Iowa Cooperative Awards Zero-Interest Loan to Assisted Living Facility
Posted on Dec 3, 2021
T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative of Brooklyn, Iowa was granted $300,000 by the USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program to make a zero-interest loan to the Mayflower Community, an Iowa assisted living community, to fund construction of a new dining facility. T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors added $60,000 in matching funds to fund the $360,000 loan.
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Riverland Energy Cooperative New Solar Array System Provides Electricity for More than 500 Homes
Posted on Nov 29, 2021
Riverland Energy Cooperative recently cut the ribbon on a new solar array system that can provide electricity for about 550 homes. Riverland has a purchase agreement with OneEnergy Renewables to buy the electricity from its 8,000 Panel, 3MW output system. The bi-facial panels are designed to move east to west with the sun, optimizing energy production.
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House Reconciliation Bill Includes Provisions to Assist Coops in Energy Transition
Posted on Nov 24, 2021
The recently passed House budget reconciliation bill includes two provisions that will directly assist electric cooperatives, including Direct Pay Energy Innovation Tax Credits, which provides the equivalent of a federal tax incentive for renewable investments via direct payments, and the USDA Voluntary Energy Transition Program, which provides $10 billion to defray the cost of voluntary coal retirements or renewable investments, which may be used by electric coops.
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FCC Announces Additional Funding for Rural Broadband Expansion
Posted on Nov 19, 2021
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved another $700 million in winning bids to be authorized through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund this week, which funding will go to 50 broadband providers for projects in 26 states. The primary beneficiary of the funds was Conexon Connect, a fiber provider powered by electric cooperatives that works with rural electric cooperatives on building broadband networks.
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Cloverland Electric Cooperative Announces Launch of New G&T Organization
Posted on Nov 19, 2021
Cloverland Electric Cooperative recently announced the launch of American Rural Cooperative Power, a new generation and transmission (G&T) organization that will stabilize power supply costs and manage future rate increases for Cloverland. Following funding related to the passage of the federal infrastructure bill, American Rural Cooperative Power will manage renewable energy projects to create a balanced approach to renewables and energy deployment.
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D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments and Torch Clean Energy Announce Financial Notice to Proceed for Hunter Solar
Posted on Nov 16, 2021
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and Torch Clean Energy (Torch) announced today that they have reached financial notice to proceed on Hunter Solar, a 75 MW solar facility in Arapahoe County, Colorado that was initially developed by Cypress Creek Renewables, LLC, and was acquired in a joint venture between DESRI and Torch. Hunter Solar has two power purchase agreements in place, one with CORE Electric Cooperative (CORE) and the other with Holy Cross Energy (HCE), collectively for the full capacity of the project. Pam Feuerstein, Chief Operating Officer of CORE, said the Hunter Solar...
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Electric Cooperatives Laud Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
Posted on Nov 8, 2021
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson praised Congress’ passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that will support clean energy technologies, broadband deployment, grid modernization and resiliency and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, all of which will assist in meeting the needs of communities served by electric cooperatives.
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Twenty-Two Electric Cooperatives Ranked in Top 100 National Cooperative List
Posted on Nov 7, 2021
Twenty-two electric cooperatives, including Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Oglethorpe Power Corporation, have been included in the National Cooperative Bank Coop 100 List, which ranks cooperatives across a variety of industries by revenue. The twenty-two coops collectively earned $20.4 billion in revenue and had $64.5 billion in assets last year.
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Alaska Coop Invests in Solar Technology
Posted on Nov 1, 2021
Kotzebue Electric Association, an Alaska electric cooperative, is planning to build a solar-powered microgrid to reduce its reliance on diesel fuel. Alaska Native Renewable Industries will build a 576 kW ground mount solar system powered by SolarEdge technology.
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Missouri Coop Suffers Tornado Damage
Posted on Nov 1, 2021
Black River Electric Cooperatives buildings and trucks suffered severe damage after a tornado swept through southeast Missouri on October 24th. Despite the damage, the coop, with the help of eight other Missouri coop crews, restored power to a majority of members by the evening of the 25th.
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NRECA to Receive $5 Million towards Cybersecurity
Posted on Nov 1, 2021
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded NRECA with a $5 million grant to continue developing and deploying sophisticated cybersecurity tools and tactics. The grant is a party of the administrations’ 100-day plan to secure the U.S. energy grid.
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Colorado Solar Project to Support Electric Coop
Posted on Nov 1, 2021
Holy Cross Energy, a Colorado electric cooperative, will purchase energy generated from the Pitkin Solar Project, a 5-MW installation completed by Primenergy Solar. The coop sees the completion of the project as a significant step in their journey to 100% clean energy for their members.
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Minnesota Cooperatives Win at Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
Posted on Oct 22, 2021
On October 5, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) permitted Conexus Energy to replace distribution line located underneath tracks owned by BNSF Railway for only “reasonable and necessary” traffic and flagging expenses, rejecting BNSF’s 52 requirements and request for hearing. The ruling was the first test of a railway crossing law by an electric coop before the MPUC after the Minnesota Rural Electric Association fought to curtail railroads’ costly impediments to right-of-way work.
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GE Research, Prolec GE and Cooperative Energy Partner to Install the World’s First Flexible Power Transformer
Posted on Oct 20, 2021
GE Research and Prolec GE are partnering with Cooperative Energy to install the world’s first flexible power transformer, designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution to transformer outages and to provide energy providers with more opportunities to leverage renewable energy sources. The flexible transformer is a potential solution to help with the country’s aging electricity grid. Due to a growing number of severe weather events that have the potential of damaging power systems, the flexible transformer provides a uniform solution that can cut down on construction wait times by functioning as...
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