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 »
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. 
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. 
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. 
We’re a couple days into our
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. 
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. 
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. 
