and changes in the energy system on the workforce and communities, especially those who have historically not benefitted from the energy system, including environmental justice communities.
So, while our name has changed, our commitment to our mission and to being a trusted partner has not. We look forward to collaborating on the complex, intersectional opportunities and challenges facing our communities and industries under our new banner in the years to come.
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