Pennsylvania Coop to Use $40 Million in Loans for Grid Upgrades
Posted on Jul 31, 2012 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Coop to Use $40 Million in Loans for Grid Upgrades
The Adams Electric Cooperative, which serves counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, plans to use $40 million in low-interest loans recently awarded from the federal government to build and improve 200 miles of distribution line and to upgrade several substations. A portion of the money will also go to smart grid projects, such as the installation of automated switches that will allow...
Rural Coops Positioned for Loan Guarantees
Posted on Jul 12, 2012 in Financing, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Technology | Comments Off on Rural Coops Positioned for Loan Guarantees
Coops in 15 states will receive loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program. The funds will help coops improve generation and transmission facilities and implement smart grid technologies. This batch of funding provides more than $10 million in smart grid technologies and is part of a larger USDA Rural Development funding goal of approximately...
Rural Coops to Receive Millions in Loans to Improve Infrastructure and Install Smart Grid Technologies
Posted on May 7, 2012 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development | Comments Off on Rural Coops to Receive Millions in Loans to Improve Infrastructure and Install Smart Grid Technologies
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that rural electric coops in 10 states will receive loans, worth $334 million total, to install smart grid technologies and make improvements to their facilities. The loans will be provided by the USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service. The new funding includes almost $20 million to install smart grid technologies. In...
Minnesota Coops to Test Smart-Grid Technology
Posted on May 3, 2012 in Energy Savings Programs, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency | Comments Off on Minnesota Coops to Test Smart-Grid Technology
Three Minnesota cooperatives (Great River Energy, Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative and Lake Region Electric Cooperative) are participating in a $5 million demonstration project to pay for new smart-grid software in attempts to smooth (and track) their customers’ demand. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has more on the story.
U.S. Department of Agriculture to Fund Rural Electric Infrastructure
Posted on Mar 8, 2012 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on U.S. Department of Agriculture to Fund Rural Electric Infrastructure
USDA Rural Development announced that rural electric coops in eight states will receive funding for smart grid technologies and generation and transmission facility improvements. The Rural Utilities Service will be charged with managing the $201 million in loans, of which about $25 million will go towards smart grid developments. The announcement came at the 2012 National Rural...
Proposed Missouri Bill to Expand Coops’ Rights to Use Existing Utility Poles
Posted on Mar 2, 2012 in Land Use, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Proposed Missouri Bill to Expand Coops’ Rights to Use Existing Utility Poles
Missouri State Senator Brad Lager recently introduced a bill (S. B. 891) that will allow rural electric coops to use existing utility poles and rights-of-way for smart grid and broadband applications. News-Press Now has the full story.
Missouri Bill Introduced to Promote Smart Grid Technologies
Posted on Jan 19, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Missouri Bill Introduced to Promote Smart Grid Technologies
A new bill introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives would make it easier to attach smart grid and broadband communication equipment to telecommunication poles and rural coop distribution system poles. The proposed bill would allow the pole owner to charge a reasonable rate based on costs incurred from the attachments and aims to spread these and other advanced technologies...
Coops Avoid Public Protest by Picking Hard-Wired Smart Grid Technology
Posted on Nov 8, 2011 in Energy Savings Programs, Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on Coops Avoid Public Protest by Picking Hard-Wired Smart Grid Technology
Public protest over the health effects of wireless smart grid technology have largely left two electric coops in Vermont unscathed. Those coops have elected to use hard-wired smart grid technology instead of the wireless systems because the hard-wired systems are less expensive and better suited to their rural territories. Click here for the full story.
USDA Announces Plan to Fund Improvements to Distribution and Smart Grid Technologies
Posted on Oct 14, 2011 in Financing, Innovation/Efficiency | Comments Off on USDA Announces Plan to Fund Improvements to Distribution and Smart Grid Technologies
Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, announced plans to fund projects across 27 states. Coops on track to receive funding for their projects include Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc., Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation and Gunnison County Electric Association. For more on this story, see the USDA’s news...
Coops Get Government Boost For New Projects
Posted on Sep 16, 2011 in Financing, Project Development | Comments Off on Coops Get Government Boost For New Projects
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Friday that twenty-seven rural electric cooperative utilities will receive government funding for generation and transmission projects, distribution facilities and smart grid technologies. The United State Department of Agriculture reports that these loans are expected to finance rural electric utility improvements benefiting nearly...
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