Cooperatives Support Renewable Energy
(Taken from an article written by NRECA CEO Glenn English in the Electric Co-op Today.)
One of the hallmarks of electric cooperative service is their commitment to the communities they serve. Electric cooperatives are leaders in improving the quality of life of our consumer-members, and an important part of that effort includes wise choices about distributed generation technology and new fuel sources for generating electricity.
Many agriculture groups, regulators and technology vendors are promoting the advantages of renewable energy. For rural America, in the grip of a continuing farm crisis, those sales pitches offer hope of new income and economic security for people who have endured a lot for far too long.
But at the national policy level and among consumers, some of these groups are inaccurately saying that electric cooperatives are opposed to distributed generation and renewable energy. These charges belie the strong record of innovation and stewardship of the nation's natural resources that cooperatives have established.
The false impressions created by these charges can also lead to federal and state policies that take decision-making on critical issues away from a cooperative's board of directors. The fact is electric cooperatives are actively involved in the development of distributed generation and renewable energy technologies.
Electric cooperatives are proud of embracing the use of renewable energy and distributed generation technologies, and are working hard to ensure that these new technologies benefit the entire membership and not just one member at the expense of his or her neighbor.
At the same time, cooperatives are equally proud of incorporating these technologies into their portfolios in a way that brings benefits to all cooperative members. Cooperatives have focused, and will continue to focus, on the safety, reliability and low cost of electric service for all of their members. They have made decisions about distributed and renewable energy resources democratically, through their elected boards of directors.
With their renewable energy programs across the country, electric cooperatives ensure that new technology and innovation bring greater economic opportunity, environmental stewardship and security to all the consumers they serve.