Posted on Oct 30, 2017
Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) recently announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously selected Julie Parsley as its Chief Executive Officer and Eddie Dauterive as its Chief Operations Officer. Parsley is a former Commissioner of the Public Utility Commission of Texas as well as a former Solicitor General of Texas. Dauterive previously served as PEC’s Vice President of Member Services before being named Chief Operations Officer. PEC is the nation’s largest distribution electric cooperative with a service territory of 8,100 square miles and over 700 employees.
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Posted on Oct 26, 2017
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) has requested $2.7 million from the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to provide broadband access to all of MEC’s customers. MEC intends to partner with Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation to build the fiber optic network that will ultimately provide broadband services to the rural areas within MEC’s service region.
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Posted on Oct 23, 2017
Holy Cross Energy (Holy Cross), a Colorado cooperative utility, recently announced that it has accepted proposals for two new solar projects to be built within its service territory over the next 18 months. Each 5 MW project is expected to produce enough electricity to serve the annual electric needs of 900 homes. These solar projects are expected to be online by the end of 2018, and will allow Holy Cross to increase its share of renewable energy while helping to improve the reliability of its electric grid.
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Posted on Oct 10, 2017
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced his intention to roll back the Clean Power Plan. Several environmental groups and states plan to challenge the proposed repeal in federal court.
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Posted on Oct 3, 2017
A federal judge in Missouri has vacated a $130 million jury verdict against Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative. The plaintiffs in the case claimed that Sho-Me Power violated electric easements by using a fiber optic cable for commercial telecommunications purposes.
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Posted on Oct 2, 2017
People living in rural communities are four times more likely to lack access to broadband than those in urban communities. Rural electric cooperatives, some of which were formed nearly 80 years ago to bring electricity to rural America, are increasingly making the move into broadband to fill the supply gap. Many coops have found that building out a broadband network using their existing infrastructure, either on their own or through a partnership with established telecommunications providers, is an efficient way to help manage a modern, connected electrical grid as well as a productive way...
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Posted on Sep 28, 2017
Cooperative Energy and Origis Energy USA announced the first installation of solar panels at a 540-acre solar site in Mississippi. When completed, this facility will encompass approximately 200,000 photovoltaic solar panels.
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Posted on Sep 21, 2017
GridLiance Holdco, L.P. (GridLiance) has completed an acquisition of Valley Electric Association, Inc.’s (VEA) 230kV transmission system and entered into an ongoing partnership with VEA for the operation and maintenance of the transmission system. The acquisition consists of approximately 160 miles of transmission lines and related substation equipment.
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Posted on Sep 19, 2017
Multiple cooperatives used drones to locate problems in hard-to-reach areas after Hurricane Harvey. Pedernales Electric Cooperative relied on its drone team to fly 60 missions and inspect more than 1,600 poles after the storm.
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Posted on Sep 8, 2017
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC), a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving over 36,000 meters in 14 Virginia counties, and Coronal Energy, powered by Panasonic, a leading independent power producer and provider of turnkey renewable energy solutions, are developing two 5 MWac solar electric generating facilities along the Interstate 64 corridor in Virginia. The 41-acre, 5 MWac Palmer Solar Center in Troy and the 35-acre, 5 MWac Martin Solar Center in Kents Store will integrate solar-generated electricity into the power grid for the benefit of over 9,000 CVEC member...
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Posted on Sep 6, 2017
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has awarded Bandera Electric Cooperative a contract to construct a solar-plus-storage microgrid for a community in Liberia, which will benefit around 400 homes and businesses. The project will include approximately 220 solar panels and 90kWh of lithium-ion battery energy storage, alongside diesel backup generation.
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Posted on Sep 6, 2017
Pursuant to an agreement reached with NorthWestern Energy, which has been approved by the Montana Public Service Commission, Fergus Electric Cooperative will provide power to the proposed Black Butte Copper Project located near White Sulphur Springs, Montana.
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Posted on Aug 22, 2017
Low gas prices, the federal production tax credit and state renewables mandates are leading to a cleaner power generation mix for rural cooperatives. Specifically, wind power, natural gas and related technology innovation are dominating growth of cooperatives’ energy generation. According to the American Wind Energy Association, electric cooperatives added more than 900 MW of new wind capacity in 2016. In order to create room for these new generation resources, coops shuttered or converted 700 MW of coal between 2014 and 2016 and are estimated to shutter or convert an additional 1,344 MW by...
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Posted on Aug 18, 2017
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has worked collaboratively with electric cooperatives to develop guidelines for the prevention and mitigation of cybersecurity threats.
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