Browsing by Author "Eastes, Jane"

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    Accelerating Deployment of Rural Beneficial Electrification for Residential Heating and Cooling
    (2024-05-01) Ludewig, Carl; Eastes, Jane; Coleman, Steve
    This project was conducted as a project for the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs capstone course for the Master Degree program. Great RiverEnergy (GRE), a generation and transmission (G & T) electric cooperative, requested our team to research and develop pathways for accelerating beneficial electrification for residential customers in their largely rural territory. Residential customers are directly served by twenty-seven separate distribution cooperatives that are the member-owners of GRE. The goal of this project is to develop a playbook of best practices for the adoption of beneficial electrification that can be used to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to contribute to Minnesota's 100% clean electricity standard. To reach this goal, our team gathered information from GRE, conducted an online literature review including case studies from different programs across the nation, and conducted qualitative research interviews with multiple stakeholders involved in beneficial electrification. Although we refer to beneficial electrification as a whole, this report focuses on the transition to air source heat pump (ASHP) technology for residential heating and cooling within the home. GRE requested that the format of our findings and recommendations follow the Department of Energy's (DOE) Liftoff Report outline. The DOE Liftoff Report style includes an overview of the current state of the target issue, a discussion of potential pathways for success, and an analysis of wider barriers and solutions of the issue. DOE intends the Liftoff Report to be a living document designed to be reviewed and changed with experience and changes in the environment. In this paper, we present our research and analysis, and then move into the Beneficial Electrification Liftoff Report. In this way, the Liftoff Report can be accessed as a standalone report for future use. Based on our research, we recommend and discuss three pathways for GRE to take to accelerate the adoption of beneficial electrification. We recommend all of the pathways be organized around an initial Launch Point. The Launch Point is an overarching recommendation from which the three Pathways can be implemented to accelerate rural beneficial electrification for rural residential heating and cooling.