(Washington, D.C.) – The Industrial Innovation Initiative, an ambitious coalition of key industrial and power companies, environmental organizations, and state officials from Midwestern and Gulf Coast states focused on decarbonization solutions for the region’s most important industrial sectors, submitted recommendations to Congress today outlining measures for consideration in COVID-19-related federal economic recovery legislation. Continue reading »
Solar energy is not only important to reaching a zero-carbon energy system—solar projects can, with appropriate siting and design, also deliver many benefits to local communities where projects are sited. Deploying the level of solar needed to decarbonize our economy will require addressing siting and regulatory processes which are increasingly a barrier to solar project development. The Great Plains Institute is fostering a new paradigm in the deployment of community- and utility-scale solar development; what we call the co-benefits approach to solar. We’re working with state, regional, and national partners to identify how energy development can both help solve the climate crisis and deliver local benefits to the host community. Continue reading »
The Great Plains Institute recently hosted “Center Out: A Strategy for Climate Success,” a virtual event featuring President & CEO Rolf Nordstrom and a panel of our energy experts discussing how Midwestern states can lead the way in the post-COVID energy landscape. Continue reading »
The Great Plains Institute is launching a survey requesting feedback on best practices in standby rates for combined heat and power (CHP). According to Lola Schoenrich, vice president of communities at GPI, “Best practices for standby rates have begun to emerge, but we need to further define and standardize these practices. The purpose of this survey is to begin to critically examine these emerging recommended practices with interested stakeholders such as regulators, potential CHP users, developers, technical experts, and utilities.” Continue reading »
The Great Plains Institute (GPI) is excited to announce the final results of more than two years of research and modeling on carbon capture and storage opportunities throughout the US. The white paper, Transport Infrastructure for Carbon Capture and Storage: Regional Infrastructure for Midcentury Decarbonization, summarizes our findings and details our analytical approach. The analysis identifies near-term capture and storage opportunities, then designs and plans the regional transport infrastructure required to maximize CO2 abatement while minimizing cost and land use impact. Continue reading »
Powering Ahead with Vehicle Electrification (PAVE) will provide resources and technical assistance to sixteen municipal utilities across Minnesota to educate and engage customers to meet their community’s electric vehicle (EV) adoption goals.
This blog is one in a series that celebrates the variety of professionals who have been touched by the Great Plains Institute (GPI). Together—GPI’s spring fundraising campaign—showcases people who work in multiple industries and have various constituents and customers, but all play an important role in helping America transform its energy system.
NAME: Larry Kraft
AFFILIATION: City of St. Louis Park, Minnesota
TITLE: At Large Council Member Continue reading »
Many wind and solar energy projects in the Midcontinent will face the decision to repower or decommission as they reach the end of their useful lifespan between 2020-2050. These decisions will impact the energy mix of the existing electricity system—and its carbon emissions. We analyzed potential scenarios for repowering the Midcontinent’s wind and solar energy fleet, sharing potential implications for the region’s electricity system and carbon emissions. These scenarios show why repowering aging renewables in the Midcontinent is important to continue reducing the region’s electricity emissions. Continue reading »
US Cities Step Up to Join a New Clean Energy Challenge
Initiative supports local clean energy action by 30 cities in 5 states
For Immediate Release: Contact: Lola Schoenrich, Sustainable States Network, Cell: 612-720-9558, Email: [email protected]
Minneapolis, MN—How well do small and mid-sized US cities stack up when it comes to clean energy goals? That’s what the Sustainable States Community Energy Challenge aims to show with tools and support for 30 communities in five states to assess their clean energy goals and initiatives. The challenge will compare clean energy achievements across similarly-sized cities, assess future initiatives, and provide project implementation assistance. Additionally, participating communities will be a part of an in-state peer cohort and will receive technical assistance to completing a pressing clean energy initiative.
This blog is one in a series that celebrates the wide variety of professionals who have been touched by the Great Plains Institute (GPI). Together – GPI’s spring 2020 campaign – showcases people who work in multiple industries and have various constituents and customers, but all play an important role in helping America transform its energy system. Read all the stories in the Together series here.
