• Vision: Dynamic, prosperous communities across an ecologically healthy northern Great Plains.
  
• Mission: To solve critical development issues - such as energy security - and create sustainable solutions that simultaneously benefit people, business and environment today and in the future.
  
• Current Goal: To bring about an energy system - based on domestic, renewable and climate-friendly sources - that is affordable, reliable and secure. The institute envisions a future energy system that includes greater efficiency, conservation, wind, solar, hydro- and plant-based power, plus cleaner coal technologies.

• Powering the Plains (PTP): PTP marks a new approach to energy and the environment in the Upper Midwest, one that seeks to identify and implement strategies to transform mitigation of climate change and other environmental concerns to economic development opportunities. Toward this end, PTP participants focus their efforts on the region's comparative advantages in the transition to a renewable and carbon-neutral energy economy.
  
• Power Plants: The goal is to research and develop models of economically viable energy and chemical production from native prairie grasses, thereby providing new revenue potential for dry-land regions and dramatically improving the environmental benefits of ethanol production. The institute is working with regional stakeholders to advance a regional agenda to add value to our regions economy by increasing the utilization of biomass in fuels and products. As part of a regional strategy, they are involved in research projects as well as regional strategy initiatives.
  
• Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative (UMHI): UMHI is an industry-led venture dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cells as part of our energy mix, right along-side greater energy efficiency, biofuels and other renewables and cleaner conventional energy. The public-private Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative seeks to harness this region's vast native hydrogen production potential from wind, biomass, hydro, solar and coal resources (with permanent sequestration of the CO2). Doing so will make the nation less dependent on foreign sources of energy, stimulate jobs and economic development and offer a prudent hedge against volatile energy prices and the negative impacts of climate change.

The upper Midwest of the Great Plains, including:

• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Wisconsin
• Manitoba

A broad range of interests are stakeholders and participants in their programs, including:

• Energy and technology executives
• Farmers
• Bipartisan state, federal and provincial legislators and/or their staff
• Public utility commissioners
• Provincial and state executive branch officials
• Environmental and conservation advocates
• University researchers and officials

Brad Crabtree
Great Plains Institute
9195 70th Avenue SE
Ashley, ND 58413
701-647-2041
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Eric Schroeder
Great Plains Institute
2801 21st Avenue S, Suite 230
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-278-7157
Fax: 612-278-7151
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http://www.gpisd.net