Over the last year, the Great Plains Institute (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 »
This is a regular blog series where GPI staff share picks throughout the year of what we’re interested in right now, from podcasts to analysis (click here for our previous picks).
This week we’re marking the one-year anniversary since the passage of legislation to expand and reform a critical tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects, known as 45Q. The legislation was passed through the larger budget bill on February 9, 2018, and was originally introduced as the FUTURE Act. Continue reading »
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 »
I’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 »
This 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 »
We’re grateful for the incredible support we received over the last year as people invested in expanding the Great Plains Institute’s impact by helping us succeed in meeting two challenge matches. Continue reading »
If 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 »
The 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 »
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.
