Broad Coalition Supports Statewide Minnesota Clean Fuels Standard
Automakers, biofuel, EV advocates back new bipartisan, bicameral legislation Continue reading »
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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.
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 »
Model Solar Ordinances Developed for Five Midwestern States
February 11, 2021 in Renewable Energy Author: Emma Parkson
Across the US, states, cities, corporations, and utilities are placing an increased focus on electrification of energy loads as a primary pathway to decarbonization and setting ambitious renewable energy and carbon-free energy targets. This transition will require a major expansion of renewable energy capacity. To help communities prepare for such large-scale development, GPI developed model solar ordinances for five Midwestern states in 2021. In 2024, we have revamped the Illinois model solar ordinance to align with the state’s new Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA).
Year-End Federal Actions to Accelerate Carbon Capture and Removal Deployment
February 9, 2021 in Carbon Management Authors: Jennifer Christensen, Lauren Schultz
Prospects for large-scale deployment of carbon capture technologies in the next decade improved at the end of 2020 due to actions at the federal level. First, the omnibus spending package included both a two-year extension of the 45Q tax credit and massive increases in federal support for research, demonstration, and development of the suite of carbon capture management tools: capture, removal, transport, utilization, and storage. Second, the Internal Revenue Service finalized long-awaited regulations for 45Q that will provide certainty to investors and project developers. These actions boost momentum going into 2021 to grow support for priorities needed to build projects at the speed and scale required for meeting midcentury climate goals.
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