In November, President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the single largest infrastructure investment in American history. The bill includes significant funding at the federal and state levels for electric vehicles (EVs) and the infrastructure needed to support EV deployment. As state and local governments look to increase transportation electrification, this bill provides investment in several critical areas for deployment. Continue reading »
The transportation sector is the highest-emitting sector of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Minnesota. This post summarizes two of the major transportation policies being developed in Minnesota to address the state’s GHG emissions—Clean Cars Minnesota and the Future Fuels Act. Continue reading »
Federal investments can create jobs, promote equity, and reduce emissions
Diverse stakeholders draft 32 recommendations around increasing equitable opportunity, reducing greenhouse gases.
GPI President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom wrote “What Business Owners Should Know to Prepare for the Shift to Electric Vehicles” for the Forbes Business Council website where it was originally published. Nordstrom recently became a council member.
Transportation electrification will likely permanently change how we move people and goods, so having a nuanced understanding of electric vehicles (EVs) and their implications is now a business imperative. Even though Tesla is a household name, there’s a lot of mythology and outdated information out there about EVs. Continue reading »
In September, the Great Plains Institute and World Resources Institute held a virtual Capitol Hill briefing to hear how Congress can spur economic activity in the US industrial sector, helping to create and maintain jobs in the near term, while putting American industry on a long-term path to deep emissions reductions, high-wage job retention and creation, technology leadership, and economic competitiveness.
Continue reading »
GPI recently released a white paper analyzing the economics of direct current fast charging (DCFC) as part of our work with the Midcontinent Transportation Electrification Collaborative (MTEC). DCFC stations are critical for widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) because they provide access to much faster battery charging in public places and along major driving routes and highways. The white paper focused on a specific barrier to increased DCFC stations in the region: electric utility demand charges. Continue reading »
Twenty-eight cities across Minnesota are looking to the future and getting ready for broad adoption of electric vehicles.
Cities Charging Ahead! is a peer cohort of 28 cities working together across Minnesota to explore electric vehicle readiness. Participants receive technical assistance focused on actions and best practices, based on the GreenStep Cities program, that cities can implement to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles such as: Continue reading »
Utilities and regulators face an increasingly complex task when responding to the changing power generation mix. They must consider the impact of market rules, legislation, reliability, resilience, cost and environmental issues, just to name a few.
With that in mind, it’s vital to gather the key players, stakeholders, and thought leaders in this sector to discuss issues and generate solutions. That’s the purpose of the “Energy and Environmental Developments in the PJM Region,” event taking place in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 2018. Continue reading »
The continuing surge in electric vehicle (EV) use has utilities looking to future impacts on the existing grid structure. Now, a unique consortium of stakeholders has released a white paper that shows that grid transformation can not only meet EV demand, but it can simultaneously benefit utility customers, the economy, and the environment. Continue reading »
Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining traction among consumers, governments, and automakers as battery prices fall and the benefits of EVs increase. Within the last year, virtually every major automobile manufacturer has announced plans to transition to electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. As cities look to capitalize on the opportunity that EVs can bring, from lower maintenance costs for consumers to better air quality for residents, they also must lay the groundwork for their communities to become ‘EV-ready’. Continue reading »
