What if you, the customer, ran your electric utility? Well, Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) is giving its customers the chance, rhetorically of course. Now I can’t claim to know how every utility in the country has engaged its customers, but I am not aware of another document quite like the one we just helped MGE write to explain to its customers the situation the utility faces. Continue reading »
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Implementation Options for EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan: Highlights from a Midcontinent States Regional Workshop
July 28, 2015 in Reports & Whitepapers
Stakeholders, government officials, and policy experts from across the Midcontinent region and the nation gathered in Detroit, Michigan, on June 5, 2015, to discuss implementation options for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan. The one-day workshop was organized by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and the Great Plains Institute (GPI). The goal was to provide a forum for policy discussion within the region and to help inform two regional groups working on Clean Power Plan issues: the Midcontinent States Environmental and Energy Regulators (MSEER) and the Midwestern Power Sector Collaborative. Continue reading »
A Win-Win for Electric Vehicles: Zero Emission Charging Challenge
July 27, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amira Hamdon
Over 3,000 Minnesotans have begun to experience the benefits of electric vehicles – including lower operating costs, zero tailpipe emissions, and a fun driving experience. Many Minnesotans are also challenging themselves to further lower the carbon footprint of EVs by powering them with 100% renewable power. Continue reading »
Successful biomass-based projects, including biogas projects, require several project pieces to come together and hold, with some adjustments over the operational life of a project. Some of those pieces include project financing, public policy, feedstock supply, logistics, infrastructure, permitting and end-use markets. Continue reading »
Visiting Unique Concentrated Solar Power Facility in the Desert
July 24, 2015 in Energy Systems Author: Dane McFarlane
On July 22nd, four of us from GPI visited a concentrated solar power (CSP) facility, the only one of its kind in North America, located near the Mojave Desert in Ivanpah, California. The Ivanpah facility is operated by NRG Energy and has been producing electricity since January, 2014, through a 5 mile wide network of mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto three 450 foot tall towers. Continue reading »
We’re a couple days into our renewable energy and energy storage road trip, and are already seeing some common threads emerge. Continue reading »
The Great Plains Institute is taking a road trip; a few of us decided to get out and see firsthand the changes shaping the electric industry. Continue reading »
GreenStep Cities Wraps Up Workshop Series and Celebrates 5 Years of Programming!
July 22, 2015 in Communities Author: Diana McKeown
The final workshop of the GreenStep Cities workshop series focused on Climate Resiliency with examples of tools and planning cities could employ to prepare themselves for changes.
Continue reading »
More than 400 people from the Midcontinent region and around the country took part in a recent workshop – Midcontinent States Regional Workshop: Implementation Options for EPA’s Clean Power Plan – hosted by the Great Plains Institute and the Bipartisan Policy Center, June 5, 2015, in Detroit, Michigan. Continue reading »
2015 Minnesota Legislative Session Recap: Bioeconomy Edition
July 6, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Amanda Bilek, Brendan Jordan
It took the regular session, plus a one-day special session, but the Minnesota legislature has completed its work for 2015. The legislature convened in early January with a $1.9 billion projected budget surplus and had the task of setting a two-year state budget. Continue reading »
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