MINNEAPOLIS – Great Plains Institute (GPI) President & CEO Rolf Nordstrom announced today that Jess Jellings has joined GPI as a meeting planner and administrative assistant. Continue reading »
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Carbon Capture Act Has Broad, Bipartisan Congressional Support
March 29, 2016 in Carbon Management Author: Brad Crabtree
Recently, top coal, electric power, oil, ethanol, and other companies, key industrial labor unions and prominent national environmental and climate organizations joined forces for the first time in calling on Congress to support a federal incentive for carbon capture and storage (CCS) that would simultaneously increase domestic oil production and reduce carbon emissions. Continue reading »
A problem that is often raised during Minnesota public policy discussions is that state government is not truly representative of Minnesota’s population, especially as the makeup of the state is rapidly changing. The Great Plains Institute (GPI) is serving as a host organization for a new public policy internship program that aims to begin to address this challenge. The Capitol Pathways internship program is organized by the Citizens League and places college students of color in nonprofits, government agencies, and lobbying firms during the Minnesota legislative session. Continue reading »
Trevor and Abby Chat Solar Gardens
March 16, 2016 in Communities, Energy Systems Authors: Abby Finis, Trevor Drake
In 2013, the State of Minnesota enacted 216B.1641 Community Solar Garden, which established the Xcel Energy Community Solar Garden Program. This program brought a lot of excitement to the Minnesota solar industry, leading to an influx of solar developers and long queue of solar garden applications. Because the program is new and has generated a lot of interest, there have been a few bumps along the way. Continue reading »
Energy Storage Technologies and Their Value to the Grid
March 8, 2016 in Energy Systems Author: Matt Prorok
Part Two of Our Series on Energy Storage
(see Part One here)
Energy storage is a hot topic across the country. Rapidly falling prices, improved performance, and a whole lot of investment are creating quite a buzz in the energy storage sector. Continue reading »
Press Release: Diverse Coalition Hails Introduction of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Incentive Bill
February 25, 2016 in News & Press
Federal legislation to spur commercial deployment of technologies to capture carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and industrial facilities for use in enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) was introduced today by US Representative Mike Conaway with 18 co-sponsors from both political parties. The National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative (NEORI) and Coal Utilization Resource Council (CURC) are hailing introduction of the bill. Continue reading »
Unique Coalition Backs Legislation to Advance CCUS
February 22, 2016 in Carbon Management Author: Brad Crabtree
Amidst the deeply polarized presidential race and congressional politics, something remarkable happened this month – an unprecedented coalition of key industry, labor, and environmental interests came together to urge Congressional action in support of an essential energy production and carbon reduction strategy – carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Continue reading »
What the Supreme Court Demand Response Decision Means for MISO
February 17, 2016 in Energy Systems Author: Matt Prorok
If you are plugged into the energy world, you’ve heard by now about the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on FERC Order 745, which concludes that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the jurisdictional authority to regulate the participation of demand response (DR) resources in wholesale energy markets. Continue reading »
New Transmission to Expand Midwestern Wind Power
February 16, 2016 in Energy Systems Authors: Dane McFarlane, Matt Prorok
Note: This blog post contains three interactive maps and may take a moment to load
A set of new electric transmission lines, developed with the help of the Great Plains Institute, is under construction to connect more Midwestern wind power to large cities in the east. The Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO), which operates the electric grid in the Midwest, has been moving forward with the Multi-Value Project (MVP) portfolio since 2011. Continue reading »
Minnesota’s Battery Electric Vehicle Sales Beat the Odds in 2015
February 12, 2016 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Brendan Jordan
Low gasoline prices create challenges for many strategies – whether it’s advanced biofuels, lower carbon oil produced using CO2 enhanced oil recovery, biobased chemicals, or electric vehicles. Continue reading »
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