The City of Plymouth recently announced an agreement with the Carbon Solutions Group to install 115 public EV charging stations and receive 3 all-electric Nissan Leafs for their city fleet at no cost to the city. This initiative has garnered great interest from cities and counties here in Minnesota and even other states.

Please join us for a virtual forum with the City of Plymouth, Carbon Solutions Group, and Xcel Energy on December 2nd from 1:00-2:30pm to hear more about their groundbreaking agreement. The purpose of this forum is to provide additional information and transparency about the agreement and to provide an opportunity for communities to ask questions about the initiative; it is not meant as an endorsement of the company or initiative.

Please register in advance for this free event!

Panelists

Jody McDevitt, Sales Manager at Energy Management Solutions/Carbon Solutions Group
Chris LaBounty, Deputy Public Works Director; or Amy Hanson, City of Plymouth, Minnesota
Justin Durocher, Minnesota Fleet Project Manager, Xcel Energy

Join us for an electric vehicle (EV) experience! Learn more about EVs and get behind the wheel during a Ride and Drive event at Roseau Electric Cooperative. 

Talk with EV experts, have your questions answered by local utilities, and experience the technology that is transforming our economy, environment, and energy security in Greater Minnesota. You can drive the new Mustang Mach-E and hear about the upcoming ALL-ELECTRIC Ford F-150 Lightning.  

Grab a bite to eat from food trucks with a $10 coupon for the first 100 attendees. Beverages will be provided! 

First 100 attendees will receive a free Northern Exposure T-shirt!  

This event is powered in partnership with: Roseau Electric Cooperative, Northern Municipal Power Agency, City of Roseau Municipal Utility, Minnkota Power Cooperative, Roseau County Ford, C & M Dealership, and CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) 

Please contact Diana McKeown, Metro CERT Director, at [email protected] for more information.  

The Metro CERT annual resource and networking event is a free event focused on connecting communities to resources. This year’s event will be an online event again, with opportunities to connect in small groups.  We will be highlighting clean energy projects from the Metro area, including Shannon Crabtree from HourCar and West Bank Business Association staff sharing on their 2020 seed grants. Join us to also hear an update from Lake Street Council about the rebuild and the role of clean energy from Matt Kazinka and Abe Demmaj. 

Achieving Net-Zero by 2050:  Critical Bipartisan Carbon Management Priorities in Congress

Please join us for a CO₂NNECT Virtual event on Tuesday, September 14^th, 2021 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm ET, hosted by the Great Plains Institute. Congress is working to finalize major infrastructure and budget reconciliation legislation with profound implications for energy and climate policy. Hear from leaders and experts in Congress, state government, industry, and labor and environmental organizations who will outline key carbon management provisions in bipartisan legislation and President Biden’s American Jobs Plan and their prospects for passage this Congress. This event will showcase the importance of the economywide deployment of carbon management—carbon capture, removal, transport, utilization, and geologic storage—to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, preserve and sustain high-wage jobs, spur investment and sustain American technology leadership.

We are delighted to announce a tremendous lineup of confirmed speakers:

• The Honorable John Bel Edwards, Governor, State of Louisiana
• The Honorable Ben Ray Luján, United States Senator, New Mexico
• Alison Taylor, Chief Sustainability Officer, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company
• Bryan Glover, President, Honeywell UOP
• Cecile Conroy, Director, Government Affairs, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
• Lee Beck, International Director, Carbon Capture, Clean Air Task Force

Speakers will underscore the groundbreaking portfolio of bipartisan carbon management provisions endorsed by more than 170 organizations, companies, unions, and conservation and environmental groups in a recent letter to Congress. These complementary federal policy priorities include:

• Providing a direct pay option for the federal Section 45Q tax credit;
• Extending the commence construction window for the 45Q credit;
• Enhancing 45Q credit values for industrial and power plant carbon capture and direct air capture;
• Eliminating annual carbon capture thresholds in the 45Q program that deter innovation;
• Financing the buildout of regional CO2 transport and storage networks; and,
• Ensuring robust funding for commercial-scale demonstrations of carbon capture, direct air capture and carbon utilization technologies.

The inclusion of these critical provisions into any broader legislative package are essential to putting the U.S. on track to achieving emissions reduction goals, preserving and creating middle class jobs that pay family-sustaining wages, providing environmental and other benefits to communities, and supporting regional economies across our country.

We hope you will join the Great Plains Institute on Friday, May 14 for a webinar to discuss the release of a new GPI whitepaper on standby rates best practices for CHP. The presenters for this webinar will be Jamie Scripps of Hunterston Consulting LLC and Carl Linvill of the Regulatory Assistance Project.

Building on previous research and its strong history of supporting CHP policy work in the Midwest, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) recognized that while best practices in standby rates had begun to emerge, work was needed to further define and test these emerging recommended practices with interested stakeholders such as regulators, potential CHP users, developers, technical experts, and utilities. In June 2020, GPI launched a survey and conducted follow-up interviews requesting feedback on best practices in standby rates for CHP. The new whitepaper presents the results of this research along with recommended best practices and suggestions for additional investigation and discussion.

*The webinar will take place from 12:00pm – 1:00pm CT. Those who are interested in further discussion can stay on and the speakers will take additional questions until 1:30pm.

Minnesota cities and regional development commissions are invited to attend an online training on “Best Practices for Solar PV Permitting.”  This free webinar will take place Wednesday, May 12th 1:00 to 2:30pm. This SolSmart training will inform attendees about simplified solar permitting processes for residential systems and the applicable codes and standards. Attendees will learn about proper procedures for understanding and reviewing permit applications and supplemental documentation for compliance.

This free webinar is hosted by Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), SolSmart, Great Plains Institute, and Region Nine Development Commission.

For SolSmart enrolled communities, this event will be eligible for SolSmart Criteria PI-2. Training will be presented by Bill Brooks.

Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and the Great Plains Institute are co-hosting Cities Charging Ahead: Electric Vehicle Boot Camp on April 29, 10 am to 12 pm CT!

Cities have an important role to play in determining where and how charging stations are built, and they also serve as a critical partner and leader in increasing electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Drawing on lessons learned from two successful Cities Charging Ahead cohorts, the event cover best practices for the following:

• Adding EVs to city fleets
• Installing city-owned charging stations
• Developing EV standards for private development

The event will also provide attendees with access to numerous resources developed through Cities Charging Ahead, designed to help local governments take action and become EV-ready communities.

This two-hour boot camp event is the perfect opportunity to get up to speed on actions that cities can take to scale EV adoption while meeting clean energy, climate, and public health goals.

Who should attend? Local government officials and others looking for ways that cities can be a leader in electrifying transportation in Minnesota. While the focus of our project was city actions, county staff and tribal nations could also benefit from the content provided.

Our speakers:

• Diana McKeown, MetroCERT Director at the Great Plains Institute
• Katelyn Bocklund, Program Manager at the Great Plains Institute
• Rebecca Heisel, Minnesota GreenCorps member at the Great Plains Institute

Please register to attend.

As automakers, electric utilities, policy makers, and others work to scale electric vehicle adoption in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, there’s an increased opportunity to make sure that policies are designed and that programs are implemented with equity, diversity, and inclusion in mind. Addressing equity in policy and programs ensures that historically disadvantaged communities facing greater pollution and less access to social goods and services are not left behind.

On April 27, 10:00 to 11:30 am CT, EVHybridNoire and the Great Plains Institute are co-hosting an event where you will have the chance to learn from three experts in the fields of equity, e-mobility, and workforce development during a moderated Q&A session where you can ask panelists questions. After the Q&A session, you will have the opportunity to have a focused conversation on equity best practices with panelists and other attendees on one of several topics, including:
• Utility programs
• State policy
• Charging infrastructure
• Climate justice and public health
• Workforce development

Our panelists:
• Isa Gaillard, Environmental Equity Program Manager at The Greenlining Institute
• Jamez Staples, President of Renewable Energy Partners, Inc.
• Terry Travis, Co-Founder of EVHybridNoire

The Great Plains Institute invites you to a webinar focused on wood-based renewable diesel in a Midwestern clean fuels policy on April 26, 2021, from 12:30 to 2:00 pm CT.

Renewable diesel is considered a low carbon fuel under clean fuel policies. The webinar will provide attendees opportunities to gain insights from experts in several key areas:

• Hear about the Midwestern Clean Fuels Policy Initiative
• Learn how a clean fuels program can create markets for underutilized wood
• Gain a better understanding of how wood-based renewable diesel pathways would generate credits
• See analysis modeling credit revenues in various scenarios
• Hear from industry representatives on how a clean fuels policy can support wood-based renewable diesel initiatives in the Midwest

Featured speakers:

• Dr. Jim Bowyer, Dovetail Partners
• Rick Horton, Minnesota Forest Industries
• Terry Kulesa, Red Rock Biofuels Plant
• Tad Mason, Red Rock Biofuels Plant
• Nels Paulson, Conservation Minnesota
• Eric Singsaas, Natural Resources Research Institute
• Jessi Wyatt, Great Plains Institute

Scaling Net-Zero Infrastructure:  The Climate, Jobs, and Investment Benefits of Deploying CO2 Transport and Storage 

The second CO2NNECT virtual event will highlight the essential importance of CO2 transport and storage infrastructure in achieving global net-zero emissions and meeting midcentury climate goals, while sustaining and growing a high-wage energy, industrial and manufacturing jobs base. This event will include featured remarks, moderated international and domestic sessions, and the release of final results from the Rhodium Group’s jobs and investment analysis, highlighting the leadership and policy tools needed for deployment of CO2 transport and storage infrastructure at the scale necessary for climate ambition. 

We are delighted to announce a tremendous lineup of confirmed international and U.S. speakers: 

Dominik von Achten, Chairman of the Managing Board, HeidelbergCement AG
Roxanne Brown, International Vice President, United Steel Workers
The Honorable Tina Bru, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Norway
The Honorable Chris Coons, United States Senator
Whitney Herndon, Associate Director, Rhodium Group
Vicki Hollub, Chief Executive Officer, Occidental
Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Andlinger Center for Energy & Environment, Princeton University
Mechthild Wörsdörfer, Director, Sustainability, Technology & Outlooks, International Energy Agency