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Bioeconomy Bill Advances in MN Legislature
February 24, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Amanda Bilek, Brendan Jordan
A bill that would establish a set of production incentives for commercial deployment of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biomass heat was heard and passed out of two committees in the Minnesota legislatures on February 18th. HF 536/SF 517 is a legislative proposal supported by the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, which Great Plains Institute facilities and coordinates. Continue reading »
Give wind a chance: new infrastructure needed to expand renewable energy
February 23, 2015 in Energy Systems Author: Steve Dahlke
Those who have lived in the Midwest a long time may remember the power line fights of the 1970’s, when farmers across Minnesota organized against electric transmission development. One large project required deployment of half of Minnesota’s highway patrol troopers to complete construction. One reason for the controversy back then was infrastructure projects were planned behind closed doors with minimal regulatory oversight. Continue reading »
Data and Tools to Better Evaluate Biogas Potential
February 17, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amanda Bilek
Biogas projects come in all shapes and sizes and are implemented across a variety of industrial, municipal and agricultural applications. For a biogas project, there is no “one size fits all”. The variety of biogas feedstock sources and end-use applications sets it apart from other biomass project configurations. Continue reading »
Bioeconomy Bill Introduced in MN Legislature
February 2, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amanda Bilek
Today in the Minnesota legislature Senator Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids) and Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) introduced a bill creating a production incentive program for commercial development of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biomass thermal energy. The bill is the top legislative priority for the Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, a multi-stakeholder partnership of private industries, agriculture and forestry interests, and non-profit organizations. GPI organizes and facilitates the Coalition. Continue reading »
News Release: Former Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Joins Great Plains Institute
January 28, 2015 in News & Press
MINNEAPOLIS – Former Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Doug Scott has joined the Great Plains Institute (GPI) as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. Continue reading »
Integrating clean, distributed energy resources (DER) into the electric grid requires updated market rules
January 22, 2015 in Energy Systems Author: Steve Dahlke
Energy policy discussions these days are dominated by talk of innovation on electric distribution systems. New clean energy technologies are developing so quickly it can be difficult to keep up with the relevant buzz-words; as digitization of the smart grid leads to rapid innovation, new distributed energy resources are causing disruptive challenges requiring electric utility and energy market reform. Continue reading »
Developing Pathways for a Sustainable Biomass Supply
January 6, 2015 in Transportation & Fuels Authors: Amanda Bilek, Brendan Jordan
The sustainability of biomass supplies for energy and fuel production has been a topic of ongoing discussion for decades. The completion and commissioning of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facilities in 2014 is giving this discussion a renewed sense of urgency. 2014 was the year that cellulosic ethanol moved from something that was five years away to reality due to the commissioning of commercial-scale facilities. Continue reading »
This report is written primarily for Minnesota’s electric utility regulators, policymakers,
organizations representing ratepayers, and others who have a stake in the direction of
Minnesota’s future energy system, and includes specific recommendations for statutory
changes and regulatory action. Continue reading »
For this final blog post in our series on Demand Response (DR), GPI would like to present a map about demand response potential and utilization in the US. Continue reading »
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