We need federal and state policies to support carbon management technologies essential to reducing planet-warming carbon emissions in the atmosphere. In a 2023 Federal Policy Blueprint released April 24, the Carbon Capture Coalition outlines a road map on how the 118th Congress can support responsible scale-up of the carbon management industry to accomplish this. Convened […]

Find out what made our list of most-read stories in 2022, which includes posts we’ve published over the last year and a half.

The Great Plains Institute has just released a first-of-its-kind publication titled An Atlas of Carbon and Hydrogen Hubs for United States Decarbonization. The atlas identifies areas of the United States that offer the capacity to help our nation expand and accelerate emissions reductions and carbon removal through focused coordination, deployment, and policy.

The site design of a solar project impacts whether a project will improve or negatively impact water quality. Yet solar developers regularly face inconsistent stormwater permitting requirements and standards that were not developed with solar in mind. This can lead to project delay, higher costs, and missed opportunities for environmental benefits. The Photovoltaic Stormwater Research […]

Natural gas is an important energy source for Minnesota’s homes and businesses. But it’s also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. So what do we do? July 13, 2020, Minneapolis — Natural gas used in homes and businesses is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota, and has been increasing over the […]

Great Plains Institute is excited to publish a new white paper, Best Practices for Standby Rates for Combined Heat and Power (CHP), prepared for GPI by Jamie Scripps of Hunterston Consulting. This paper is a culmination of a years-long collaboration with Jamie and other partners to address barriers to deployment of CHP systems in the […]

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 Great Plains Institute (GPI) is excited to announce the final results of more than two years of research and modeling on carbon capture and storage opportunities throughout the US. The white paper, Transport Infrastructure for Carbon Capture and Storage: Regional Infrastructure for Midcentury Decarbonization, summarizes our findings and details our analytical approach. The analysis […]

Planning, Zoning, and Permitting As part of Solar Ready Iowa, toolkits have been assembled to equip local governments in Iowa with information regarding solar development as it relates to planning, zoning, and permitting. The toolkits were created in 2016, then model ordinances are being updated in 2020 to reflect new best practices and lessons learned […]

As part of the Grow Solar Partnership, toolkits have been assembled to equip local governments in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois with information regarding solar development as it relates to planning, zoning, and permitting. The toolkits were created in 2016, then model ordinances are being updated in 2020 to reflect new best practices and lessons learned since […]

A new analysis by the Great Plains Institute shows the challenges as well as the vast untapped opportunities for Minnesota’s forestry industry. Full press release is below.

The Great Plains Institute is engaging local governments across the Upper Midwest on long-term planning for renewable energy. As part of this effort, we developed a guide to provide communities in Wisconsin with an overview of long-term utility- and community-scale solar and wind development—systems sized one megawatt (MW) or greater.

The Great Plains Institute is engaging local governments across the Upper Midwest on long-term planning for renewable energy. As part of this effort, we developed a guide to provide communities in Minnesota with an overview of long-term utility- and community-scale solar and wind development—systems sized one megawatt (MW) or greater.  

The Great Plains Institute is engaging local governments across the Upper Midwest on long-term planning for renewable energy. As part of this effort, we developed a guide to provide communities in Iowa with an overview of long-term utility- and community-scale solar and wind development—systems sized one megawatt (MW) or greater.  

I am excited to share that my colleagues and I have developed a new approach for cities to achieve their energy and climate goals more quickly and affordably: climate action work plans. These work plans are intended to support cities in setting near-term targets by creating an implementation schedule with specific steps for completing high-impact […]

The Midwestern Clean Fuels Policy Initiative, facilitated by the Great Plains Institute, has released a new report detailing how a successful clean fuels policy for the Midwest should be designed.

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 […]

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.

Combined heat and power (CHP) projects can deliver significant benefits to the energy system, industries, and utilities and their customers. These benefits include increased energy efficiency, lower emissions, greater system reliability and resilience, and financial savings.

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 […]

Local governments across the nation are leading on solutions to address climate change that will bring major benefits to their communities, from cleaner air to saving money on energy bills. Over 400 mayors in the US signed accords to meet the Paris climate goals, and hundreds of American cities have taken the next steps of […]

At this week’s CO2NNECT 2019 conference, the Carbon Capture Coalition (which is co-convened by GPI) released its consensus “Federal Policy Blueprint” to “articulate a comprehensive and ambitious federal policy agenda that can help achieve the goal of economywide carbon capture deployment.”

The City of St. Louis Park in Minnesota passed an ambitious Climate Action Plan in 2018 which documented the city’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. Within the plan, the city also details a goal to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and supply 10 percent of building electricity consumption with rooftop solar […]

CHICAGO, IL- A diverse coalition of stakeholders has developed a first-of-its-kind road map to illustrate how electric vehicles (EVs) can cut carbon and other harmful pollution while bringing many other important benefits to the Midcontinent region. With the transportation sector representing the largest emitting sector in the U.S. economy, EVs are essential to tackling the […]

GPI is proud to be a contributor to the newly released Solar Potential Analysis Report for the MN Solar Pathways initiative. The report shows that Minnesota can produce 10 percent of its electricity from solar by 2025 and 70 percent from solar and wind by 2050 at generation costs comparable to natural gas.

The Great Plains Institute recently released A Road Map to Decarbonization in the Midcontinent Electricity Sector as part of its work with the Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative, a diverse group of stakeholders including investor-owned utilities, merchant power companies, electric cooperatives, environmental groups, and state regulators. The road map is the first-of-its-kind for any region in […]

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) […]

  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.

As part of the Grow Solar Partnership, toolkits have been assembled to equip local governments in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois with information regarding solar development as it relates to planning, zoning, and permitting. The toolkits were created in 2016, then model ordinances are being updated in 2020 to reflect new best practices and lessons learned since […]

This paper estimates consumer savings, CO 2 emissions reductions, and price effects from increasing demand response (DR) dispatch in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity market.

The State CO2-EOR Deployment Work Group has released a new report that explores the opportunities and potential for expanded energy production, economic development and emissions reductions from capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide (CO2) from ethanol production. The State CO2-EOR Deployment Work Group works to expand carbon capture from power plants and industrial facilities, such as […]

Regional electricity markets—operated by regional transmission organizations (RTOs)— span multiple states and bring significant benefits to the electricity grid. States policies—such as renewable or clean energy portfolio standards or procurement mandates—have always helped shape market outcomes, but increasingly they are aimed at addressing perceived market shortcomings.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, known as MISO, is the second largest organized competitive wholesale electricity market in the U.S., serving 14 states with over 180 gigawatts of generation capacity, encompassing 6,427 generating units, and 65,800 miles of transmission lines. (FERC, 2017) Wholesale electricity prices in MISO have decreased over the past several years, as […]

The State CO2-EOR Deployment Work Group has released a new report that outlines the opportunities and challenges for integrating power plants with carbon capture into the nation’s wholesale electricity markets. The State CO2-EOR Deployment Work Group works to expand carbon capture from power plants and industrial facilities for use in enhanced oil recovery with geologic […]

On April 24th the CO2-EOR workgroup submitted letters to the President of the United States and Congress, outlining a menu of federal financing options to consider for CO2 pipeline infrastructure that would help achieve important national energy production, economic, job creation and environmental objectives.

Today, companies and organizations that the Great Plains Institute works with jointly released a list of carbon capture projects and CO2 pipelines in a broader national infrastructure initiative and portfolio of projects, together with extension and reform of the Section 45Q tax credit and adoption of tax-exempt private activity bonds and other financial incentives to […]

The State CO2-EOR Deployment Work Group recommends that President Trump and Congress incorporate the development of long-distance, large-volume carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines as a priority component of a broader national infrastructure agenda. The state officials, industry leaders and other experts in the Work Group launched their work in 2015 with the development and deployment of […]

This paper, “Competitive Markets and Renewables: The Effect of Wholesale Electricity Market Restructuring on Wind Generation in the Midwest,” estimates the effect of having a competitive wholesale electricity market on wind plant generation for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity market.

The diverse set of e21 stakeholders have reached another milestone, concluding Phase II of their work with the release of three white papers addressing key issues in Minnesota’s energy future. The phase II report is intended as a cohesive package, with each white paper relating to and supporting the other three. 

The e21 Initiative developed its phase I report on a consensus basis; the ideas and recommendations in in the report were intended as a cohesive package to be taken together and supported as a whole by the e21 stakeholders. Consensus did not mean that each participant is equally enthusiastic about every idea, and, importantly, consensus […]

This report offers readers both an in-depth look at carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery, while explaining the current policy landscape and recommendations for future action.

States that decide to pursue a mass-based trading approach to meet federal Clean Power Plan (CPP) requirements have the option of covering new electric generating units in addition to existing units. States that choose to cover new units will receive what EPA calls the “new source complement,” which consists of additional allowances added to the […]

States that opt to pursue a mass-based trading approach to achieve federal Clean Power Plan (CPP) requirements will have the opportunity to decide how to distribute allowances. The total value of the allowances to be distributed is likely to be significant, making allowance distribution a key decision for states. The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative presents this white […]

The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative has released the first of a series of white papers prepared jointly by representatives of electric utilities, cooperative and municipal power providers, merchant generators, environmental organizations, and state regulatory agencies and designed to help states make key decisions under the federal Clean Power Plan. 

The range of benefits energy storage can provide to the electricity system are widely known among those in industry and well documented in the literature. Among these are storage’s abilities to help integrate wind and solar energy, improve grid reliability, and increase the economic efficiency of the electricity system. Despite the benefits, there has not […]

In September of 2015, the Great Plains Institute invited 40 energy thought leaders and innovators to participate in a novel gathering to crowdsource their collective wisdom on the arc of the energy system over the next 5 to 20 years. To describe this gathering, we borrowed the term “Collaboratory,” which means “collaborative laboratory.” Think of […]

There is a growing, global momentum among businesses, communities, states, and nations toward an economically and environmentally sustainable energy system. To achieve such a system will require harnessing the speed and innovation that only the market, bound by the right policy framework, can deliver. And that will require fresh thinking: enter, the Collaboratory.

Many states are considering mass-based allowance trading programs to meet the federal requirements under the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Under a mass-based trading approach, states work with a certain number of allowances, or an allowance “budget,” that matches the total emissions limit for each year of the program. States have many options for allocating the […]

This past year marked unprecedented global momentum toward a better energy future – momentum you can actually see and feel as we transition to an energy system that is economically and environmentally sustainable.

January 21, 2016 The Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative (formerly Midwestern Power Sector Collaborative) is a diverse stakeholder group formed in 2012 to engage EPA and states on the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in the Midcontinent region. Participants include state officials, investor-owned utilities, generation and transmission cooperatives, merchant generators, public power producers […]

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 […]

In mid-summer 2015, EPA is expected to issue its final Clean Power Plan regulations, which aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.  The final rule will require states to develop and submit state plans as early as mid-summer 2016, to achieve the […]

This report is written primarily for Minnesota’s electric utility regulators, policymakers, organizations representing ratepayers, and others who have a stake in the direction of Minnesota’s future energy system, and includes specific recommendations for statutory changes and regulatory action.

The third fact sheet in GPI’s series about demand response (DR) in the Midwest is titled Demand Response in a Resource Constrained World.

The Environmental Sector appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback for MISO’s markets and operational metrics review. Organizations in the Environmental Sector rely on data from MISO’s monthly operations reports to track fuel mix, wind production, and demand response utilization in the MISO region.

The fourth fact sheet in GPI’s series about demand response (DR) in the Midwest is titled Differences in Demand Response Markets.

GPI’s second fact sheet on demand response (DR) in the Midwest is titled, Environmental Benefits of Demand Response.

For the first and perhaps only time in our state’s history, we can meet the needs and opportunities of the present and steward the development of an extraordinary and permanent resource for the future.

The MISO Environmental Sector supports MISO’s proposed market enhancement to create a separate category for fast-ramping resources to be dispatched prior to slow-ramping resources. This is consistent with the intentions of FERC Order 755 and will improve the overall performance of regulation resources in MISO. MISO’s AGC enhancement proposal should be prioritized as a near-term […]

Rolf Nordstrom, GPI’s President and CEO, is a co-author of the Midwest chapter of the third National Climate Assessment. This week the federal government released the third National Climate Assessment (NCA), a comprehensive report on climate change impacts in the US.  Initiated under George H.W. Bush and mandated by Congress in 1990 to inform policymakers […]

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 […]

Coal-based power companies, environmental organizations and state regulators achieved common ground on recommendations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding potential regulation of carbon emissions from existing power plants in a region that generates most of its electricity from coal.  These recommendations were developed by the Midwestern Power Sector Collaborative, which is convened by the Great […]

America’s Power Plan is a policy roadmap for dealing with disruptive challenges in the power sector and achieving a high-renewables future. Curated by the Energy Foundation in partnership with Energy Innovation, it features a series of eight white papers. As part of the rollout for America’s Power Plan (APP), the Great Plains Institute hosted and facilitated a meeting […]

This appendix contains links to the data sources and references used for the state-level CHP fact sheets. Download appendix

There is tremendous opportunity to increase the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in many Midwestern states. This fact sheet summarizes current and technical potential of CHP implementation in Ohio. The fact sheet also gives an overview of the current CHP policy environment and documents the number of industrial facilities that will be […]

There is tremendous opportunity to increase the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in many Midwestern states. This fact sheet summarizes current and technical potential of CHP implementation in Wisconsin. The fact sheet also gives an overview of the current CHP policy environment and documents the number of industrial facilities that will be […]

There is tremendous opportunity to increase the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in many Midwestern states. This fact sheet compares state level information accross Midwestern states.    Download Fact Sheet

There is tremendous opportunity to increase the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in many Midwestern states. This fact sheet summarizes current and technical potential of CHP implementation in Iowa. The fact sheet also gives an overview of the current CHP policy environment and documents the number of industrial facilities that will be […]

There is tremendous opportunity to increase the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in many Midwestern states. This fact sheet summarizes current and technical potential of CHP implementation in Indiana. The fact sheet also gives an overview of the current CHP policy environment and documents the number of industrial facilities that will be […]

Buildings with an ENERGY STAR certification use 35 percent less energy on average than typical buildings, and cumulatively achieve over $2 billion in annual cost savings. Over 300,000 buildings across the country, representing over 40 percent of the commercial market, measure and track their energy use with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager—the tool that identifies potential […]

The United States produces enough organic waste to exceed EPA’s volume requirements for advanced biofuels every year for the next decade. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates the use billions of gallons of advanced biofuel every year, from 2.75 billion in 2013 to 21 billion in 2022. The US could potentially produce as much as 29 billion […]

Amidst economic uncertainty, fiscal crisis and political division over energy policy, carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) offers a safe and commercially proven method of domestic oil production that can help the United States simultaneously address three urgent national priorities:  

The Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) efforts on transmission planning and wind integration in the last decade provide key lessons on how to expand wind generation while supporting a robust and efficient energy market. MISO now has over 12,000 megawatts (MW) of wind connected within their footprint and recently approved $5.2 billion of ‘multi- value’ […]

The United States has an enormous amount of untapped potential for collecting biogas from organic waste streams to produce useful forms of energy. Most of the U.S. biogas development in the last 20 years has used dairy manure as a feedstock source. Development has also occurred at wastewater treatment facilities or food processing facilities with […]

An extension of our work with the MGA Advanced Transportation Fuels Advisory Group, this new white paper provides an overview of opportunities for improving efficiency and environmental performance at corn ethanol plants. Starting with a description of the ethanol production process, we then provide a menu of practices and technologies that can be implemented to […]

This report was developed pursuant to recommendations of the Midwestern Governors Association’s (MGA) CCS Task Force and in advancement of Governor Pat Quinn’s 2011 MGA Chair’s Agenda. The report was developed in collaboration with the Great Plains Institute and with the generous feedback of MGA stakeholders and other experts in the Midwest.   Download Report

The National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative (NEORI) recommends that Congress consider implementing arevenue-positive federal production tax credit to support deployment of commercial carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and pipeline projects. A new, more robust federal incentive is needed to increase the supply of man-made or anthropogenic CO2 that the oil industry can purchase for use in […]

This report was developed pursuant to recommendations of the Midwestern Governors Association’s (MGA) CCS Task Force and in advancement of Governor Pat Quinn’s 2011 MGA Chair’s Agenda. The report was developed in collaboration with the Great Plains Institute and with the generous feedback of MGA stakeholders and other experts in the Midwest.    Download Report

Transmission infrastructure development is fundamental to the successful build-out of large-scale renewable energy production and other sources of cleaner, advanced energy production in the Midwest. The level of transmission build-out needed to support deployment of cleaner energy will require multiple jurisdictions and authorities to coordinate and collaborate. A robust, reliable and cost-effective transmission system can […]

Biogas is a renewable energy resource that holds tremendous potential to help meet our future energy needs. As a versatile energy resource, it can be utilized as a feedstock for electricity and/or heat, a source of renewable natural gas, or as a vehicle fuel. Materials that can be used to produce biogas are abundant, especially […]

This report documents the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA) advisory group recommendations to develop a comprehensive and far-sighted policy strategy for transforming the regional energy economy of the Midwest. Some of the recommended policies represent actions that are already in progress in a subset of the states and provinces, while others represent regional positions on key […]

In 2001, the Great Plains Institute (GPI) convened a diverse group of stakeholders and launched its Powering the Plains (PTP) program. From the beginning, PTP turned the energy and climate debate on its head. Instead of focusing primarily on costs, PTP stakeholders also devoted attention to how the Upper Midwest can maximize its economic opportunities […]