Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development

Carbon managementfossil fuels today provide the vast majority of our electricity, heating/cooling and transportation fuel (87% globally) and will likely continue to play a significant role for decades. Yet burning coal, oil, and natural gas is also a primary cause of global warming and climate change, and a range of other unintended and negative outcomes. Gpi works to develop market-based strategies for reducing harmful fossil fuel emissions and effective transition strategies for industries and communities that depend on fossil fuels. Focus areas include: expanding education, dialogue and outreach on federal carbon regulation implementation by convening and facilitating the stakeholder groups of the midcontinent states environmental and energy regulators (mseer), pjm states group, and the midwestern power sector collaborative (mpsc); helping shape the national discourse surrounding the clean power plan by presenting to numerous groups and conferences around the us; and supporting the deployment of carbon capture and sequestration with enhanced oil recovery (ccs-eor) through incentives and education by convening of the national enhanced oil recovery initiative (neori) and the state ccs-eor group.

Transportation and fuelsgpi focuses on two main strategies for reducing our dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse gases in the transportation sector; less polluting, domestic fuels (electricity, biofuels, cng, biocng and hydrogen); and reducing the need for driving through better urban design. Priorities include: convening the bioeconomy coalition of Minnesota making mn the best place in the world to site the Development of advanced biofuel, renewable chemical, and biomass thermal industries; facilitating drive electric Minnesota a statewide electric vehicle partnership working to expand electric vehicle ownership and public charging infrastructure (this may expand to a regional midwestern effort); and collaborating with argonne national lab to make the greenhouse gases, regulated emissions, and energy use in transportation model (greet) more robust and user-friendly.

Energy systemsgpi envisions an economy that is increasingly electrified (including transportation and heating), and an energy system that relies heavily on renewable resources (wind, solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal) and a robust transmission system that can move clean electricity from one part of the country to another. An electric grid designed for central station power plants and a significant shortage of regional transmission lines that can move large amounts of remote renewable energy have become key barriers to meeting more of our energy needs with renewable resources (e.g., wind and solar). Gpi's focus areas include: 1) working with the midcontinent independent system operator to increase the deployment of renewable electricity, improve the market rules for demand response and integrate the full range of distributed energy resources; 2) working with utilities and other key interests to realign the utility business model and regulatory framework to more effectively achieve a low-carbon energy system and meet evolving consumer demands (this includes gpi's nation-leading e21 initiative and related work with madison gas and electric).

Communitieslawrence livermore national lab estimates more than 50% of the energy produced in the united states is wasted somewhere along the line, from production and distribution to consumption. Gpi is committed to more efficiently using all forms of energy. Focus areas include the energy use in communities and the industrial sector, working with the midwest's grid operator on better market rules for energy efficiency, and new financing mechanisms to increase investment in energy efficiency. Cities are a key focus because collectively they are big enough to matter and small enough to adopt new ideas and technologies relatively quickly. Gpi's goal is to make it the norm for communities to be economically and environmentally Sustainable. Gpi's priorities include: increasing energy efficiency and supporting Sustainable communities through Minnesota greenstep cities, the metro clean energy resource team, small business energy coaching, and re-amp energy efficiency and local solutions working groups; increasing the deployment of solar energy and transforming local solar markets through solar garden deployment and a grow solar partnership; and improving local planning practices to support clean energy deployment.

Renewable energyrenewable energy generation capacity in the us must increase threefold to achieve a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. As renewable energy becomes the economic leader in clean energy generation, we must resolve new deployment issues and challenges to realize our decarbonization goals. The renewable energy team strives to reduce carbon emissions, prevent environmental degradation, create economic opportunity, and improve quality of life. We use our skills in facilitation, policy, research, technical assistance, and deliberate collaboration to create the social and market conditions for accelerated renewable energy deployment that achieves national, state, and local decarbonization goals.