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Leaders in Efficiency: ENERGY STAR Buildings in Wisconsin

April 10, 2014 in Reports & Whitepapers

This report is by Kathy Kuntz of Cool Choices and was produced in conjunction with the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council and the Great Plains Institute.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ENERGY STAR certified buildings average 35 percent less energy use than typical buildings and cumulatively achieve over $2 billion in annual cost savings. More than 300,000 buildings across the country—over 40 percent of the commercial market—measure and track their energy use with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a tool that helps identify their eligibility for certification. Continue reading »

Bioeconomy Bill Introduced in the Minnesota Legislature

March 5, 2014 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Brendan Jordan
Capitol GraphicSenator Tom Saxhaug, and Representative Jeanne Poppe have introduced a bill in the Minnesota legislature to help establish an advanced biofuel and renewable chemicals industry in Minnesota. The Bioeconomy Coalition of Minnesota, a multi-stakeholder partnership, is strongly supportive and will be working closely with Sen. Saxhaug and Rep. Poppe to advance the bill during the 2014 legislative session.

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GPI Joins Partners GRE and the Brattle Group in Presenting Innovative Approach for Compliance with EPA GHG Regulations

February 5, 2014 in News & Press

Press Release Graphic

Cambridge, MA, February 5, 2014. Working with Minnesota-based Great River Energy, Brattle Group economists developed a regional market-based approach to implement EPA’s forthcoming rule under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power generating sources (“Existing Source Rule”). The approach uses existing energy market infrastructure to achieve emission reduction targets while ensuring reliability and minimizing cost impacts. Continue reading »

Biogas Projects Can Help Establish Energy Crop Supply

January 25, 2014 in Transportation & Fuels Author: Amanda Bilek
The U.S. biogas sector has done an outstanding job developing projects using livestock manure, landfill gas and municipal biosolids to generate clean energy. Although there is still a large amount of untapped potential to use these three feedstock sources, the use of crop residues and energy crops are completely underutilized in the U.S. biogas market. International biogas project development experience has demonstrated that the use of crop residues and energy crops are valuable feedstocks to produce increased levels of biogas and project stability.

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Unexpected Agreement Reached on Power Plant Regulation

January 16, 2014 in Energy Systems Authors: Brad Crabtree, Franz Litz

Acting on a directive from the President, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently developing draft federal regulations to guide states in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants under the Clean Air Act.  States will use the federal guidelines to devise plans that take into consideration state-specific and regional concerns.  Continue reading »

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