Blog


The Better Energy Community is constantly growing and evolving.

Read about our latest projects and successes on our blog.

Stakeholders Release “A Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent: Transportation Electrification”

January 24, 2019 in News & Press, Reports & Whitepapers, Transportation & Fuels Author: Gail Nosek

A car traveling down the highway

CHICAGO, IL- A diverse coalition of stakeholders has developed a first-of-its-kind road map to illustrate how electric vehicles (EVs) can cut carbon and other harmful pollution while bringing many other important benefits to the Midcontinent region. With the transportation sector representing the largest emitting sector in the U.S. economy, EVs are essential to tackling the decarbonization challenge.    Continue reading »

GPI Welcomes Jessi Wyatt

January 22, 2019 in News & Press Author: Lola Schoenrich

Jessi WyattI’m excited to welcome Jessi Wyatt to the Great Plains Institute team as an associate energy planner and analyst. In her role, Jessi will provide technical and analytical support to a variety of projects and programs with a focus on local energy and climate action planning and geospatial analysis. Jessi will also assist with carbon capture and storage modeling and with strategic mapping for policy initiatives, including transportation electrification. Continue reading »

Ride-Sharing with Electric Vehicles Brings Benefits to Drivers and Consumers

January 17, 2019 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Joe Cella

An electric vehicle ridesharing car, charginggThis is an exciting time in the electric vehicle (EV) landscape. Tesla just posted a profit for the first time, Volkswagen is helping to build up charging infrastructure across North America, and many other auto manufacturers are committing to an EV future. EVs are gaining traction and slowly transforming car-based mobility in the United States. And here in the central US, momentum is growing with collaborative efforts to drive EV adoption and infrastructure development. Continue reading »

System Design for a High-Renewables Future: Insights from the MN Solar Pathways Analysis

January 14, 2019 in Communities, Energy Systems Author: Brian Ross

Sun shining over a solar panelIf sunlight strikes a solar panel, but we don’t use the electricity generated, is it “wasted”? In some parts of the country, so much solar energy is produced at midday that there is no use for it. Demand for electricity has already been fully met by solar and other sources of generation; the value of additional electricity on the grid is actually negative. Continue reading »

Lightning Talks, Live Polling Spark Engaging Discussions at Metro CERT Annual Event

January 10, 2019 in Communities Author: Kristoffer Acuña

A participant asking a question at the Metro CERT Annual EventThe Metro Clean Energy Resource team recently brought people together from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area for its 11th annual event. Highlights from the event, which took place in November 2018, include live polling, a panel of lightning talks focusing on clean energy actions in the metro area, and clean energy action postcards that will be sent to attendees. In this blog, we’ll share some of the results of the discussions and resources shared with attendees. Continue reading »

GPI Welcomes Kristoffer Acuña to Communities Program 

January 9, 2019 in Communities Author: Diana McKeown

Kristoffer Acuna

I’m pleased to welcome Kristoffer Acuña to the GPI team as a program assistant with the Metro Clean Energy Resource Team (Metro CERT). In this position, Kris will work on the Cities Charging Ahead! project, which aims to help Minnesota cities increase understanding of and make progress toward electric vehicle readiness. Kris will also assist with additional projects for GPI’s work as part of the Metro CERT and other projects that are part of our Communities Program. 

Continue reading »

Innovation, Collaboration Lead to First-Ever Commercial Flight Using Low-Carbon Fuel Produced from Captured Waste Gas

January 8, 2019 in Carbon Management, Transportation & Fuels Author: Jennifer Christensen
the tail of a Virgin Atlantic Aircraft

Manchester, United kingdom – August 30, 2015: Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-443 cn 30885-1268 G-VROS moment after take off from Manchester Airport.

The power of innovation and collaboration was on full display as the first-ever transatlantic, commercial flight using fuel produced from waste gases captured at a steel plant flew from Orlando, FL to London’s Gatwick airport last fall. The flight was the result of a collaboration between Virgin Atlantic and LanzaTech, with support from their partner Boeing. Continue reading »

GPI 20th Anniversary Leadership Interview Series: President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom

December 28, 2018 in Carbon Management Authors: Jennifer Christensen, Rolf Nordstrom

Rolf Nordstrom

Over the last year, GPI celebrated our 20th anniversary as an organization dedicated to transforming the energy system to benefit the economy and environment. As GPI staff, partners, and supporters reflect on the progress we’ve made together and look ahead to future opportunities for even greater impact in 2019 and beyond, we’re sharing a Q&A series we’ve created with our CEO and program leadership team.

Continue reading »

Top Ten Stories of 2018

December 27, 2018 in News & Press Author: Jennifer Christensen

A view of the US Capitol

Over the past year, we’ve shared stories, news, and publications on that make progress toward our mission of transforming the energy system to benefit the economy and environment. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished and are grateful for our donors, partners, and collaborators who enable us to make an even greater impact.

Continue reading »

Our Newsletter

Sign Up for Better Energy Community News

Sign up to receive the latest news and announcements from the Great Plains Institute.