Professional Documents
Culture Documents
OUR VISION
What if there was a place where people with different ideas
about how to provide secure, clean energy for generations
could come together and create common solutions?
My love of public policy was born at the dinner table, discussing issues of the day with
four opinionated siblings and two thoughtful parents; and I credit my parents, my Scout
Master, and trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with instilling my
desire to leave the world better than I found it.
Then, as fate would have it, I studied alternative dispute resolution techniques
facilitation and mediation in graduate school because I thought I wanted to become
an environmental mediator, helping people fnd a path forward when they were stuck.
I share this autobiographical sketch to explain why I feel so fortunate to have found the
Great Plains Institute, where my strengths and passions allow me to weave together
all of the above and work with smart, passionate people to help facilitate new energy
solutions and contribute to the common good.
Of course we have no corner on the common good. There are hundreds of important public
issues and thousands of good organizations and dedicated people working on them.
But for those interested in helping to bring about a cleaner, home-grown energy system
perhaps the biggest challenge is the number of energy players, each with their own
interests, surrounded by conficting information.
The Great Plains Institute aspires to be your guide through this energy maze, combining
solid, transparent analysis and the best science with the distilled wisdom of the diverse
stakeholders we convene.
We bring clarity to clean energy.
If you believe in striving to build consensus among competing interests, and harnessing
that to speed the most promising energy technologies and practices to market, then I
hope this Annual Report will inspire you to fnd out more about the Institute and join
our important work in the world.
Warm regards,
Rolf Nordstrom
Executive Director
I have the distinction and honor of having been the Great Plains Institutes frst Executive
Director, and now its board chair. Having been with the Institute from the start gives me
a special appreciation for what GPI has become in its frst dozen yearsa much-needed
antidote to the rancor and partisanship that characterizes too much of our policy debate
today, especially in the realm of energy and climate issues.
Partisanship has its place, but it needs to be tempered by organizations dedicated
to bridging our divides. This is what I admire most about the Great Plains Instituteand
the reason I devote my own time, talents and money to the organization.
GPI has the unique ability to work effectively across the political, ideological and geographic
lines defning our energy and climate debate to fnd solutions. The Great Plains Institute is
hard at work in the messy middle and I hope youll join us.
GPI may not be a household name yet, but if you take the time to fnd out more about it, I
think youll fnd that its one of the most effective organizations around.
Warm regards,
Dawn Erlandson
Chair of the GPI Board of Directors
GPI BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dawn Erlandson, Chair
Kim Carlson, Vice-Chair
John Wells, Secretary
Christopher Neher, Treasurer
John Baumgartner, Immediate Past Chair
James V. Kubiak, Chair Emeritus
Kristen Cici
Kathryn Draeger, Ph.D.
Michael Jerstad
Karen Lokkesmoe
Rolf Nordstrom
Pete Saari
INTRODUCTION
a new picture of progress
In 1997, a small group of entrepreneurial, civic-minded people had an idea. What if there
was a non-partisan organization that was not exactly environmental, not solely pro-
business, nor purely concerned with human welfarebut instead dedicated to all three,
and to promoting a society that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable
and prosperous over generations?
Meet the Great Plains Institute.
The Institutes early years focused on documenting and sharing some of the many
extraordinary examples of economic ingenuity and environmental stewardship one can
fnd across the Northern Plains. Soon thereafter, we determined that we could make the
greatest contribution to a more prosperous and sustainable region and world by helping
solve the twin challenges of energy security and climate stewardship. This remains our
focus and our passion today.
Our name doesnt tell you much about what we do, but we hope youll come to think of
us as that group of smart, honest energy diplomats that not only bring clarity to the
confusing world of energy and climate change, but are able to fnd and foster common
ground where none was thought possible.
Our central aim is to proactively engage leaders with diverse opinions from government,
public policy, business, academia, and advocacy groups to develop consensusthen
actionon key energy issues facing our region, country and world.
we pride ourselves on knowing a lot about
energy technology and policy
We also believe that true collaboration means working across political, ideological and
geographic fault lines, really listening (especially to those with whom we differ), and then
creating a safe and respectful environment within which stakeholders can come to trust
one another and co-create innovative solutions. We dont just care about the outcomes,
we also care about the people we work with and the integrity of our relationships with
themand we hope it shows.
a unique design
You may be wondering what sets GPI apart. We specialize in using consensus-building and
dispute resolution techniques exclusively in fnding and implementing solutions to societys
energy challengesagain, think energy diplomats.
WHY FOCUS ON ENERGY
Nobel Laureate, Richard Smalley, argued before his death that energy is the most
critical issue facing humanity, topping a list of the ten most pressing challenges.
Why? Because access to affordable, low-polluting energy is linkeddirectly or
indirectlyto making progress on all other issues on this list. Interestingly, energy
only edged out fresh water as an issue because you can use energy to desalinate
salt water.
GPI focuses on energy because the way we produce and consume energy shapes
our economy, our food system, our international relations, our environment and
our own health.
Some of the benefts of transitioning our energy system include:
Signifcant cost savings from using less energy and using it more effciently.
More stable and predictable energy prices.
Less imported oil replaced with more secure and reliable transportation
fuels made here at home.
More diverse energy supplies, which makes the whole energy system
more resilient.
New businesses and jobs created, many of which cannot be out-sourced.
Reduced risk of climate change.
Less air pollution associated with conventional burning of fossil fuels.
Less mercury deposition and a reduction in the health impacts of
mercury in our food supply.
More proftable participation in the energy system by more people
and institutions.
Improved wildlife habitat.
Top Ten Problems
Facing Humanity
Over The Next 50 Years
The saying where you stand depends on where you sit has never been
truer than when it comes to debates over energy and climate. This is
precisely why diplomacy is needed.
ENERGY
WATER
FOOD
ENVIRONMENT
POVERTY
TERRORISM & WAR
DISEASE
EDUCATION
DEMOCRACY
POPULATION
the story is not about usbut we help write it
Reaching meaningful agreement on diffcult energy issuesfollowed by action
is at the heart of what we do at the Great Plains Institute. The results of our work are
really about what our collaborators are able to agree upon and do together.
At our best, we facilitate genuine discussion and debate that changes the way participants
see problems and helps them develop solutions that no single participant would likely come
up with on their own.
We also know that not all issues can be resolved by consensus. Sometimes our work
is not about dramatic diplomatic breakthroughs among groups that are at odds, but
simply helping leaders achieve a common purpose more effciently and quickly.
Everything about our approach is aimed at getting people to see past stereotypes and half-
truthsboth about each other and about the energy system. Bob the environmentalist
and Sharon the corporate suit become just Bob and Sharon. Ideally, they come to
trust one another, and believe that each has the best of intentions even when they still
disagree. This way of working requires a tremendous leap of faith, but we have seen it
work so many times that we have come to believe that this most fundamental of human
needsthe need to be understood and to understandcan be harnessed to good ends.
think, then do
We think of ourselves as a think and do tankpart research and analysis based on the best
science, and part leveraging the expertise and motivations of others to make things happen.
The results are new clean energy policies passed into law, cleaner technology demonstrated
and brought closer to market, better regulations adopted, energy and money saved, jobs
created, polluting emissions reduced, or businesses triple bottom lines improved. You can
read about some of our specifc accomplishments later in this report.
Real World Feedback
Consensus Proposals
for Policy or Action
Credible Information
THE PEOPLE
As in most organizations, far and away our biggest asset at the
Great Plains Institute is our people. We hope you will fnd us to be
passionate and committed, savvy and knowledgeable, yet open
to new facts and points of view. We are striving to do great good
in the world, but we recognize that no one person or sector of
society has the whole truth, and that transforming the energy
system is a marathon not a sprint. This means we have a sense of
urgency about our work, but also a sense of perspectivewe take
the long view.
Weve grown rapidly since our founding. We began with a core
of three staff, working on issues that covered a fve-state region.
Today we are three times that size, have diversifed our skill set,
and take on a wider range of issues and a broader geography. But
all this growth has not changed the core of who we arepeople
passionate about facilitating thoughtful research, informed public
policy debate and inspired energy solutions to achieve a secure
and clean energy future.
THE WORK...AND RESULTS
four core areas
The Great Plains Institute does four main things: Consensus-based Public Policy Development,
Technology Demonstration and Deployment, Research and Analysis, and Education and
Outreach. Most of our work includes aspects of all four of these elements.
Of course you could fnd many of these same categoriesand even the same words to describe
themat any number of organizations. What distinguishes our work is our comprehensive,
stakeholder-based approach. The following are some of our accomplishments:
Low Carbon Fuel Policy GPI facilitated an
advisory group discussion to guide the design of a
Midwestern low carbon fuel policy that would lower
the carbon-intensity of transportation fuels.
Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Accord Signed by six governors and the premier
of Manitoba, GPI helped broker this agreement and
a model rule for only the third regional Cap & Trade
system in the U.S. (alongside the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative in the New England states and the
Western Climate Initiative in the western states).
Public Comments on Biomass Crop
Assistance Program (BCAP) GPI facilitated a
regional working group to develop recommendations
for improving the way this USDA program gets
implemented on the ground so that it best helps
farmers make the transition to growing native grasses
and other energy crops.
Identifcation of Renewable Energy Zones
(REZ) GPI helped identify REZs to be used by
transmission authorities to plan forand ultimately
expeditewind development.
A Fair and Equitable Transmission Cost-
share and Cost Recovery Mechanism GPI
helped inform the factors that should be considered
in the new cost-allocation formula for the build-out
of regional transmission lines that will help the region
achieve a 30 percent renewables goal.
Policy Recommendations for the
Commercial Deployment of Carbon Capture
and Storage (CCS) GPI facilitated for Midwestern
governors development of policy recommendations to
support and accelerate the commercial deployment
of CCS technologies and infrastructure, with the goal
of dramatically reducing CO
2
emissions from coal and
other emission sources by making the transition to
low carbon electricity generation with carbon capture
and storage.
Planning Transmission for More Renewable
Energy GPI helped persuade transmission planners
to gear their studies toward meeting Midwestern
governors new energy targets (which GPI helped
facilitate) including 30 percent renewable energy
by 2030.
Policy Recommendations for Battery
Storage of Wind Energy GPI facilitated a diverse
work group that developed guidelines for integrating
battery backup systems into the power grid. Storage
can increase the amount of wind energy on the grid
and its round-the-clock availability.
Energy Effciency Policy Recommendations
One of the four governor-appointed advisory groups
that GPI staffed for the Midwestern Governors
Association developed a comprehensive suite of
recommendations for how utilities, their customers,
and whole states can save energy.
consensus-based public policy development
We value the trust that energy leaders have in our ability to bring diverse opinions
together and work toward consensus energy solutions, often working through diffcult
disagreements. Here are some of our outcomes on the policy front:
technology demonstration and deployment
Technology demonstration is both a component and an end product of our policy
development. Helping new energy technologies take root gives policy makers something
concrete to evaluate when contemplating which policies are needed; and getting the right
policy framework in place can be essential to commercializing new energy technologies:
Battery Storage of Wind Power A small wind farm in Luverne, Minnesota,
was successfully paired with industrial-scale sodium-sulfur batteries, giving Xcel
Energy the opportunity to monitor their combined ability to deliver power when the
wind was not blowing. The project was a successand GPI helped the project team
uncover the complex policy implications of deploying such energy storage devices on
a large scale on the electricity grid.
Smart Grid Collaborative As part of the Midwestern Energy Infrastructure
Accord that GPI helped developand which Midwestern Governors signedGPI
laid the foundation for a new Midwestern Smart Grid Collaborative that will enable
multiple states (and the diverse constituencies within them) to develop a smarter grid
regionally rather than each state and each set of interest groups working on it in a
piecemeal fashion.
Best Practices for Sustainable Community Development (GreenStep
Cities) GPI has coordinated the efforts of many partnersfrom the League of
Minnesota Cities to the states unique Clean Energy Resource Teamsto develop
simple, proven strategies for Minnesota communities to save energy and money,
reduce their environmental footprint and improve their local economies.
Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETS) GPI helped
create M-RETS, which is a new independent, third-party system through which
entities that produce and trade Renewable Energy Credits can track those trades in
a verifable way (like a stock market): www.m-rets.com. M-RETS improves the market
for renewable energy by providing a fair, transparent and credible vehicle for tracking
renewable energy credits.
Apple Valleys Better Energy Initiative Facilitated and coordinated by
GPI, this community-wide energy effciency initiative is a partnership among electric
and gas utilities and non-governmental organizations designed to help community
members take action to reduce energy use and improve their economic and
environmental performance.
research and analysis
GPI conducts research and produces information that helps policy makers and others
better understand our current energy system and the options for change. Sometimes our
analysis challenges conventional wisdom, or reveals a hidden truth (for example, most of
our oil in this region comes from Canadas oil sands in Alberta). Our goal is to provide
credible information that reduces uncertainties and inspires confdence to act.
Feasibility Study Of Using Biomass
At Spiritwood Station
GPI facilitated a group of researchers to
determine the amount and type of biomass
that could be co-fred with conventional coal
at a combined heat and power plant in North
Dakota, as both an economic development
and greenhouse gas mitigation strategy. GPI
also published the fnal report.
Energy Choice Simulator (ECS)
Co-developed with the University of
Minnesota, ECS is GPIs online system
dynamics model that decision-makers (and
anyone else) can use to understand the
impacts of different public policies before
putting them in place. ECS shows how
state and federal energy policies interact
with the regions economy over a 50-year
timeframe, and how these policies would
affect energy prices, greenhouse gas
reduction and other factors. Whitepapers on Key Aspects of
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
GPI developed several publications on
CCS policy development and technology
deployment that are serving as valuable
resources for experts and policymakers
working on CCS in the Midwest and other
jurisdictions.
Spotlight on Biogas
This GPI report surveys the biogas policy
landscape in the U.S. and abroad, and
distills lessons that industry leaders and
policymakers can use to address biogas policy
barriers here at home, with the ultimate aim
of increasing biogas production and use in
the region.
education and outreach
GPIs education and outreach takes three main forms:
Making presentations on our work to key constituencies;
Hosting or co-organizing conferences and other educational events; and
Developing high-level study tours through which leaders can see our energy challenges and opportunities frsthand.
OIL SANDS DELEGATION
GPI organized a delegation
of Midwesterners, including
representatives from oil, biofuels,
electricity, and automotive
industries, environmental
organizations, and state
legislatures and agencies to visit
Fort McMurray, Alberta, to
experience frsthand the mining
and processing of what has
become the regions dominant
source of transportation fuels.
INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS
CONFERENCEGPI helped organize a conference in Bismarck,
North Dakota, in partnership with the Prairie Stewardship Network,
to help people of faith confront global warming as a spiritual challenge
and a call to service, and to present policy and technology actions
North Dakota leadership could take to address the problem. The
conference drew over 200 participants from around the state, was well
covered in local media, and even made international headlines via
Public Radio Internationals The World.
THE FUTURE OF COAL AND BIOMASS IN A CARBON-
CONSTRAINED WORLDOur choices with coal are to stop
using it (globally), keep burning it the old-fashioned way, or fnd
new ways to manage its emissions and environmental impacts. GPI
sponsored a conference at North Dakota State University in Fargo
that gave state energy leaders an opportunity to hear peers from
around the world discuss how existing and emerging technologies
have allowed them to take advantage of their countries coal and
biomass resources while generating new economic opportunities,
substantially reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and providing a wide
range of habitat, soil conservation, and water quality benefts. The
conference featured speakers from nearly a dozen countries, from
Denmark to China, and drew more than 100 leaders from industry,
federal and state government, and other organizations.
THERE IS MUCH TO DO
We have many new projects in the works. Below is only a sampling.
We are eager to continue our close working relationship with the Midwestern Governors Association (MGA)from
a multi-state collaboration on smart grid and more transmission to carry renewable energy to market, to alternative
fueling infrastructure for the next generation of cleaner vehicles. We are also working with MGA, the Corporation
for a Skilled Workforce and a governor-appointed group of investment professionals to identify ways to improve the
investment environment for the new energy economy in the Midwest.
In our home state of Minnesota, we will be convening an expert group to identify ways to scale-up the underdeveloped
renewable biogas industry in the state, allowing us to make better use of the manure, food waste and other organic
wastes that we often now send to a landfll. Since the U.S. has roughly 150 on-farm anaerobic digesters producing
biogas (while Germany has over 5,000 of all kinds), there is clearly room for expansion both in Minnesota and
across the Midwest.
At the community scale, we are excited to continue our collaboration with the city of Apple Valley on their Better
Energy program, and are already looking for opportunities to share their lessons learned with other communities
across the state and region. For example, we are assisting the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, in organizing a
conference on energy effciency and the cost savings it can bring to tight city budgets. As a member of the North
Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy, we will complement this city-level work by pushing a pro-energy effciency
legislative agenda this year in that state.
In a closely-related project, we look forward to working with our many partners to advance the new GreenStep
Cities program, a voluntary assistance and recognition program that provides technical assistance to help
cities achieve their sustainability goals through implementing 28 best practices in fve categories: buildings and
lighting, transportation, land use, environmental management, and economic and community development:
www.mngreenstep.org.
On the technology deployment side, we are already working with Great River Energy to help catalyze their proposed
biorefnery near the Spiritwood Station power plant in North Dakota. We will also be working with a small group
of experts to develop new risk management strategies for farmers interested in shifting some of their production to
native energy crops.
And fnally, we will further develop and apply our online Energy Choice Simulator to help leaders make more informed
policy decisions about our energy system.
There is more, of course, but for that you will need to visit us on the web: www.gpisd.net and sign up for our free
monthly e-Newsletter.
Fundraising
Management & General
Energy Effciency & Conservation
Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative
Advanced Coal with Carbon Capture & Sequestration
Powering the Midwest
Next Generation Bioenergy
EXPENSES
Area Amount Percentage
Next Generation Bioenergy $327,095.00 25.80%
Powering the Midwest $318,458.00 25.11%
Advanced Coal with Carbon $161,031.00 12.70%
Capture & Sequestration
Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative $77,799.00 6.14%
Energy Effciency & Conservation $75,185.00 5.93%
Management & General $217,431.00 17.15%
Fundraising $91,042.00 7.18%
Total All Services $1,268,041.00 100.00%
INCOME
Type Amount Percentage
Corporations $11,325.00 1.31%
Individuals $13,003.20 1.51%
Contracts $236,829.72 27.47%
Foundations $588,250.00 68.22%
Other $12,886.22 1.49%
Total $862,294.14 100.00%
Foundations
Individuals
Contracts
Corporations
Other
Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development
2801 21
st
Ave S., Suite 220 | Minneapolis, MN 55407 | www.gpisd.net
10%
Mixed Sources
Product group from weII-managed
forests, controIIed sources and
recycIed wood or fibre
www.fsc.org Cert no. SW-C0C-003600
1996 forest Stewardship CounciI
DONORS & OTHER SOURCES OF SUPPORT
Greater than $10,000
Joyce Foundation
Midwestern Governors Association
New York Community Trust
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Energy Center of Wisconsin
Prairie Stewardship Network
Carolyn Foundation
Up to $10,000
Great River Energy
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Xcel Energy
RE-AMP
Leighty Foundation
Mary and James Kubiak
Sarah Nordstrom and Frederick Haas
Matthew Schuerger
Rolf Nordstrom
Cathy and John Baumgartner
Inver Hills Community College
Lucy and Jeffrey Heegaard
Mark Dayton
Sarah and Jonathan Wilmshurst
Wendell & Susan Fletcher
Up to $499.00
Harbinson Consulting
Wolverine Power Cooperative
Dawn and Mike Erlandson
John Wells
Lenfestey Foundation
Sharon and James Toscano
Eric Schroeder
Joe and Marly Harbinson
Lola Schoenrich
McKnight Foundation
Mike Gregerson
Kim Christianson
Stability Consulting
Charlotte Brooker and Gene Mammenga
Edyth Schoenrich
Ann Heywood
Amy Sanborn and Scott Sidney
Cammie and John Farrell
Daniel and Frances Gilroy
Gretchen Bonfert
Jim Burg
Karen Lokkesmoe and Bob Amick
Kathryn Draeger
Kim Carlson
Marlyn Schroeder
Medora Woods
Michael Jerstad
Moose Gower
Phillip Davis
Robert Swenson
North Dakota Public Employees Association
Sara Bergan
Thomas Wash
Thomas Heywood
Todd Guerrero
Andrea Specht
Clark Schroeder and Summer Seidenkranz
Marilyn and Don Lundberg
Susan and Tom Perusse
Carl Nelson
Catherine Madison and Richard Dublin
Dania and Noah Miwa
Insight Enterprise Consulting
Jean Amick
Kristen Cici
Linda Ritter
Margaret Ehrhardt
Patrice Lahlum
Sara and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
Mike Burke
Meadow Lark Farm
Bill Hamlin
Tustomu Shimotori
Christopher Neher
Sandra Broekema
Sara Grace
Warren Park
Dan Thiede
Joel Haskard
All of us at the Great Plains Institute have many people to thank. We are grateful
to the colleagues and stakeholders with whom we have the honor to work. You make
our work both possible and inspiring.
We also owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our foundation partners and funders
who have placed their trust in our passion and skills, and to the growing number of
individuals and institutions who feel strongly enough about our work to support it
fnancially, and in some cases with their time.
Thank you!
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