GPI President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom wrote “How Companies Can Help Create a Net-Zero Carbon Economy” for the Forbes Business Council website where it was originally published.
Eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from our economy has taken on an air of inevitability. Now it’s just about how fast, who benefits, who pays and what a net-zero carbon economy will be like in practice. Continue reading »
The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative, facilitated by the Great Plains Institute (GPI), is excited to announce the release of A Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent: Buildings, the third and final in a series of road maps. Buildings are a key sector to unlock on the road to decarbonization. This road map focuses on the opportunities to achieve decarbonization of buildings across the Midcontinent region by 2050.
It is hard to find words to capture 2020 and yet the year’s tragic features are now seared into our national psyche: images of the US Capitol under siege, the pandemic‘s staggering human and economic toll, long-standing racial disparities and injustices that can no longer be ignored, and a fractured political system and populace, all stressing the foundations of our democratic system of government.
Congress passed an expansive bipartisan energy package in a year-end omnibus spending bill that will drive emissions reductions, increase jobs, support economic competitiveness, and result in the development and deployment of technologies essential to meeting 2050 climate goals. Passage of the Energy Act of 2020—the first major energy package in over a decade—signals broad support for building a net-zero carbon economy, which requires an all-hands-on-deck approach over the next decade.
Carbon capture is an essential part of GPI’s work to achieve a zero-carbon energy system by midcentury. GPI engages a broad set of interests at the state and federal levels to increase the deployment of carbon capture projects and infrastructure. We developed a carbon capture 101 fact sheet (PDF and text below) as a starting point for learning about what carbon capture is and why it’s an important economic and environmental strategy.
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Reaching decarbonization goals by 2050 will require large-scale deployment of carbon capture. Fortunately, carbon capture has been demonstrated at commercial scale for use in electric power and key industries, with successful commercial experience dating back decades in some sectors. Continue reading »
A new report from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) shows routes to a lower-carbon future for the largest greenhouse gas emitting sector in the state. The Pathways to Decarbonizing Transportation report was created through public input and modeling and outlines recommendations and next steps toward reducing emissions. Continue reading »
Recent, bold actions by some of Minnesota’s largest companies, many of which have a national or global presence, reveal a lot about the expected reliability and cost-savings of an increasingly carbon-free electric system in the Midwest and the nation. Continue reading »
I am thrilled to share that the Carbon Capture Coalition, along with its communications partner RENEWPR, received the inaugural Best Public Affairs Campaign Award from the Cleanie Awards. The award recognizes the Coalition’s collaborative effort to garner support for the reform of the federal 45Q tax credit for carbon capture technology development and deployment, which was signed into law earlier this year.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2018
Stakeholders Release First-of-its-Kind Road Map to Decarbonization for Midcontinent Power Sector
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – A diverse set of stakeholders from across the U.S. Midcontinent region have released a road map to identify possible routes toward decarbonization of the region’s electricity sector by Midcentury. The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative (MPSC) developed the road map to help guide industry and regulators as they make decisions about how to meet the region’s electricity needs while reducing carbon emissions. The full road map as well as an interactive website outlining its findings are available at roadmap.betterenergy.org.
