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Q&A on Best Practices for Standby Rates for Combined Heat and Power
April 5, 2021 in Energy Systems, Reports & Whitepapers Authors: Carl Linvill, Jamie Scripps, Lola Schoenrich
Great Plains Institute is excited to publish a new white paper, Best Practices for Standby Rates for Combined Heat and Power (CHP), prepared for GPI by Jamie Scripps of Hunterston Consulting. This paper is a culmination of a years-long collaboration with Jamie and other partners to address barriers to deployment of CHP systems in the Midwest—including the design of standby rates, which are monthly charges to customers with on-site distributed generation like CHP systems. We are grateful for the thoughtful contributions of Carl Linvill of the Regulatory Assistance Project in advising on the starting point for this research, and for his review of the final product. Continue reading »
Future Fuels Act Receives First Hearing in Minnesota
March 17, 2021 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Katelyn Bocklund
Last week, the bipartisan and bicameral Future Fuels Act was introduced in the Minnesota State Legislature, authored by Minnesota House of Representatives Assistant Majority Leader Todd Lippert (DFL) and Senate Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee Chairman David Senjem (R). The House bill had its first hearing in the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee, marking the first time a clean fuels policy received a legislative hearing in the Midwest.
Broad Coalition Supports Statewide Minnesota Clean Fuels Standard
March 11, 2021 in News & Press, Transportation & Fuels Author: Brendan Jordan
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 »
New Release: “A Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent: Buildings”
February 25, 2021 in Energy Systems, News & Press, Reports & Whitepapers Authors: Jessi Wyatt, Kate Sullivan
The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative, facilitated by the Great Plains Institute (GPI), is excited to announce the release of A Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent: Buildings, the third and final in a series of road maps. Buildings are a key sector to unlock on the road to decarbonization. This road map focuses on the opportunities to achieve decarbonization of buildings across the Midcontinent region by 2050.
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.
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